How to Be a Foreign Resident (Expat) in India
Take the right taxi when you arrive., Pay the correct amount., Get a telephone: Every Indian owns a mobile phone., Register at the FRRO., Get a residency permit., Get a PAN card: Your employer will pay taxes for you or you will pay your own taxes...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Take the right taxi when you arrive.
Look for the pre-paid taxi stand.
Do not let any person approach you and offer you a taxi.
They are definitely overcharging by a very high amount (up to 300 percent!).
Make a difference between A/C (airconditioning) and non-A/C cab.
In the middle of the night and in the cooler period, A/C is not needed, it is just more expensive. 'Luxury cabs' do not exist, thus a higher amount for taking one is not justified. -
Step 2: Pay the correct amount.
When reaching your destination, your cab driver will do everything to charge you an extra amount.
He might give you the following reasons: driver's charge, night charge, luxury charge, tip, waiting charge, parking fees, sick mother, grandmother, dog, cat, cow or sheep.
None of this is true! Pre-paid taxis are called pre-paid taxis because they are pre-paid.
Tipping cab drivers is not common and not advisable. , Getting one takes some patience, but is quite easy.
Identify the most reliable mobile provider in your region.
Common ones are:
Airtel, Hutch (now Vodafone), Idea.
Usually you need your residency permit and passport as well as 1-2 passport pictures.
You can use your European telephone or a U.S. one (although India providers are mostly using the GSM network
-- same as AT&T and T-Mobile in USA).
But simple mobile phones can be bought starting from 30 USD. , Within the first 14 days of your arrival you need to register at the Foreigners' Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
Usually, your employer helps you with that.
If not, try to find a reliable Indian person, who can help you out with the language spoken in the area you live in, as nobody in the FRRO will speak enough English to understand you.
Do not forget to fill the simple form with your address and other details.
And take passport pictures.
In India passport pictures are needed for everything, so make it a habit to carry at least 5 with you at all times. , Once the FRRO has worked on your registration, you (or somebody in the company you work for) will be asked to pick up your 'residency permit' (stamped form).
This paper is very important.
Do not lose it and carry it with you when you are traveling, as it is proof that you are an Indian Resident and will give you discounts at many tourist sites (Humayun's Tomb in Delhi, Qutab Minar in Delhi, Amber Fort in Jaipur and many more).
It also proofs that you are in India legally.
The process for your permit to be approved can take anything between 5 days and 2 months. , In any case you will receive a PAN card that shows that you are
1. an Indian Resident and
2. paying your taxes in India.
This card you can carry with you instead of the residency permit, as it serves the same purpose and is accepted by most people and institutions as a means of identification. , Bigger cities in India have good private hospitals and doctors at prices that are affordable. , Not advisable after dark for single women.
Price: bargain, bargain, bargain! It is cheaper than you think and foreign people pay a higher price than Indians in any case.
Auto rikshaw:
They do have meters, but those never work.
If they do, in many cities the drivers have lists that show the rates you have to pay according to the meter.
If the meter does not work: bargain, bargain, bargain! Taxis: same as for auto rikshaws.
There are also taxis that have fixed prices which can be booked for a certain number of hours and kilometres with the driver.
Ask your Indian colleagues for the local prices for these (and everything else).
And usually, even though a fixed price had been agreed, the drivers will want more money.
The only charge that really does apply is the night charge (usually from 11 PM)and parking charges (in Delhi between 10 and 20 RS).
Do not pay anything they ask you without asking for proof. , Indian food is very spicy and contains a lot of beans.
In most of the bigger cities, there is a good variety of Western food available (at higher cost though).
Hygiene is a very sensitive topic.
Mostly the plates and cutlery are clean.It is only a myth that the food is not cooked in hygienic conditions.
Today maximum Indian restaurants observe the hygiene standards laid down by the central board.
Indian chefs work very hard to give you the right quality food.
If your concern about hygiene is genuine we suggest you eat at a good restaurant and not at roadside.
Nobody can assure healthy food at roadside whether in India or in New York. , Indian transport authorities do not recognise a driving licence without an IDP.
It is NOT recommended to drive yourself in India
-- driving is chaotic and random, and rules are rarely followed in India.
If you wish to drive, do so with caution, and remember that drivers in India will not extend the same courtesy as expected in Western countries. , Fruit and vegetables are widely available on markets.
They usually weigh what you buy, so if they don't, insist on it, otherwise they will definitely overcharge you.
There are good supermarkets as well, which sell imported products at the same prices as in your home country or slightly more expensive. , Do not wear short skirts, tight clothes or tank-tops. , Clubbers are either rich expats or posh Indians.
Music is mostly Indian Bollywood, Punjabi etc. or techno/house music. , In some states, the minimum age for drinking is 18, in others, it is 21, and some, such as Maharashtra, it is 25 for hard liquor.
Transporting liquor across state lines are often illegal
-- eg Goa to Maharashtra, (because of high excise duties in Maharashtra); Maharashtra-Gujarat (because Gujarat is a dry state).
In Maharashtra, to drink alcohol, you need to make a permit, although this rule is rarely enforced. , And even the poor expect more money out of you than of their Indian people.
So they might cling to your legs, grab your arms or in any other way with their whining voices try to get your attention.
There is no solution for this. , You will see them roaming the streets in some areas.
Treat them with respect. , -
Step 3: Get a telephone: Every Indian owns a mobile phone.
-
Step 4: Register at the FRRO.
-
Step 5: Get a residency permit.
-
Step 6: Get a PAN card: Your employer will pay taxes for you or you will pay your own taxes.
-
Step 7: Obtain health insurance: either you have taken up a private health insurance in your home country or your employer offers you a certain health insurance package with your contract.
-
Step 8: Learn about transport: If you are not lucky enough to live in one of the cities that has a metro
-
Step 9: you will have to rely on the following methods of transport: Bike rikshaw: slow
-
Step 10: unreliable and usually the drivers do not know their way around.
-
Step 11: Experiment with eating out: Restaurants are quite cheap and usually the food is fine.
-
Step 12: Get an International Driving Permit from your home country.
-
Step 13: Buy food in a market.
-
Step 14: Wear appropriate clothing: This is especially important for women!
-
Step 15: Try out the nightlife: Mostly nightclubs are in expensive hotels and the prices are even higher than in Europe or the US.
-
Step 16: Observe state alcohol laws.
-
Step 17: Be prepared to see poverty: It is everywhere.
-
Step 18: Recognize that cows are considered holy by Hindus.
-
Step 19: Adjust to the manners: Remember that different people have different manners.
Detailed Guide
Look for the pre-paid taxi stand.
Do not let any person approach you and offer you a taxi.
They are definitely overcharging by a very high amount (up to 300 percent!).
Make a difference between A/C (airconditioning) and non-A/C cab.
In the middle of the night and in the cooler period, A/C is not needed, it is just more expensive. 'Luxury cabs' do not exist, thus a higher amount for taking one is not justified.
When reaching your destination, your cab driver will do everything to charge you an extra amount.
He might give you the following reasons: driver's charge, night charge, luxury charge, tip, waiting charge, parking fees, sick mother, grandmother, dog, cat, cow or sheep.
None of this is true! Pre-paid taxis are called pre-paid taxis because they are pre-paid.
Tipping cab drivers is not common and not advisable. , Getting one takes some patience, but is quite easy.
Identify the most reliable mobile provider in your region.
Common ones are:
Airtel, Hutch (now Vodafone), Idea.
Usually you need your residency permit and passport as well as 1-2 passport pictures.
You can use your European telephone or a U.S. one (although India providers are mostly using the GSM network
-- same as AT&T and T-Mobile in USA).
But simple mobile phones can be bought starting from 30 USD. , Within the first 14 days of your arrival you need to register at the Foreigners' Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
Usually, your employer helps you with that.
If not, try to find a reliable Indian person, who can help you out with the language spoken in the area you live in, as nobody in the FRRO will speak enough English to understand you.
Do not forget to fill the simple form with your address and other details.
And take passport pictures.
In India passport pictures are needed for everything, so make it a habit to carry at least 5 with you at all times. , Once the FRRO has worked on your registration, you (or somebody in the company you work for) will be asked to pick up your 'residency permit' (stamped form).
This paper is very important.
Do not lose it and carry it with you when you are traveling, as it is proof that you are an Indian Resident and will give you discounts at many tourist sites (Humayun's Tomb in Delhi, Qutab Minar in Delhi, Amber Fort in Jaipur and many more).
It also proofs that you are in India legally.
The process for your permit to be approved can take anything between 5 days and 2 months. , In any case you will receive a PAN card that shows that you are
1. an Indian Resident and
2. paying your taxes in India.
This card you can carry with you instead of the residency permit, as it serves the same purpose and is accepted by most people and institutions as a means of identification. , Bigger cities in India have good private hospitals and doctors at prices that are affordable. , Not advisable after dark for single women.
Price: bargain, bargain, bargain! It is cheaper than you think and foreign people pay a higher price than Indians in any case.
Auto rikshaw:
They do have meters, but those never work.
If they do, in many cities the drivers have lists that show the rates you have to pay according to the meter.
If the meter does not work: bargain, bargain, bargain! Taxis: same as for auto rikshaws.
There are also taxis that have fixed prices which can be booked for a certain number of hours and kilometres with the driver.
Ask your Indian colleagues for the local prices for these (and everything else).
And usually, even though a fixed price had been agreed, the drivers will want more money.
The only charge that really does apply is the night charge (usually from 11 PM)and parking charges (in Delhi between 10 and 20 RS).
Do not pay anything they ask you without asking for proof. , Indian food is very spicy and contains a lot of beans.
In most of the bigger cities, there is a good variety of Western food available (at higher cost though).
Hygiene is a very sensitive topic.
Mostly the plates and cutlery are clean.It is only a myth that the food is not cooked in hygienic conditions.
Today maximum Indian restaurants observe the hygiene standards laid down by the central board.
Indian chefs work very hard to give you the right quality food.
If your concern about hygiene is genuine we suggest you eat at a good restaurant and not at roadside.
Nobody can assure healthy food at roadside whether in India or in New York. , Indian transport authorities do not recognise a driving licence without an IDP.
It is NOT recommended to drive yourself in India
-- driving is chaotic and random, and rules are rarely followed in India.
If you wish to drive, do so with caution, and remember that drivers in India will not extend the same courtesy as expected in Western countries. , Fruit and vegetables are widely available on markets.
They usually weigh what you buy, so if they don't, insist on it, otherwise they will definitely overcharge you.
There are good supermarkets as well, which sell imported products at the same prices as in your home country or slightly more expensive. , Do not wear short skirts, tight clothes or tank-tops. , Clubbers are either rich expats or posh Indians.
Music is mostly Indian Bollywood, Punjabi etc. or techno/house music. , In some states, the minimum age for drinking is 18, in others, it is 21, and some, such as Maharashtra, it is 25 for hard liquor.
Transporting liquor across state lines are often illegal
-- eg Goa to Maharashtra, (because of high excise duties in Maharashtra); Maharashtra-Gujarat (because Gujarat is a dry state).
In Maharashtra, to drink alcohol, you need to make a permit, although this rule is rarely enforced. , And even the poor expect more money out of you than of their Indian people.
So they might cling to your legs, grab your arms or in any other way with their whining voices try to get your attention.
There is no solution for this. , You will see them roaming the streets in some areas.
Treat them with respect. ,
About the Author
Cynthia Hamilton
A passionate writer with expertise in cooking topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
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