Before you start

A signed appointment letter from an entity registered and operating in India
Gross annual salary meeting the employment visa threshold, which the Bureau of Immigration sets at more than ₹16.25 lakh for most applicants and at ₹3.60 lakh for people of Indian origin and the spouse or children of an Indian citizen, PIO or OCI cardholder
A passport valid well beyond the intended stay
A Kerala address you can evidence inside fourteen days

Step-by-step

1
Confirm the employment visa is your category
Business visas do not permit taking up employment and tourist visas permit nothing. Anyone with Indian ancestry or an Indian spouse should look at the OCI card first — Kerala has a very large diaspora and this route is more commonly available here than people expect.
Via employerWho: You and your Indian employer
2
Apply from your country of residence
Apply through the Indian Visa Online portal and submit at the Indian mission or outsourced centre where you live. The employer supplies the appointment letter, company proof and salary commitment. An initial one-year grant, extendable in India, is normal.
OnlineWho: You, with employer documentsStart 4–8 weeks before travel
3
Note the arrival stamp date
The fourteen days run from the immigration stamp at Cochin International Airport, not from when you find a flat. This is the single most common failure among new arrivals to India.
In personWho: YouDay 0
4
File on e-FRRO under FRRO Kochi
Register at indianfrro.gov.in against FRRO Kochi, whose office is in the Airlines Building at Cochin International Airport. Upload passport, visa, photograph, employment letter and Kerala address proof. Normally decided online; you attend only if called, and the office is a twenty-five kilometre trip from Ernakulam.
OnlineWho: YouWithin 14 days of arrival
5
Run the PAN application in parallel
Foreign nationals use Form 49AA through Protean or UTIITSL — the free Aadhaar-based instant e-PAN is not available to you. Start it in week one rather than after registration completes.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
6
Keep e-FRRO current and use it on exit
Address changes, visa extensions and exit permissions all run through the same portal. An out-of-date registered address is the commonest reason a routine extension turns into an airport trip.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport with the employment visa and arrival stamp
Appointment letter, employment contract and the employer's registration proof
Proof of Kerala address — a stamped rent agreement, with the landlord's Form C where applicable
Proof of annual income meeting the visa threshold
Passport photographs to Indian specification

Things most newcomers don’t know

Kerala has three full FRROs for a population of around 35 million, which is a legacy of the Gulf migration.

India has fifteen full Foreigners Regional Registration Offices in total, and Kerala holds three of them — Cochin, Trivandrum and Calicut — with the state carved into three jurisdictions by district. FRRO Cochin covers Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, Palakkad and Thrissur, plus Lakshadweep. That density reflects a state whose relationship with international movement is far deeper than its size suggests, and the practical effect is that your case is handled by an office that processes foreign nationals constantly rather than by a police officer doing it as a side duty, which is the position across most of India.

Source: Bureau of Immigration — jurisdiction of registration authorities/FRROs

The Kochi FRRO is inside the airport, not in the city.

FRRO Cochin operates from the Airlines Building at Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery, roughly twenty-five kilometres and an hour in traffic from central Ernakulam. Almost everything is done online through e-FRRO, but if you are called in — and first-time registrations occasionally are — it is a half-day rather than a lunch break. Budget the trip rather than assuming a city-centre counter.

Source: Bureau of Immigration — FRRO Kochi

The fourteen-day clock is running before you can realistically hold a lease.

Registration requires proof of address, and finding, agreeing and stamping a Kochi flat within two weeks of landing while also starting work is difficult. The standard fix is an employer guest-house or serviced-apartment letter to register against, then an address change on e-FRRO once you move. Ask for that letter before you fly.

Source: Bureau of Immigration — registration requirements

Lakshadweep needs a separate permit that has nothing to do with your visa.

The islands are 400 kilometres off Kochi and are the obvious weekend idea for anyone living here. They are a restricted area: every visitor, Indian or foreign, needs an entry permit, and for foreign nationals the process is longer and several islands are closed entirely. Ships and flights go from Kochi, which makes the trip feel casual. It is not. Start the permit weeks ahead.

Source: Lakshadweep Administration — entry permits

Common mistakes to avoid

Counting fourteen days from when you moved in rather than from the arrival stamp.
Entering on a business visa intending to take employment.
Assuming the FRRO is in the city when it is at the airport.
Delaying PAN and taking penal withholding on your first pay packets.
Booking a Lakshadweep trip before securing the entry permit.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.