How do you get an Aadhaar as a foreigner in India in 2026?

UIDAI guidance allows resident foreign nationals who have lived in India for 182 days or more in the 12 months immediately before enrolment. That bucket commonly includes people on valid Indian visas or Long Term Visas, OCI cardholders, and nationals of Nepal or Bhutan under published rules. Count days carefully; tourist hops that never reach the threshold do not unlock enrolment: Apply for residence.

For many visa holders, proof of identity is the foreign passport plus valid visa. Proof of address often means the FRRO or FRO registration certificate or residential permit: FRRO registration. OCI applicants use the OCI card with passport, plus an accepted Indian address document from UIDAI’s list.

Book an Aadhaar Seva Kendra appointment, submit demographic details and biometrics, and keep originals matching your uploads. Aadhaar issued to visa holders typically carries a validity tied to the visa. OCI and certain neighbour-national cases follow published validity periods such as ten years from enrolment on UIDAI materials.

Aadhaar helps later KYC, some SIM updates, DigiLocker habits, and RTO address proof, but it does not replace a PAN for tax or e-FRRO for stay compliance. Banks can often open accounts with FRRO and PAN first: Open a bank account. Put Aadhaar after those steps in paperwork after moving.