Country Profiles

India

February 2012

This summary is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered an authoritative guide on how to obtain work authorization in India. The intent is to give the reader a general overview of the process only. Procedures and requirements may have changed since the writing of this article. For current and detailed information regarding the topics below, as well as documentary requirements, processing times, post-arrival and departure requirements, penalties for non-compliance, allowances for accompanying family members, and any other information pertaining to your specific needs, please contact your Pro-Link GLOBAL immigration professional.

Overview

BUSINESS VISITOR

Permitted Activities - Business visitors must generally limit their activities to the following:

  • Foreign nationals who want to visit India to establish industrial/business
    venture or to explore possibilities to set up industrial/business venture in India;
  • Foreign nationals coming to India to purchase/sell industrial products or commercial
    products or consumer durables;
  • Foreign nationals coming to India for technical meetings/discussions, attending Board
    meetings, general meetings for providing business services support;
  • Foreign nationals coming to India for recruitment of manpower;
  • Foreign nationals who are partners in the Business and/or functioning as Directors in the
    company;
  • Foreign nationals coming to India for consultations regarding exhibitions, for
    participation in exhibitions, trade fairs, business fairs, etc;
  • Foreign buyers who come to transact business with suppliers/ potential suppliers at
    locations in India, to evaluate or monitor quality, give specifications, place orders, negotiate further supplies etc., relating to goods or services procured from India;
  • Foreign experts/specialists on a visit of short duration in connection with an ongoing
    project with the objective of monitoring the progress of the work, conducting meetings with Indian customers and/or to provide some high level technical guidance;
  • Foreign nationals coming to India for pre-sales or post-sales activity not amounting to
    actual execution of any contract or project;
  • Foreign Trainees of multinational companies/corporate houses coming for in-house
    training in the regional hubs of the concerned company located in India;
  • Foreign students sponsored by AIESEC for internship on project based work in
    companies/industries;
  • Foreign nationals coming as tour conductors and travel agents and / or conducting business tours of foreigners or business relating to it, etc.

Type of Business Visas - The Visa type will depend on the nationality of the traveler.

As outlined above, a Business (B) Visa to India is valid for very limited activities and should not be used as an alternative to an Employment Visa.

Basic Requirements -

  1. Intention of a genuine visit for business and not for paid employment;
  2. Valid passport;
  3. Evidence that there are no restrictions on his or her traveling to India;
  4. No intention to permanently reside in India;
  5. Proof of funds;
  6. A ticket for onward travel from India.

Estimated Processing Times - This varies by diplomatic post and country.

Maximum Time On Visa - This visa allows business people to make a short business visit to India, generallyfor up to six months during the visa validity period. Visas will be valid for a maximum of five years (or ten years for U.S. nationals) and can be extended in country in increments of one year.

Typical Documents Required -
All travelers need to present the following documents to officers in immigration clearance:

  • a valid passport or other acceptable travel document and in some cases;
  • a valid visa or authority to enter India.

EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION

Basic Requirements - The principal visa category for temporary employment in India is the employment (E) visa. This is a category for employers to sponsor qualified skilled workers to work as intra-company transferees in India on a temporary basis.

Process Overview - The process for obtaining an employment visa for skilled workers involves a two step process summarized below. Note that different processes apply for nationals of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and China.

  1. Employment visa application;
  2. Local F(R)RO registration.

Step 1 - Employment Visa Application

All travelers who require Indian Employment Visas are now required to file or lodge their application within their country of citizenship or country ofresidence provided that they havelegally residedthere for more than two years.

Multiple changes have been made to Indian immigration legislation since 2009. We recommend that the reader access Pro-Link's Global Brief, available on this website, to review changes in detail. Note particularly that a minimum salary level of US$25,000 was introduced in October 2010.

Step 2 - Local F(R)RO registration


The field officers in charge of immigration and registration activities at Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Amritsar are called Foreigners' Regional Registration Officers (FRROs).In all other states, theDistrict Superintendents of Police function as Foreigners' Registration Offices (FROs).

  • A foreigner entering with a visa valid for longer than 180 days, or that is denoted with a specific F(R)RO registration requirement, is required tobe registered within 14 days of arrival with the FRRO (in case of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Amritsar and Chennai) or the FRO/ District SP,in the region where the foreigner intends to stay.

Estimated Processing Time - Two to five weeks

Validity periods - Employment visas are generally valid for up to two years, or three years for employees in the Information Technology (IT) or Information Technology enabled services (ITes) sectors.

Family Members -Secondary/ family dependants may not work without separate work authorization.