Expats working at senior positions in India will not need to go back home and seek a fresh Indian employment visa when they take inter-group transfers,the government has said in updated rules.This will provide flexibility to foreign companies that have multiple businesses in India in deploying their resources.
The earlier guideline was seen as a major irritant by expats working here and companies employing them as any transfer within the group would mandate a homeland visit and a fresh work visa.This not just inflated costs for companies who employed foreign nationals but also led to loss of crucial work hours.The fresh clarification is seen as a welcome change by the industry that had been lobbying with the ministry for relaxation in these guidelines for some time.
Most multinationals and even Indian companies prefer to keep their senior and skilled expat employees largely on project basis.A mandatory visit home and a fresh employment visa led to unnecessary hassle,said a senior executive with a multinational consultancy that faced this issued.Another firm had to lobby hard to get home ministry permission to retain its senior consultant in a subsidiary.Experts say the new guideline would also make the process more efficient and transparent as they had to approach the ministry individually and each application was treated on a case by case basis.
However,the relaxation will only be limited to changing jobs between registered holding company and its subsidiary and between subsidiaries.
India issues two types of work visas Business or B Visa and Employment or E Visa
Business Visa
Indian missions can issue multiple entry 5-year Business Visa In the case of US,the business visa can be issued for ten years Stay during one visit should not exceed six months Money lending and petty trading not allowed under this visa
Employment Visa
Issued only to highly skilled and/or qualified professionals Cannot be issued for jobs for which qualified Indians are available The foreign worker should draw an annual salary of at least $25,000 dollars per annum Five year multiple entry visa can be issued under this category
