Employment Visa
Eligibility
Employment visa is only granted to an applicant who is highly skilled and / or qualified professional and is not granted for unskilled, routine, ordinary or secretarial / clerical jobs. The foreign national being sponsored for an Employment Visa in any sector should draw a salary in excess of US$ 25,000 per annum. This annual salary limit does not apply to (a) Ethnic cooks, (ii) Language Teachers (Other than English language teachers) / Translators and (iii) Staff working for the concerned Embassy / High Commission in India.
Employment Visa may be granted to the following categories of Chinese / foreign nationals:
- Chinese/Foreign nationals coming to India for employment in a company/firm/organization registered in India or for employment in a foreign company /firm/organization engaged for execution of some project in India.
- Chinese/Foreign engineers/technicians coming to India for installation and commissioning of equipments/machines/tools in terms of the contract for supply of such equipment/machine/tools.
- Chinese/Foreign personnel deputed for providing technical support/services, transfer of know-how/ services supplies for which the Indian company pays fees/royalty to the foreign company.
- Chinese/Foreign nationals coming to India as consultant on contract for whom the Indian company pays a fixed remuneration (this may not be in the form of monthly salary).
- Chinese/Foreign artists engaged to conduct regular performances for the duration of the employment contract given by Hotels, Clubs, and other organizations.
- Chinese/Foreign nationals who are coming to India to take up employment as coaches of national/state level teams or reputed sports clubs.
- Chinese/Foreign sportsmen who are given contract for a specified period by the Indian Clubs/organizations.
- Self-employed Chinese/Foreign nationals coming to India for providing engineering, medical, accounting, legal or such other highly skilled services in their capacity as independent consultants provided the provision of such services by foreign nationals is permitted under law.
- Chinese/Foreign language teachers/interpreters.
- Chinese/Foreign specialist Chefs
As per the MoU on Simplification of Visa procedures signed between the Republic of India and the People’s Republic of China in June, 2003 the following categories of Employment visas (applicable for PRC nationals) are issued:
- 3 months Single Entry Employment Visa for opening Representative Office in India
- 3 months Single Entry Employment Visa for employment including for contracted projects
- 3 months Single Entry Visa to Employee’s accompanying family members
- 3 months Single Entry Tourist Visa to non-accompanying spouses/children/relatives of Employees
Note: Conversion of business visa or any other type of visa into employment visa is not permitted. Chinese nationals desiring to do so must return to their country of permanent residence and apply to the Indian Embassy/Consulate for Employment Visa furnishing all relevant papers required for grant of employment visa.
Required Documents
General requirements:
- Passport to be valid for a minimum period of six months.
- Duly filled in and signed application form to be submitted in person or through an agent. Incomplete application will not be accepted.
Documents Required
- Letter of Appointment from Indian company
- Original copy of the contract signed between two parties explicitly stating annual income of more than Rs 16.25 lakh per annum.
- Curriculum Vitae of the applicant.
- Documentary proof of the educational qualification.
- Professional expertise certificate
- Registration certificate of the employing company under the Companies Act / Proof of registration of the firm in the State industries department or the Export Promotion Council.
- Other documents as specified in Checklist.
Procedure for submitting a VISA application:
- Submission of all relevant documents mentioned in the checklist on the website is important for acceptance of the visa application at the Indian Visa Application Centre/Embassy/Consulates.
- It is a mandatory requirement to ensure that your photo is 2 inch x 2 inch (51mm x 51mm) in size with white background. Photos which do not meet this specification will not be accepted.
Note:
- Visa to family members of a Chinese/Foreign nationals granted Employment Visa
Family members /dependents of a Chinese/Foreign national who is granted Employment Visa will also need to apply for E-X visa under the Employment Visa category. Its validity shall be co-terminus with the validity of the visa of the principal visa holder.
- Conversion of Employment Visa
Employment Visa cannot be converted to any other kind of visa during the stay of the Chinese/ Foreign national in India except in the following circumstances and with the prior approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs:
a. Employment visa may be converted to X-Visa (Entry) if a Chinese/Foreign National who has come to India on Employment Visa marries an Indian National during the validity of his/her employment visa and does not intend to continue on Employment Visa.
b. Employment visa of a foreigner who falls ill after his/her entry into India rendering him/her unfit to travel and requiring specialized medical treatment, may be converted to a Medical visa if he/she is eligible for grant of the Medical Visa and a medical certificate is obtained form a government/government recognized hospital.
- Conversion of business visa or any other type of visa into employment visa is not permitted. Chinese nationals desiring to do so must return to their country of permanent residence and apply to the Indian Embassy/Consulate for Employment Visa furnishing all relevant papers required for grant of employment visa.
- Employment visa is issued only after approval from concerned authorities in India, the processing of which may take at least 6 weeks.
Fees
All Payments are accepted in cash and Alipay only. Payment through bank cards will not be acceptable at the India Visa Application Center.
To know your visa fee, please refer to visa fee calculator on the menu page.