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 of more than Rs 16.25 lakhs per annum.

Employment Visa may be granted to the following categories of Chinese / foreign nationals:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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).
5. Chinese/Foreign artists engaged to conduct regular performances for the duration of the employment contract given by Hotels, Clubs, and other organizations.
6. Chinese/Foreign nationals who are coming to India to take up employment as coaches of national/state level teams or reputed sports clubs.
7. Chinese/Foreign sportsmen who are given contract for a specified period by the Indian Clubs/organizations.
8. 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.
9. Chinese/Foreign language teachers/interpreters.
10. Chinese/Foreign specialist Chefs.

Note:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Employment visa is issued only after approval from concerned authorities in India, the processing of which may take at least 6 weeks.