Written by the Delhi Legal Company India Entry & FDI Advisory team · Last updated August 2026 · Reviewed against Ministry of Home Affairs visa guidance and e-FRRO procedure
Introduction
Sending someone to India on a business visa to do a job is the most common immigration violation foreign employers commit, and it is committed almost entirely in good faith.
A foreign citizen cannot undertake employment in India on the basis of a business visa.
Business visas do not permit employment — this is the most common violation.
The pattern is familiar. A group is testing the Indian market, an executive goes out for a few months to get things moving, and a business visa seems proportionate to something temporary. It is not a question of degree. If the person is working, the visa is wrong.
The second thing foreign employers underestimate is where the liability sits. Registration with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office is treated as the employee’s obligation, and it is not only theirs.
FRRO registration within 14 days of arrival is mandatory for stays exceeding 180 days, and employers are jointly liable for compliance.
And there is a third point that catches groups using an employer of record, which they have usually adopted precisely to avoid this kind of problem. Most EOR providers do not sponsor foreign-national work visas.
This guide covers what India actually issues, the salary threshold and what counts towards it, who can sponsor, the fourteen-day clock, and the exit formalities nobody plans for.
About this guide
Delhi Legal Company works exclusively with foreign companies establishing and operating in India. Expatriate deployment is where immigration, payroll, tax and permanent establishment analysis all meet, and it is usually run by whoever is booking the flights.
Where a rule is settled we state it. Where practice varies by mission and nationality — and processing does — we give the range rather than a single figure that will not match your case.
Primary sources: the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Bureau of Immigration for visa categories and conditions, the e-FRRO portal for registration, and Invest India’s published guidance on visa procedures.
1. India does not issue a “work permit”
Worth clearing at the outset, because the terminology confuses groups from jurisdictions that separate the two documents.
Almost every foreign national who intends to work and earn an income in India must hold an Employment Visa or another appropriate work visa before starting employment. India does not issue a separate physical “work permit” document the way some countries do.
The visa is the authorisation. There is no second document to obtain after arrival — but there is a registration, which is different and is covered in section 6.
2. The categories
| Visa | For | Permits employment? |
|---|---|---|
| Employment (E) Visa | Salaried roles with an Indian entity, or intra-group secondment | Yes |
| Business (B) Visa | Meetings, trade fairs, negotiations, exploring opportunities | No |
| Project Visa | Narrow, sector-specific, tied to a single defined project | Within its terms |
| X Visa | Spouses and dependent children, with the same expiry date as the principal’s visa | No |
| OCI Card | Overseas Citizens of India, with near-parity rights for employment | Yes — the simplest route where available |
2.1 Check OCI first
Before running an employment visa process, establish whether the individual holds or is eligible for an OCI card. OCI cardholders have near-parity rights with Indian citizens for employment, which is the most practical route for diaspora professionals.
For a group hiring senior people of Indian origin — common in technology and financial services — this removes the visa question entirely.
3. Who the Employment Visa is for
The Employment Visa is issued to foreign nationals who bring high-level skills and qualifications, covering professionals, consultants, trainers, technical experts, artists and coaches, either directly employed by an Indian organisation or on inter-group secondment.
It is granted to skilled professionals, usually where the skill is not readily available locally.
Senior management personnel or specialists employed by foreign firms who are relocated to India to work on a specific project or management assignment can apply for an employment visa.
3.1 The “not readily available locally” point
This is the underlying policy rationale, and it shapes how an application should be presented.
An application describing a role that reads as replaceable by an Indian hire invites the question. One that sets out specific expertise, group-specific knowledge or a defined leadership mandate is easier to grant.
That is a drafting matter in the supporting documents, and it costs nothing to get right.
4. The salary threshold
The minimum gross annual salary for an Employment Visa is USD 25,000, and this threshold applies regardless of the applicant’s nationality.
4.1 It is aggregate remuneration, not base salary
This is the most useful practical point in the whole area, and it is frequently missed.
The salary threshold limit of USD 25,000 per annum includes salary and all other allowances paid.
The threshold covers salary plus perquisites like rent-free accommodation, and applies to aggregate remuneration rather than just cash salary.
For an expatriate package structured in the usual way — base salary plus housing, schooling, car, home leave — the aggregate is what counts. A group computing the test on base salary alone may conclude the person does not qualify when they comfortably do.
4.2 The rupee figure moves
Published guidance quotes the threshold in rupees at figures ranging from around ₹16.25 lakh to approximately ₹20.8 lakh at 2026 exchange rates.
Both are conversions of the same USD 25,000. Work from the dollar figure and convert at the current rate rather than relying on a rupee number quoted in an article, including this one.
4.3 The exemptions are narrow
The exceptions — ethnic cook, language teacher, highly specialised technician in certain sectors — are narrow.
Exemptions exist for ethnic cooks, non-English language instructors, foreign performing artists, sports coaches for national teams, and certain honorary NGO roles.
NGO workers must earn at least ₹10,000 per month.
None of these assists a commercial group deploying business staff. Treat the threshold as absolute for your purposes.
5. Who can sponsor — and the EOR problem
The sponsoring employer must be a registered Indian entity — a private limited company, branch office, liaison office or project office. A foreign company without any registered presence in India cannot sponsor an employment visa.
5.1 This makes the visa a downstream item
A group that has not yet incorporated cannot sponsor. Which means the entity has to exist before the person can be deployed, and the incorporation timeline sits in front of the visa timeline.
See forming a foreign company in India for what that sequence looks like.
5.2 The EOR assumption that fails
Most EOR providers do not sponsor foreign-national work visas — verify with your provider before committing.
This surprises groups, and reasonably so. An employer of record is adopted precisely to handle employment formalities without an entity, and the natural assumption is that visas are among them.
Many EOR arrangements work well for hiring Indian nationals and not at all for deploying a foreign national who needs sponsorship. The two use cases are different and providers vary.
Ask the question specifically, in writing, before the assignment is planned. “Can you sponsor an employment visa for a [nationality] national?” is a different question from “can you employ people for us in India?”
See employment contracts in India for foreign employers for the wider EOR analysis.
5.3 The visa is employer-specific and role-specific
India’s Employment Visa is employer-specific — you cannot work for a different company without applying for a new visa. Every Employment Visa is tied to a specific employer, a specific job, and a minimum salary threshold.
For a group with more than one Indian entity, this matters. Moving an expatriate from the subsidiary to a branch office, or between group companies, is not an internal transfer for visa purposes.
6. FRRO registration: the fourteen-day clock
For long stays, FRRO registration is required within 14 days of arrival.
Employment visa holders must register with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office within 14 days of arrival if the visa validity exceeds 180 days.
6.1 The employer is jointly liable
Employers are jointly liable for ensuring their sponsored employees complete FRRO registration on time.
That single sentence is why this belongs on the employer’s checklist rather than in the relocation pack. A missed registration is not only the employee’s problem.
6.2 The consequences
Failure to register with the FRRO within the 14-day window can result in penalties of USD 500 per year of overstay, deportation, and future visa denial. The MHA has stepped up enforcement, and violations result in blacklisting.
Failure to register can lead to fines or exit complications.
Blacklisting is the consequence with the longest tail. A refusal recorded against an individual follows them, and a pattern recorded against a sponsoring entity affects future applications.
6.3 The process
Since 2018 the FRRO process has been largely digitised. Foreign nationals create an account on the e-FRRO portal, upload the required documents, and receive approval electronically. The portal handles registration, visa extensions, visa conversions and exit permits. A valid Indian mobile number and email address are mandatory for OTP verification during the registration process.
6.4 The Indian mobile number is the practical bottleneck
Read that last requirement against the arrival sequence.
An expatriate lands, and needs an Indian SIM to register. Obtaining an Indian SIM requires local documentation and often a local address. Meanwhile the fourteen days are running.
The fix is simple and it has to be arranged in advance: the SIM, the address documentation and the portal account should be organised as part of the arrival plan, not discovered in week two.
Many employers focus on the visa grant and forget about the 14-day FRRO registration deadline.
7. Duration, renewal and extension
| Item | Position |
|---|---|
| Initial validity | One year or the contract length, whichever is shorter |
| Maximum | Extendable in India through FRRO or FRO for up to five years in total |
| Entries | Generally multiple-entry |
| Renewal evidence | Proof of continued employment and income tax filing |
| When to start | No later than two months before the current visa expires |
7.1 The tax filing condition
This deserves isolating, because it connects immigration to a compliance the group may not have tracked.
Renewal requires evidence of income tax filing. An expatriate whose Indian return was not filed, or was filed late, has a visa renewal problem as well as a tax problem.
For a group running expatriate payroll through a provider, confirm that individual Indian tax returns are being filed and that the acknowledgements are retained — not just that TDS is being deducted.
7.2 Start two months out
An extension application initiated a fortnight before expiry is an application made under pressure with no room for a query. Two months is the published guidance and it is realistic.
8. Dependants
Spouses and dependent children can be brought into India on an X visa with the same expiry date. Proof of relationship, financial documents and separate entry visa applications are typically required.
Two practical points.
The expiry dates align. Which means a renewal delay on the principal’s visa affects the whole family, and school terms do not accommodate immigration timelines.
An X visa does not permit employment. A spouse who wants to work in India needs their own employment visa on their own merits, including the salary threshold.
9. Processing times
Processing at Indian High Commissions and Consulates typically runs 5 to 15 business days for straightforward Employment Visa applications.
Embassy processing usually takes 10 to 20 working days.
Processing times range from 5 business days for straightforward applications from low-risk countries to 4 to 8 weeks for first-time applicants from prior-reference-category nationalities.
9.1 The variable is nationality, not complexity
That last range is the one to plan against. Certain nationalities require prior reference to Indian authorities, which turns a two-week process into a two-month one regardless of how straightforward the role is.
Establish the applicant’s category at the outset, because it determines whether the assignment start date is realistic.
10. Exit formalities
The item nobody plans for, and the one that causes the most inconvenient surprise.
Exit formalities — income tax clearance and FRRO endorsement — matter as much as entry ones.
10.1 The tax clearance
A departing expatriate may require an income tax clearance before leaving India permanently, confirming that Indian tax obligations have been discharged or adequately provided for.
This is not a same-week item, and it is discovered at the worst possible moment — when the family has a flight booked and the household has been shipped.
Begin the exit process at least a month before departure, and treat it as part of the assignment plan rather than the leaving arrangements.
10.2 Termination during the assignment
Where the employment ends before the visa does, there are reporting obligations.
Notification must be made to the Foreigners Registration Officer in the case of termination of a business contract, and the foreigner produced in person at the FRRO or FRO office within 24 hours in the case of withdrawal of the undertaking for the good conduct of the foreigner.
Twenty-four hours is a short clock in a situation that is already difficult. A group terminating an expatriate should have the immigration steps mapped before the conversation, not after it.
11. What the visa connects to
An employment visa is not a standalone item. Granting one sets three other obligations running, and groups that treat immigration as a separate workstream miss them.
| Consequence | What follows |
|---|---|
| Provident fund | The employee is an international worker — no wage ceiling, contributions on global remuneration for Indian services, and a balance locked to 58 unless an SSA applies |
| Income tax | Residence status, Indian return filing, and the tax clearance the visa renewal itself requires |
| Permanent establishment | A seconded employee working in India is a data point in the PE analysis |
| Place of effective management | A senior expatriate with decision-making authority feeds the ABOI payroll test and the residence question |
| Employment law | Indian statutory entitlements attach to employment in India regardless of the employment contract’s governing law |
11.1 The provident fund point in particular
Every expatriate on an employment visa is an international worker for provident fund purposes, which means contributions on full remuneration with no wage ceiling — a cost most assignment budgets do not carry.
Build it in when the package is designed, not when the first payroll runs. See provident fund for international workers.
11.2 The senior expatriate and POEM
Where the person being deployed is senior enough to make decisions for the business as a whole, the deployment is also a residence question for the foreign company — see place of effective management.
That is not a reason not to deploy them. It is a reason to run the analysis at the same time.
12. Two situations, worked through
Scenario A — The business visa that became employment
A European group sends a regional director to India for what is planned as three months of market development. She travels on a business visa. The three months become eight, she is managing a growing local team, and the group incorporates an Indian subsidiary around her.
The problem. Employment on a business visa is not permitted, and the character of the activity changed well before anyone reconsidered the visa.
The compounding issues. No FRRO registration, because nobody thought it applied. No provident fund enrolment. No Indian payroll. And the activity itself is a permanent establishment question for the parent.
What would have prevented it. A checkpoint at the moment the assignment extended — is this still business development, or is it work? The answer determines the visa, and the visa determines everything else.
Scenario B — The EOR that could not sponsor
A US group plans to place a senior engineer in Bengaluru for two years. It has no Indian entity and engages an employer of record, on the basis that the EOR will handle employment and compliance.
What emerged. The provider employs Indian nationals but does not sponsor employment visas for foreign nationals. The assignment cannot proceed as planned.
The consequence. Either incorporate an Indian entity, which puts the incorporation timeline in front of the visa timeline, or find a provider that does sponsor, or restructure the role.
What would have prevented it. One question, asked in writing at the outset: can you sponsor an employment visa for a foreign national of this nationality?
13. Twelve mistakes
- Using a business visa for work. The most common violation, and it does not turn on duration.
- Treating FRRO registration as the employee’s problem. Employers are jointly liable.
- Not arranging an Indian SIM before arrival, when OTP verification requires one and the clock is fourteen days.
- Computing the salary threshold on base salary, when it applies to aggregate remuneration including allowances and perquisites.
- Assuming an EOR will sponsor a foreign national’s visa. Most do not.
- Planning a deployment before the Indian entity exists. Only a registered Indian entity can sponsor.
- Treating a move between group entities as internal. The visa is employer-specific.
- Starting the extension a fortnight before expiry rather than two months.
- Not tracking individual Indian tax filings, which the renewal requires evidence of.
- Overlooking prior-reference nationalities, which turn a two-week process into two months.
- Leaving exit formalities to the last week, including the income tax clearance.
- Terminating an expatriate without mapping the immigration steps, where a 24-hour reporting obligation can apply.
14. Checklist
Before planning the assignment
- OCI eligibility checked — it removes the visa question entirely
- Registered Indian sponsoring entity confirmed to exist, or incorporation timeline built in front
- Where using an EOR, written confirmation obtained that it sponsors employment visas for this nationality
- Applicant’s nationality checked for prior-reference category, and processing time planned accordingly
- Aggregate remuneration — salary plus allowances and perquisites — confirmed above USD 25,000
- Provident fund cost on the uncapped international worker base built into the assignment budget
- Permanent establishment and POEM implications assessed for a senior deployment
Application
- Employment contract showing salary, designation and tenure
- Role described as requiring skills not readily available locally
- Sponsoring entity’s registration documents
- Dependants’ X visa applications prepared in parallel
Arrival
- Indian SIM and local address documentation arranged before arrival
- e-FRRO account created and registration completed within 14 days
- Registration confirmation retained by the employer, not only the employee
- Provident fund enrolment from the first month, on the full uncapped base
- Indian payroll established, with individual tax filing arranged
Ongoing and exit
- Extension initiated no later than two months before expiry
- Income tax filing acknowledgements retained for renewal evidence
- Any change of employing entity treated as requiring a new visa
- Exit process begun at least a month before departure, including income tax clearance
- Immigration steps mapped before any termination conversation, given the 24-hour reporting obligation
Planning to send someone to India?
The two questions that decide whether the plan works are whether an Indian entity exists to sponsor, and whether the aggregate package clears the threshold — and both are answerable in an afternoon. Tell us the role, the nationality and the package structure and we will tell you the realistic timeline, what the application needs to say, and what the deployment triggers on the tax and provident fund side.
15. Frequently asked questions
Q1. Does India issue work permits?
Not as a separate document. Almost every foreign national intending to work and earn income in India must hold an Employment Visa or another appropriate work visa before starting employment, and the visa itself is the authorisation. There is no second permit to obtain after arrival, though registration with the FRRO is separately required.
Q2. Can someone work in India on a business visa?
No. A foreign citizen cannot undertake employment on the basis of a business visa, and this is the most common violation foreign employers commit. A business visa covers meetings, trade fairs and negotiations. The prohibition does not turn on duration — if the person is working, the visa is wrong.
Q3. What is the minimum salary for an Indian Employment Visa?
USD 25,000 gross per annum, applying regardless of nationality. Rupee equivalents quoted in guidance range from about ₹16.25 lakh to ₹20.8 lakh depending on the exchange rate used, so work from the dollar figure and convert at the current rate.
Q4. Is the threshold based on base salary?
No, and this is frequently missed. The USD 25,000 threshold includes salary and all other allowances paid, covering perquisites such as rent-free accommodation. It applies to aggregate remuneration, so a group computing it on base salary alone may wrongly conclude the person does not qualify.
Q5. What are the exemptions from the salary threshold?
Narrow ones: ethnic cooks, non-English language instructors, translators, foreign performing artists, sports coaches for national teams, embassy and high commission staff, and certain honorary NGO roles, where NGO workers must earn at least ₹10,000 per month. None assists a commercial group deploying business staff.
Q6. Who can sponsor an Employment Visa?
A registered Indian entity — a private limited company, branch office, liaison office or project office. A foreign company without any registered presence in India cannot sponsor, which means the entity has to exist before the person can be deployed and the incorporation timeline sits in front of the visa timeline.
Q7. Will an employer of record sponsor a foreign national’s visa?
Often not. Most EOR providers do not sponsor foreign-national work visas, which surprises groups who adopted an EOR precisely to handle employment formalities. Many EOR arrangements work well for hiring Indian nationals and not at all for deploying a foreign national who needs sponsorship — ask the question specifically and in writing.
Q8. Is the Employment Visa tied to a specific employer?
Yes. It is employer-specific and role-specific, and the holder cannot work for a different company without applying for a new visa. For a group with more than one Indian entity, moving an expatriate between them is not an internal transfer for visa purposes.
Q9. What is FRRO registration and when is it due?
Registration with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office, required within 14 days of arrival where the visa validity or stay exceeds 180 days. Since 2018 it is largely digitised through the e-FRRO portal, which also handles visa extensions, conversions and exit permits.
Q10. Is FRRO registration the employee’s responsibility?
Not only. Employers are jointly liable for ensuring their sponsored employees complete FRRO registration on time, which is why it belongs on the employer’s checklist rather than in the relocation pack. Many employers focus on the visa grant and forget the 14-day deadline.
Q11. What happens if FRRO registration is missed?
Penalties of USD 500 per year of overstay, deportation, and future visa denial. Enforcement has been stepped up and violations result in blacklisting, which has the longest tail — a refusal recorded against an individual follows them, and a pattern against a sponsoring entity affects future applications.
Q12. What is needed to complete e-FRRO registration?
An account on the e-FRRO portal with documents uploaded, and critically a valid Indian mobile number and email address for OTP verification. Obtaining an Indian SIM requires local documentation and often a local address, so it should be arranged as part of the arrival plan rather than discovered in week two.
Q13. How long is an Employment Visa valid?
One year or the contract length, whichever is shorter, generally issued as multiple-entry. It can be extended in India through the FRRO or FRO for up to five years in total, with each extension requiring evidence of continued employment.
Q14. What is required for a visa extension?
Proof of continued employment and income tax filing. That second requirement connects immigration to a compliance groups may not have tracked — an expatriate whose Indian return was not filed has a visa renewal problem as well as a tax problem. Initiate the extension no later than two months before expiry.
Q15. Can dependants come to India?
Yes, on an X visa with the same expiry date as the principal’s visa, with proof of relationship, financial documents and separate entry visa applications typically required. Note that expiry dates align, so a renewal delay affects the whole family.
Q16. Can a spouse on an X visa work?
No. An X visa does not permit employment. A spouse who wants to work in India needs their own employment visa on their own merits, including satisfying the salary threshold in their own right.
Q17. How long does the visa take to obtain?
Typically 5 to 15 business days for straightforward applications, and 10 to 20 working days at many missions. For first-time applicants from prior-reference-category nationalities it can run 4 to 8 weeks, so the applicant’s category should be established at the outset because it determines whether the assignment start date is realistic.
Q18. What exit formalities apply?
Income tax clearance and FRRO endorsement, which matter as much as entry formalities. A departing expatriate may require clearance confirming Indian tax obligations have been discharged or provided for, and this is not a same-week item — begin at least a month before departure.
Q19. What if we terminate an expatriate mid-assignment?
There are reporting obligations. Notification must be made to the Foreigners Registration Officer on termination of a contract, and where an undertaking for good conduct is withdrawn, the foreigner must be produced in person at the FRRO or FRO within 24 hours. Map the immigration steps before the conversation, not after.
Q20. Does an employment visa affect provident fund obligations?
Yes, substantially. Every expatriate on an employment visa is an international worker for provident fund purposes, meaning contributions on full remuneration with no wage ceiling, including amounts paid outside India for Indian services. Build the cost into the assignment budget when the package is designed.
Q21. Does deploying a senior person to India create tax exposure for the parent?
It can, in two ways. A seconded employee working in India is a data point in the permanent establishment analysis, and a senior expatriate with decision-making authority feeds the place of effective management question — including the payroll test, which is affected by seniority. Run both analyses alongside the deployment.
Q22. Is an OCI card an alternative?
Where available, it is the simplest route. OCI cardholders have near-parity rights with Indian citizens for employment, so no employment visa, salary threshold or FRRO registration question arises. Check OCI eligibility before starting a visa process, particularly when hiring senior people of Indian origin.
Related reading
- Provident fund for international workers — the cost the visa triggers
- Permanent establishment risk in India — what a secondment does to the parent’s tax position
- Place of effective management — why a senior India deployment is also a residence question
- Employment contracts in India for foreign employers — the contract behind the visa
Talk to us before the flights are booked
Delhi Legal Company works exclusively with foreign companies establishing and operating in India. Employment visa sponsorship and applications, FRRO registration, incorporation where a sponsoring entity is needed, provident fund and payroll set-up, and the permanent establishment and residence analysis a senior deployment triggers — handled together, because one assignment starts all of them.
How we usually start. Tell us the role, the individual’s nationality, the package structure and whether you have an Indian entity. We come back with whether the threshold is met on aggregate remuneration, a realistic timeline for that nationality, what the application should say, and what the deployment costs beyond the salary.