Key highlights of the immigration guidelines issued for foreign nationals coming to India

Transcription

1 from India Global Mobility Services Key highlights of the immigration guidelines issued for foreign nationals coming to India March 28, 2018 In brief The Ministry of Home affairs (MHA) has laid down guidelines relating to visas for foreign nationals (foreigners) arriving in India. The MHA publishes these policy guidelines encompassing various aspects of Indian immigration regulations. This alert broadly summarises the following documents published on the MHA portal: General guidelines related to Indian visa. Regulations applicable to foreigners in India. Details of visa types granted by India. In detail Listed below are the general norms that have undergone revision. Consular visa norms and domicile requirement Relaxation in applying for visa from a third country: A foreigner can now apply for any type of visa in any country. The Indian Mission receiving the application will consult the Indian Mission in the foreigner s country of origin/ country of domicile before granting the visa. The earlier regulations did not permit a foreigner to apply for visa from a country other than the country of origin or domicile. Relaxation on issue of shortterm visa: While having a long duration visa (e.g. employment visa, business visa, etc.), a foreigner can now also avail a short duration visa (conference visa, transit visa, evisa and Visaon Arrival). In such a scenario, unlike in the past, the long duration visas will not be cancelled but kept on hold. Tourism permitted under any visa: A foreigner (other than a Pakistani national) is now expressly permitted to carry out tourism activities under any type of visa. Onarrival immigration norms A foreigner arriving in India on a visa for a period of more than 180 days was required to mandatorily register with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO)/ Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) within 14 days1 of his/ her arrival in India, except where specifically endorsed that registration is not required. Such foreigners could not depart from India until the completion of the registration process. This requirement has now been amended, permitting foreign nationals (except Pakistan nationals) to depart from India within 14 days of arrival without registering with the FRRO/ FRO. The age limit of children exempted from registration with the FRRO/ FRO has been reduced from 16 years to 12 years hours for a Pakistan national

2 Conversion of visa permitted under certain situations: The FRRO/ FRO have been authorised to convert certain visa types, i.e., evisa/ VisaonArrival/ Tourist Visa/ Employment Visa/ Business Visa/ Student Visa/ Research Visa to Entry Visa (X2) in the event that the foreign national in India marries an Indian or a Person of Indian Origin or Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holder during the validity term of their visa. Change of employer extended to JV and consortiums: A foreign national was permitted to change employment between a registered holding company and its subsidiaries. As per the revised guidelines, such a change is also permissible between Joint Ventures and Consortiums after obtaining prior approval from the MHA. Visaspecific clarifications and amendments Employment visa For a foreign national coming to India on an employment visa, the minimum salary threshold for eligibility to apply is US$25,000 approximately (INR million p.a.). This salary includes monetary salary, allowances and perquisites (e.g. rentfree accommodation), paid/ provided to the foreign national, which are considered for calculating the incometax liability of the foreign national. The employment contract should quantify and indicate the perquisites. For a foreign national who comes to India on an employment visa for a period of less than a year, the minimum salary threshold for determining the eligibility of the visa applicant would be required to be computed on a prorata basis. The minimum salary threshold would stand lowered to US$14,000, approximately (INR 0.91 million p.a.) for foreign nationals engaged as teaching faculty at specified premier Indian educational institutions like Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Central Universities (CUs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs). Specific inclusion of certain activities under employment visas Foreign journalists and employees/ managers for nonjournalistic activities to work in Indian media organisations. Foreign teaching faculty employed in specified universities. Foreign sportsmen on contract for a specified period by Indian clubs/ organisations (except those eligible for the newly introduced Bsports visa). Foreign circus artistes. Business visa Business visa holders are required to register with the FRRO/ FRO in case their aggregate stay in India exceeds 180 days during a calendar year. The business visa shall be nonconvertible to any other type of visa, except in specific cases. Foreign nationals can now obtain a Business Visa within 48 hours of application, upon impressing their urgency to the satisfaction of the Indian Mission. Foreign sportspersons (including coaches) arriving in India on a contract to participate in commercial sporting events (e.g. Indian Premier League, Indian Soccer League etc.) are required to apply and obtain a Bsports type of visa. evisa evisa is granted to a foreign national who is visiting India for recreation, sightseeing, to meet friends/ relatives, attending a shortterm yoga program, medical treatment and business purposes. The evisa has now been further categorised into the following subcategories: etourist: Double entry visa valid for 60 days for undertaking tourism activities in India. ebusiness: Double entry visa valid for 60 days for undertaking any business activities in India (as permitted under existing business visa norms). emedical: Triple entry visa valid for 60 days for undergoing medical treatment in India (could be extended up to six months on a casetocase basis, on applying to the FRRO/ FRO). Medical permit and medical visa If a foreigner who arrives in India on an Employment/ Tourist/ Business/ Research/ Student visa suffers from a minor medical condition, which does not require any hospitalisation/ prolonged treatment (up to 180 days), they can avail medical treatment under their current visa. The foreigner will need to seek permission from the FRRO/ FRO upon submission of a medical certificate from a PwC Page 2

3 specified hospital or an accredited medical institute. On submission of the medical certificate, the FRRO/ FRO shall issue a Medical Permit without converting the current visa. If the foreigner needs prolonged treatment (i.e. treatment exceeding 180 days), the foreigner will be required to convert their existing visa to a Medical Visa. Intern visa A foreigner intending to pursue internship in Indian companies/ educational institutions/ NGO s is required to apply for an Intern visa. To be eligible to apply for an intern visa, the foreigner would need to have completed graduation/ postgraduation. However, the gap between the completion of graduation/ postgraduation and commencement of the internship should not be more than two years. Categories and subcategories of visa Visa types have now been officially subcategorised for ease of administration. A list of prominent visa types and their subcategories are listed below. S. No. Main category of visa Subcategories Description Remarks 1 evisa etv Tourist visitor (etourist Visa) To undertake recreation, sightseeing, casual visit to meet friends or relatives and attending shortterm yoga programme. ebv Business visitor (ebusiness Visa) To undertake business travel up to 60 days. emed V Visitor for medical treatment (e Medical Visa) To undertake medical treatment up to 60 days, which could be extended up to six months. 2 Business Visa B1 Business visitor coming to attend business meetings, technical meetings etc. B2 Business visitor from small and medium business B3 Business visitor from large business For all such business visitors from small and medium businesses [with turnover up to INR 100 million]. For all such business visitors from large businesses [with turnover of INR 10o million and above]. B4 Business visitor for investments For those who are eligible for business visa in terms of the eligibility conditions prescribed for Permanent Residency Status. B7 Partners in the business and/ or functioning as directors of the company B8 Other miscellaneous visiting categories eligible for business visa not covered by the above subcategories BSports Visitors engaged in commercial sports events in India on contracts (including coaches) PwC Page 3

4 S. No. Main category of visa Subcategories Description Remarks B1 X B2 X B3 X For dependents of principal business visa holders Depending on the type of business visa granted to the principal visa holder, the dependents may be granted B 1X, B2X, B3X and B4X visa. B4 X 3 Employment Visa E1 Visitors on shortterm employment up to six months E2 Visitors on longterm employment beyond six months E3 For intracompany transferees E1 X E2 X E3 X E4 X For dependents of employment visa holders Depending on the type of employment visa granted, the dependents may be granted E1X, E 2X, E3X, E4 X and E5X visa. 4 Conference Visa C1 For participants of conferences organised by government authorities, including public sector undertakings, autonomous bodies under the government C2 For participants of conferences organised by nongovernmental agencies/ organisations 5 Entry Visa X 1 For Persons of Indian Origin who do not possess the OCI card X2 Foreign nationals married to Indian Citizen/ Persons of Indian Origin/ OCI cardholders and their children (other than those registered as OCI cardholders) X Misc. For purposes that are not covered by any other visa category XSP For sportspersons 6 Visaon Arrival VA Double entry visa for 60 days The takeaways These guidelines are issued to provide relief to foreign nationals by relaxing the norms applicable to most types of visas and to provide clarity on the appropriate type of visa to be obtained. The relaxation on registration within 14 days of the foreigner s arrival in India with the FRRO/ FRO, has overcome a practical challenge in case they have to travel overseas within 14 days of arrival prior to registration. The guidelines also elaborate on conversion of visas and the permissible activities that a foreigner can undertake while in India. PwC Page 3

5 The documents covered by this alert, which were published on the MHA portal, reestablish certain known factors as well as usher in changes in the Indian immigration environment. Clients are advised to thoroughly analyse the purpose of travel and activities to be carried out by the foreigner who intends to travel to India while applying for a visa. Let s talk For a deeper discussion of how this issue might affect your business, please contact your local PwC advisor PwC Page 3

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