Monday, January 18, 2010

Ensure correct name of employer and actual work location on Indian work visa before traveling: Foreign Nationals on Indian Employment Visas

The foreign nationals traveling to India on Employment visas (E visas) should ensure that their visas have been annotated with the correct name of employer and location (city in India). There have been many cases where the Indian Employment visa in annotated with the location of company’s registered address in India and not the actual work location. A company in India is required to have one registered office anywhere in India but can have numerous other offices in various cities across India. A foreigner in India on E visa is required to get registered within fourteen days of arrival with the local FRO (Foreigner Registration Office) of the city where he/she intends to work in India. The local FRO will not register the foreigner unless the location (city or District) of the employment as annotated on the E visa comes under the jurisdiction of that FRO. Thus where the correct location of the employment is not annotated on the E visa, the foreign national will not be able to register himself in India, unless he gets a letter from the visa issuing Indian consulate stating the correct work location in India. The process of obtaining this letter can lead to delays in registration and thereby frustration for the foreign national unable to go about his daily life in India without the registration certificate and residential permit.

In some instances, the E visas are inadvertently stamped with name of the employer only and the location in India is not mentioned at all. In these cases also, a letter from the visa issuing Indian consulate stating the correct work location in India will be needed before registration in India.

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