For global engineering and manufacturing firms
To deploy foreign engineers and technicians to India, you need a complete workforce and compliance process, not just a visa. It covers the choice of visa, the deployment structure, and employment, payroll and compliance from pre-arrival to post-departure.
01Business Visa vs Employment Visa
India offers multiple visa categories depending on the purpose of entry. For technical assignments, the choice almost always narrows down to two: a Business Visa or an Employment Visa. The deciding factor is the nature of the work the specialist will carry out in India.
Attends client meetings, monitors technical progress and provides advisory guidance to the local team.
Carries out installation and commissioning, and is responsible for part of the project execution.
Business Visas are designed for commercial interactions, client meetings, technical monitoring and advisory guidance. Employment Visas are mandatory once activities move into hands-on delivery, such as installation, commissioning, maintenance or project execution.
Physical, technical or operational work on a Business Visa may constitute an immigration violation.
A violation can affect the specialist's future entry to India.
Work may have to stop, leading to costly delays to the project.
NextWho sponsors the Employment Visa?Employment Visas must be tied to an Indian entity. Without a local branch or subsidiary, the overseas company needs to choose a deployment route.
Continue02Solutions for foreign national assignments
Foreign companies without an Indian branch or subsidiary cannot sponsor Employment Visas directly. They must choose one of three routes to deploy specialists compliantly.
An overseas company without a registered branch, subsidiary or project office in India.
An Indian entity: the company's own subsidiary or branch, the Indian customer, or an Employer of Record.
Sponsoring and employing specialists directly through your own registered local subsidiary or branch.
The Indian client officially sponsors and hosts the specialist under the commercial contract.
A compliant local third party legally employs, sponsors and manages Indian payroll and compliance for the specialist.
NextWhat if the Indian customer will not act as sponsor?Where there is no Indian entity and the customer route is not available, an Employer of Record is usually the practical solution.
Continue03Employer of Record in India
The Indian customer awards the project but will not act as the legal sponsor.
This is a common position. Sponsorship would expose the customer to co-employment risk, statutory benefits and local payroll obligations for another company's specialists. Those obligations still require a local employer in India:
An Employer of Record (EOR) serves as the local legal employer in India, assuming the statutory, tax and sponsorship obligations. The overseas business continues to manage the specialist's day-to-day scope of work and operational responsibilities.
Works on the home company's project, under its direction
See how the EOR model applies to your projectThe guidebook sets out what the EOR handles, three use cases where it is the practical route, and when it is not needed.
Download the guidebookNextWhat does compliance involve once the visa is approved?Every stage of deployment comes with legal, tax and visa rules, from before travel until final clearances are complete.
Continue04How an EOR supports a deployment
Every stage of deployment comes with legal, tax and visa rules, and missing one step can cause project delays, fines or travel issues. Compliance support must therefore cover the whole journey: before the specialist travels, while they work in India, and until all final taxes and clearances are complete.
Set up the employment and immigration basis before the specialist travels.
3 steps at this stage
Register the specialist locally so that payroll, tax and residence records can start.
4 steps at this stage
Keep recurring filings on time and support the specialist on the ground.
8 steps at this stage
Close the specialist's registrations in India before exit.
2 steps at this stage
Close the remaining tax and social security position after the specialist leaves.
3 steps at this stage
For detailed guidance, practical checklists and the complete process, download our guidebook.
NextWhat else needs to be planned?Extensions, social security, departure and day-to-day support all affect how smoothly the assignment runs.
Continue05Beyond the visa
A successful deployment requires more than legal permits and immigration checklists. These four areas affect cost, timelines and the specialist's ability to work effectively in India.
Site delays, reordered commissioning or follow-on phases often stretch the timeline.
Registration may be needed on arrival. What follows depends on the home country.
Obligations continue after the specialist has left India.
Five practical areas that affect how quickly specialists and their families settle and work effectively.
06Readiness check
Five questions to identify where the current plan may need attention.
Do you know which visa the specialist needs?This depends on the work they will do, not how long they stay
Has the deployment route been confirmed?Own entity, Indian customer or EOR
Is a local employer responsible for payroll, tax and social security from the first month?
Is there a plan to extend documentation if the project timeline changes?Visa, FRRO, employment contract and payroll
Have departure and post-departure obligations been planned?
The guidebook helps project teams look at deployment as a complete workforce and compliance process. It sets out each stage in full, with comparisons, use cases and practical guidance.
07Questions
Answers to the questions project teams most often raise when deploying specialists to India.
Share the project timeline and the specialists' home countries, and we will help you deploy foreign engineers and technicians to India on the right route.
