TO prevent delays to major infrastructure projects employing expatriates, the government of India has introduced a new Project Visa (P Visa) category initially for foreign nationals employed in the power and steel sector.

A Project visa, allowing multiple entries into India, would now be granted to a foreign national for the duration of the project or for a period of one year, whichever is less and can be extended with the prior approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs. It may be granted only to skilled and highly skilled foreign nationals and not to semi-skilled or unskilled foreigners with the exception of two chefs and two interpreters per project. In case the visa is valid for more than 180 days, foreign nationals would have to register with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office within a fortnight of arrival in India.

The government has also clarified that for calculating the threshold salary limit of US $25,000 per annum in relation to the existing employment visa guidelines, only the salary and other allowances paid in cash would be taken into account and not the value of perquisites like housing, transport, etc, received in kind .

Foreign nationals arriving in India on an employment visa issued after November 1, 2010 and drawing a salary less than this threshold limit, may be registered with the FRRO but may be granted exit by giving a maximum period of three months, if they do not fulfil the salary condition.Foreign nationals already in India, prior to November 1, 2010, on an employment visa with a salary of less than US $25,000 would be allowed to stay in India until the expiry of their present visa. For visa extensions, they would be allowed three months to exit in case their salary remained less than this amount.

For obtaining the project visa, a foreign national would have to provide the documents showing that the project or contract has been assigned to the foreign company by the Indian organisation that would provide a declaration regarding the proper conduct and departure of the foreigner on the expiry of the visa.

Under the project visa, the working of the foreign national would be restricted to the location of the project and he would not be allowed to work in another project either of the same company or of a different company. The foreign national is also disqualified from taking up employment in the same Indian company for a period of two years from the date the project is commissioned. Instead, he may be granted a non-extendable business visa for attending to any maintenance or commissioning issue in the Indian company.

(See : VISA guidelines )