India visas and residency
Who can visit India without a visa, and the 4 long-stay routes that let you actually live there.
Short stay
Visiting India, by passport
How the 198 passports we track get in. A visitor entry is never permission to work, study or settle — that is what the routes further down are for.
- Visa-free2 passports
- Visa-free · 90 days1 passport
- e-Visa161 passports
- Visa on arrival3 passports
- Visa required31 passports
United Statese-Visa
United Kingdome-Visa
Canadae-Visa
Australiae-Visa
Germanye-Visa
Francee-Visa
Netherlandse-Visa
Irelande-Visa
Spaine-Visa
Italye-Visa
Portugale-Visa
Polande-Visa
Swedene-Visa
Switzerlande-Visa
South Africae-VisaLong stay
How you actually move to India
Work / sponsoredHigh confidenceVerified August 2026Employment Visa
Skilled professionals sponsored by an India-registered employer. India issues no open work permit — every employment visa is tied to one employer and one role.
Work / sponsoredHigh confidenceVerified August 2026
Employment Visa
Skilled professionals sponsored by an India-registered employer. India issues no open work permit — every employment visa is tied to one employer and one role.
- Sponsorship by an employer registered in India
- A gross annual salary above ₹16.25 lakh — the figure Indian missions publish, derived from the Ministry of Home Affairs floor of USD 25,000 a year. Quote the rupee figure, because that is what the mission applies
- Skilled or qualified role; the sponsor must show the skills are not readily available locally
- Registration with the FRRO within 14 days of arrival for stays over 180 days
- How long it lasts
- Commonly 1–5 years depending on the contract and nationality, renewable.
- Path to permanent residence
- There is no general permanent-residence route. A Permanent Residency Status scheme exists for substantial foreign investors — broadly ₹10 crore invested within 18 months or ₹25 crore within 36 months, generating employment for at least 20 resident Indians each financial year — but it is granted for ten years and renewed rather than being permanent in the ordinary sense, and it is closed to Pakistani and Chinese nationals. Naturalisation is possible after long residence, but India does not allow dual citizenship, so naturalising means renouncing your existing passport.
- Cost
- Visa fees vary sharply by nationality; FRRO registration is nominal.
- Processing time
- Usually a few weeks at an Indian mission.
Worth knowing
- The salary bar drops to ₹3.60 lakh a year for people of Indian origin and for the spouse or children of an Indian citizen, PIO or OCI cardholder — roughly a fifth of the standard floor. This is the single most valuable and least-known concession in Indian work immigration, and it opens up roles that are unreachable at ₹16.25 lakh. If you have any Indian family connection, establish which bar applies to you before an employer builds a package around the higher one.
- Outside that, the floor has only narrow exceptions — ethnic cooks employed by foreign missions in India (not by commercial restaurants), teachers of languages other than English and translators, foreign performing artists contracted to hotels and clubs, and sports coaches for national or state teams or established clubs. Honorary work with a registered NGO sits on its own much lower floor. Outside those, the threshold is absolute.
- FRRO registration within 14 days is easy to miss and penalised. Do it in the first week, not the third. The Immigration and Foreigners Act 2025 replaced discretionary penalties with a codified enforcement regime and allows officials to audit employer premises, so a late registration is now a real exposure for your employer as well as for you.
- Registration is done online through e-FRRO, which is geo-restricted to India — you cannot complete it before you land. Jurisdiction follows your residential address rather than your office, and the FRRO map has changed: Haryana, including Gurugram, moved from FRRO Delhi to FRRO Chandigarh in November 2025, and new offices were created in Jaipur and Guwahati in the same round.
- Changing employer requires a new visa, not an amendment.
- There is no e-Employment visa. The employment visa is issued by an Indian mission and must generally be obtained before travel; you cannot arrive on an e-Tourist or e-Business visa and convert inside India.
FamilyHigh confidenceVerified August 2026Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card
People of Indian origin, their spouses, and the foreign spouses of Indian citizens. By far the best status a non-citizen can hold in India.
FamilyHigh confidenceVerified August 2026
Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card
People of Indian origin, their spouses, and the foreign spouses of Indian citizens. By far the best status a non-citizen can hold in India.
- Former Indian citizenship, or descent from an Indian citizen, or eligibility as a minor child of such a person
- Or marriage of at least two years' standing to an Indian citizen or an existing OCI cardholder
- Renunciation certificate where you previously held Indian citizenship
- How long it lasts
- Lifelong, with a multiple-entry visa for life. Re-issue is required after certain age milestones and on passport renewal for minors.
- Path to permanent residence
- This is effectively India's permanent-residence equivalent. OCI holders are treated on par with Indian citizens for employment — no employment visa, no salary threshold, no FRRO registration.
- Cost
- A few hundred US dollars for issuance.
- Processing time
- Weeks to a few months depending on the mission and on document verification.
Worth knowing
- Parity with citizens has real carve-outs: government service, defence, and some regulated professions remain closed, OCI holders cannot vote or hold constitutional office, and agricultural or plantation land cannot be purchased.
- For a foreign national married to an Indian citizen, OCI after two years of marriage is dramatically better than any visa route — no salary bar and no employer tie.
- Card re-issue rules on passport renewal have caught out many families at airports. Keep it current.
- OCI registration now requires biometric enrolment, as do visa applications generally, under the Immigration and Foreigners Act 2025 and its Rules. Build the appointment into your timeline.
InvestmentMedium confidenceVerified August 2026Business Visa
People coming to establish a venture, meet partners, or explore business opportunities — not to be employed by an Indian company.
InvestmentMedium confidenceVerified August 2026
Business Visa
People coming to establish a venture, meet partners, or explore business opportunities — not to be employed by an Indian company.
- Evidence of a genuine business purpose: an Indian counterpart, incorporation intent, or commercial engagements
- Financial standing and, for some categories, a minimum investment commitment
- FRRO registration for longer stays
- How long it lasts
- Often 1–5 years multiple-entry, with per-visit stay limits.
- Path to permanent residence
- Not a residence route on its own. Substantial investors may pursue Permanent Residency Status — ₹10 crore within 18 months or ₹25 crore within 36 months, with employment for at least 20 resident Indians each financial year — granted for ten years and reviewable for a further ten, and not available to Pakistani or Chinese nationals.
- Cost
- Nationality-dependent visa fees.
- Processing time
- A few weeks.
Worth knowing
- A business visa does not permit employment with an Indian entity. Drawing a salary from an Indian company on one is a violation — the employment visa exists for that.
- Per-visit stay caps mean the long validity does not translate into continuous residence.
- An e-Business visa exists but is a short-stay instrument with its own per-visit limits, and it is not the same document as the multi-year business visa issued by a mission. Do not plan a long stay around the e-visa.
StudentMedium confidenceVerified August 2026Student Visa
Students at recognised Indian institutions, including the growing number of English-taught programmes.
StudentMedium confidenceVerified August 2026
Student Visa
Students at recognised Indian institutions, including the growing number of English-taught programmes.
- Admission to a recognised institution
- Proof of funds for the course and living costs
- FRRO registration for stays over 180 days
- How long it lasts
- Course length, up to five years, extendable in India.
- Path to permanent residence
- None. Graduates must switch to an employment visa and meet the ₹16.25 lakh salary floor, which is the binding constraint for most new graduates — unless they qualify for the ₹3.60 lakh bar through Indian origin or an Indian spouse.
- Cost
- Visa fees plus tuition, which is low by international standards.
- Processing time
- A few weeks after admission.
Worth knowing
- Employment during study is not permitted, unlike most study destinations.
- India has no digital nomad visa. Remote work for a foreign employer while in India is not provided for by any visa category — a real gap given how many people do it on tourist visas.
- Educational institutions must report foreign student enrolment within 24 hours under the Immigration and Foreigners Act 2025, so your registration status is visible to the authorities from the moment you enrol.
On the ground
Where you'd land in India
Bengaluru
India's Silicon Valley — a garden-city tech magnet with a pleasant climate and a vast startup scene.
- Employment Visa & e-FRRO registration
- Driving & getting around Bengaluru
- Opening a bank account, PAN & UPI
Mumbai
India's financial capital, on a peninsula where the rail line you live on decides your life.
- Employment visas, e-FRRO registration and the 14-day clock
- Driving licences, the RTO, and why you probably should not drive
- Opening an Indian bank account as a foreign national
Delhi
The capital, the best metro in India, and an air quality index you will check like the weather.
- Employment visas, e-FRRO and living across three states
- Driving licences, three states of registration, and the odd-even rule
- Opening an Indian bank account as a foreign national
Gurgaon
Corporate India's glass towers on infrastructure that never caught up — every good building brings its own.
- Employment visas and registering in Haryana, not Delhi
- Haryana registration, the Delhi border, and monsoon gridlock
- Opening an Indian bank account as a foreign national
Hyderabad
The most liveable of India's tech cities: cheaper, cleaner and with an orbital that actually works.
- Employment visas, e-FRRO and the 14-day clock
- The Telangana RTO, and the orbital that makes driving work
- Opening an Indian bank account as a foreign national
Chennai
Where the monsoon arrives in October, the beach runs thirteen kilometres, and Tamil matters more than Hindi.
- Employment visas, e-FRRO and the 14-day clock
- The Tamil Nadu RTO, the OMR, and driving in a flood city
- Opening an Indian bank account as a foreign national
Pune
Mumbai's rules at half the price, 560 metres up — and one commute everyone warns you about.
- Employment visas, e-FRRO and the 14-day clock
- The Maharashtra RTO, two-wheelers, and the Hinjewadi commute
- Opening an Indian bank account as a foreign national
Ahmedabad
India's first UNESCO World Heritage City, in a dry state where alcohol needs a permit.
- Employment visa, e-FRRO, and the Ahmedabad registration office
- Licences, the Gujarat RTO, and a city that is unusually easy to drive in
- PAN, a resident rupee account, and getting onto UPI
Jaipur
A UNESCO-listed walled city with 45°C summers and a property market priced by tourism.
- Employment visa, e-FRRO, and Jaipur's new full registration office
- Licences, the Rajasthan RTO, and driving in a city built for elephants
- PAN, a resident rupee account, and living on UPI
Kochi
India's best health and literacy numbers, on a port city funded by Gulf remittances.
- Employment visa, e-FRRO, and the FRRO that lives at the airport
- Licences, the Kerala RTO, and a city where the ferry beats the car
- PAN, resident versus NRE, and the state that invented Indian remittance banking
Goa
India's highest income per head, and property titles still written under Portuguese law.
- Employment visa, e-FRRO, and the state that checks
- Scooters, the absent ride-hailing apps, and the monsoon road
- PAN, a resident account, and why you almost certainly cannot buy property
Kolkata
India's cheapest metro, with tenancy law so protective that landlords stopped maintaining buildings.
- Employment visa, e-FRRO, and the FRRO that covers the north-east
- Licences, the metro under the river, and the last of the trams
- PAN, a resident account, and India's cheapest metro to actually live in
Lucknow
A full FRRO, no state payroll tax, and manners that are still load-bearing — Awadh's capital at half the price of the NCR.
- Employment visa, e-FRRO, and the Lucknow registration office
- Licences, the UP RTO, and the metro that makes a car optional
- PAN, a resident rupee account, and getting onto UPI
Surat
Nine in ten of the world's diamonds are cut here, in a prohibition city with no exemption and a river everyone measures against 2006.
- Employment visa, e-FRRO, and registering through Ahmedabad
- Licences, the Gujarat RTO, and a city built for two-wheelers
- PAN, a resident rupee account, and getting onto UPI
Chandigarh
Le Corbusier's numbered sector grid, run as a Union Territory that is the capital of two states it does not belong to.
- Employment visa, e-FRRO, and which office the tricity puts you in
- Licences, the CH registration series, and a grid built for driving
- PAN, a resident rupee account, and getting onto UPI
Nagpur
Maharashtra's second capital at the geographic centre of India — eight hours from Mumbai since 2025, and ninety minutes from a tiger.
- Employment visa, e-FRRO, and registering 800 km away in Mumbai
- The Maharashtra RTO, the metro, and the expressway that halved the drive to Mumbai
- PAN, a resident rupee account, and getting onto UPI
India at a glance
- Capital
- New Delhi
- Population
- 1.46B
- Languages
- Hindi, English
- Currency
- INR