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India streamlines visas for foreign professionals
The initiative is part of a broader set of reforms under the business visa regime aimed at improving ease of doing business in India.
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Malvika Choudhary - Thu, 18, Dec 2025
- 12:26 EST
- 16
Representative image / Pexels
India has streamlined visa procedures to make it easier for domestic companies to bring in foreign professionals required for production-related activities.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on Dec. 17 said it has launched an online module on the National Single Window System (NSWS) that allows Indian companies to digitally generate sponsorship letters for foreign professionals under the e-Production Investment Business Visa (e-B-4 Visa).
Also Read: Expanded visa screening takes effect Dec. 15
According to DPIIT, the initiative is part of a broader set of reforms under the business visa regime aimed at improving ease of doing business in India. The digital module can be used by both Production Linked Incentive (PLI) and non-PLI companies.
The reform follows a circular issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in August 2025 to address issues related to employment visas, business visas and the erstwhile e-PLI business visa.
Under the revised framework, certain activities earlier covered under employment visas—such as installation and commissioning of equipment as part of a supply contract, or activities for which Indian firms pay fees or royalty—have been moved to the business visa category.
As part of the changes, a new subcategory called the “Production Investment Visa” (B-4 Visa) has been introduced under the business visa regime.
The visa is intended to facilitate the entry of foreign subject-matter specialists, engineers and technical personnel engaged by Indian companies for activities including installation and commissioning, quality checks and essential maintenance, production support, IT and ERP ramp-up, training, supply chain development, plant design and bring-up, and visits by senior management and executives linked to production investments.
The government has discontinued the e-PLI business visa and amended relevant chapters of the Visa Manual, 2019, in line with the revised policy.
DPIIT said the Production Investment Visa will be issued as an e-visa and must be applied for through the online visa portal. To facilitate the process, Indian companies are required to generate sponsorship letters digitally through the NSWS platform.
The ministry said procedures have been simplified, with shorter forms and the removal of the requirement for recommendations from line ministries. Automatic data population and authentication through existing databases such as the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the Goods and Services Tax Network have eliminated the need for separate approvals.
Once generated, the sponsorship letter carries a unique identification number, which the foreign professional must quote while applying for the e-visa on the government’s e-Visa portal. The NSWS module has been integrated with the visa portal through an application programming interface, according to the release.
Officials said the earlier visa process was time-consuming and involved multiple layers of approvals, often delaying the entry of foreign specialists needed to operationalize imported machinery and technology.
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