Pro-Link GLOBAL reported recently that the Indian government has imposed a quota on foreign workers. In our previous note, we advised that Indian employers seeking to sponsor foreign workers for employment visas must generally certify that the number of foreign workers they employ in India does not exceed 1% of their total workforce or 20 foreign workers in total, whichever is less.
Concessions By Industry
The latest information from the Indian Authorities on this quota, is that concessions have been made for certain industries, namely the steel and power companies in India. Employers in this industry may sponsor up to 40 foreign workers total or 1% of their total Indian based workforce, whichever is less, until June 2010. That is a doubling of the previous number of 20 foreign workers.
Certification Statement Of Foreign Workers
When filing for an Employment Visas, employers are reminded that they are now required to provide a certification statement confirming that the number of foreign workers employed by the Indian Company, does not exceed 1% of the total workforce or 20 foreign workers, whichever is less. As we previously advised, this position on the final number is still in flux but there are concessions being made.
Longer Processing Times
Employers whose foreign worker totals exceed the quota are still permitted to file applications however clients should expect much longer processing times, as much as an additional five weeks can be added to the petition timeline.
In Country Renewals of Employment Visas
The current position held by the Indian authorities, is that an application for the renewal of an employment visas filed in India, will not be subject to the quota at this time and do not need to be accompanied by an certification statement regarding the number of foreign workers.
