New Delhi
3 April 2010
India is considering the introduction of "project visas" for Chinese nationals
working in India on infrastructure projects. A committee of secretaries is understood to
have discussed the issue but it has not taken a final view on this.
If introduced, project visas will be valid for a specific duration and for a certain number of
workers.
A section of the government believes the new category of visas will enable it to better
manage the difficulties posed by the unskilled Chinese workers who enter India on
business visas instead of employment visas, which take longer to process. Also,
several of the jobs for which these unskilled Chinese workers are hired, can be done by
locals.
Chinese enterprises have bagged contracts in India worth 25 billion dollars till the end of
2008. They are executing projects in areas such as highways, metro, steel plant and
power sector. Some of the projects are complete, but many are not and these are in
various stages of completion.
In 2009, New Delhi had detected instances of misuse of business visa, generally meant
for skilled workers such as information technology professionals, engineers and
scientists, by unskilled or semi-skilled Chinese nationals who were brought here for
working on infrastructure projects bagged by the Chinese companies. Subsequently,
New Delhi had asked these Chinese nationals to convert their business visa to
employment visa.
Over 1.6 lakh business visas (valid for six months or more, with multiple entries) were
issued to Chinese nationals since 2007, out of which over 32,000 visas had been
granted till June 2009. About 30,000 business visas were understood to have been used
for bringing in semi-skilled Chinese workforce.
In late-2009, New Delhi streamlined its visa processes and introduced a shorter waiting
time in order to discourage applicants from short-circuiting the system by applying for
business visa when they should opt for employment visa.
Unlike business visa issued by the Indian missions abroad, employment visa generally
takes longer to process because the application is referred to New Delhi for necessary
instruction from the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is competent authority and gives
approval for such visas.
Under the revised guidelines, applicants for employment visa could expect to know
within 60 days from the date of application, whether their request has been accepted or
rejected.
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