US/UK dual national Indian work permit???

AbhijithS

My girlfriend is UK/US dual national, currently in UK and I am an Indian national also in UK. We are planning to move to India and get married soonish.

She is looking for a job in Bangalore, what is the best option for us regarding a visa for her?

Can she enter India on a tourist visa and then change it to a work visa after receiving a job offer in India? We are still not sure of the wedding date so we need to prepare for a visa without using a spouse visa.

Bombay_Bill

Getting a work permit in India is almost impossible from outside the country unless some large company sponsors you.

If she's the wife of an Indian national she can get a 'Person of Indian Origin' card which will allow her to work, but my experience is that the Indian government doesn't like issueing them for their own reasons.

She can get an Indian residence visa reasonably easily. After you are married just go along to the Indian consulate/embassy where you live with your passports and marriage lines and fill in the form and give them the money, but it won't allow her to work...

Nick-H

There is no such thing as a "work permit" in India; closest is an Employment Visa, and that is almost impossible to get inside India. First you must have the job offer, then you must apply for the visa in your own country.

PIO card is, ultimately, the way to go. There are several of us on this site who have that through marriage. In my experience it was not difficult at all. They do have a policy, however, of not issuing them before one year of marriage has been completed.

Again, it's just a question of terminology, perhaps, but there is no such thing as a "residence" visa, or a "spouse" visa, either. The spouse of an Indian resident can get an 'X' visa, and must register as a foreigner if staying for longer than 180 days in India.

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machadinha

No, as far as I know, purpose of visa cannot normally be changed in-country. So you'd need to find a job and go back home to apply for an employment visa. (Or to have found employment and applied for an employment visa before arriving, of course.)

I don't know about the other details, but I'm thinking you being an NRI if you could get married before leaving this might make things a lot easier. Others here will be able to expound on this.

I suppose you could get married there and she might then be eligible for an X visa (without having to leave first), but like Nick indicates it will take a year for her to gain PIO status and hence be eligible to work (would she be, given PIO status?) I'm not sure if this would be faster if you get married at home first though. Hmm...

Wait for the others to be back on this, they'll know.

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AbhijithS

Thanks a lot for all the replies.

I think the best option for us would be to find her a job and get her on an Employment Visa 'coz since my UK visa runs out this Oct its hard for us to get married in the UK(also need Home Office clearance for this abt 300GBP!!!)

Appreciate if anybody have any contacts who specialise in recruiting foreign nationals( Translation/Voice trainers etc)

-abhi

Nick-H

It is possible to convert a tourist visa to an Entry visa, in India, on the grounds of marriage. It may be possible for the resident spouse of a resident Indian citizen to convert to a work visa, or somehow get permission to work.

One problem with the Employment visa is that it is tied to the job; loose or leave the job, and the visa is no longer valid.

Bombay_Bill

I'm married to an Indian national who is technically an Indian resident, mainly because becoming an NRI (technically, ceasing to be an Indian resident) takes time.

Getting any sort of work permit short of a PIO card is impossible, even if you could find the right place to bribe, because the permit/visa just doesn't exist.

You won't even get a one year visa until you're married and you'll find your wife's tourist visa can only be renewed outside India.

Once you get a twelve month visa you should (if they remember to stamp it properly) be able to renew that in India, but you can't get the first one inside India...

Bombay_Bill

Make sure you've got your documentation with you.

Some friends of ours who are Indian nationals resident in India got charged the full price because they're pale skinned and weren't carrying any documentation.