The Union Ministry of Labour & Employment & Training has
recently issued revised guidelines in relation to Employment
Visa's ("EV") issued to foreign nationals. The
guidelines are intended to stem the influx of unskilled labour into
India, thereby giving the Indian workforce a greater chance for
employment opportunities. The gist of the guidelines is to restrict
the issuance of EVs to 1% of the total number of workers working on
a project with a minimum of five workers and a maximum of twenty
workers, except in the case of the power and steel sector. In the
case of the power and steel sector, the maximum limit has been
temporarily increased to forty workers till June 2010.
This change in process is causing consternation amongst
companies concerned with staffing needs whilst bearing in mind the
quota restrictions. The application process is also being tightened
up with much more information required to be divulged to the Indian
High Commissions and Embassies/Consulates
