Intern Travel

Intern Travel is offered by the government of India to foreigners intending to pursue their internship in India. This visa is granted to an intern who wishes to work with Indian multinational companies/ Educational institutes/ Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).

Eligibility for Intern Travel

If you are someone who intending to visit India for an internship in Indian companies by applying for Intern Travel, then, you should follow these guidelines:

• The period of the Intern visa shall be restricted while you are in India for your internship program or one year.
• The authority of immigration has decided to offer Intern visa to foreigners only 50 travel per year for each Indian Mission or Post. However, this visa limit will be 100 per year for countries where the Person of Indian Origin (PIO) population is more than 1 million.
• The government of India also decided to offer the intern visa immediately to graduate students who have passed the college or did post-graduation. However, the commencement of the internship gap should not be more than two years of foreign students after completing their graduation or post-graduation.
• The visa should be offered to the foreign interns based on a letter of invitation to work with Indian companies/ educational institutions/NGOs concerning and sponsoring the foreign nationals’ young people for an internship program.
• In case the foreign people who are desired to come to India for an internship, then the foreign national which sponsored this facility to his people must draw a line that the minimum remuneration should be 7.80 Lac per annum. There will be no minimum salary in case the intern works in Educational institutions and NGOs.
• However, the sponsored foreign company should know that the intern visa will not be issued for internship in these sectors such as Telecom, Defense, Space Technologies, Construction, Civil Aviation, Mining, strategic Infrastructure projects, private security agencies, Petroleum and Natural Gas exploration, Human rights, Environmental issues, Dams, and Nuclear Energy.
• Foreign nationals which offer intern visa to its people for doing an internship in India must register themselves with the FRRO/FRO within 14 days of arrival in India if the intern is coming here to continuous stay for more than 180 days.
• No Intern Travel shall be offered to a national or people of Pakistan.
• The foreign people who are coming to India for an internship must exit or leave India before the expiry date of their travel. This undertaking should be concerned by the company or organization where the foreigner works that they will ensure the departure of the foreigner on the completion of the internship program.
• The company should also be aware that under no circumstances, the foreign national or foreigner should not be allowed to take up employment in India immediately after completion of his or her internship program.
• The Indian companies/ educational institutions/NGOs must aware of interns’ earnings and that should be subject to the Indian Income Tax Regulations.

Other conditions of granting Intern Travel

• The foreign national or company must comply with all Indian legal requirements such as payment of tax liabilities, etc.
• The official documents of the intern must be checked by the foreign nationals and decide the category of travel.
• The name of the organization or sponsoring employer should be listed for stipulated in the visa sticker.
• The Indian company or organization that sponsors an Intern Travel does not necessarily have to be the legal employer of the person who is coming to India.
• The intern who is coming to India to work with Indian companies/ Educational institutions/NGOs must have a company letterhead signed and stamped that indicates the period of internship as well.
• While the intern is coming to India, the foreigner should have an Indian company confirming a letter that ensures the departure of that intern’s completion of an internship on a letter lead with stamps and signatures.
• The intern also needs to provide a letter from a company in India where he or she is going for work should take responsibility for the activities of the applicants to stay in India and repatriation. The letter should also have the company’s’ employers sign and stamp.
• The intern is also required to provide his or her Current Graduation or Post Graduation certificates.

Charity or Non-profit documentation

An intern visa applicant who intends to do charity work or volunteer duty with non-profit organizations or NGOs must include a letter with sign and stamp from the sponsoring organization in India on letterhead including duration of the visit and place of work.

However, the intern should also have a letter where it is clearly mentioned that the intern is paid or non-paid.

Internship visa to foreign nationals sponsored by AIESEC

The internship visa to the foreign passed out student must be sponsored by Association Internationale Des Etudiants en Sciences Economiqueset Commerciales (AIESEC) for community or social work in NGOs. And, this must be including with companies/ multinational industries under the guidelines of the Indian government.

In another situation, if a foreign national is found in Indian on a Student Travel and after completion of his or her graduation or post-graduation, then the foreign national can be able to offer an internship to that student on the sponsorship of AIESEC, FRRO/ FRO by converting the Student Travel into Intern Travel fulfilling all the conditions and guidelines of government of India.

Travel for interns under the French International Internship Programme (VIE)

A foreigner who is willing to visit in India under the French International Internship Programme (VIE) can be granted with Intern visa if that person fulfills these following conditions:

• The intern visa is provided to those students who are graduated recently, and this visa granted within one year.
• The intern visa is valid for one year, and it can be renewable once it completes 1 year in India.
• This visa is issued to a maximum number of 250 interns per year with conditions.
• The stipend or consolidated salary of the interns must be sponsored with an intern visa but it should not be less than 7.8 Lac per year (US$ 12,000 per annum).
• If a foreign nationals want to extend his or her intern visa validity, then he or she needs to mention the duration under the VIE scheme. The French Government agency in charge of the VIE scheme must apply for the travel, by mentioning the name of the intern, the organization name where he or she is going to work in India, and the exact period of stay.
• That’s not all; the intern also needs to observe all the registration formalities as per rules and regulations of Indian immigration after they arrive in India. However, 70 foreign nationals who are intending to work in Indian Media Organizations or Foreign Media organization in India as interns, may also be granted’ Intern Travel’ under delegated powers of the Mission or Post, which must be subject to the conditions and rules of the Indian government.

Other Key Points

You should get a clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and for that, these below-mentioned points are required:

(a)
1. The intern should have proof of his or her nationality.
2. The intern’s intention should be to work with an NGO.
3. The internship program must involve the visits to restricted, protected, and cantonment areas such as the state of Jammu and Kashmir and the North-Eastern States.

(b) The Intern visa must not be granted for internships in certain strategic sectors.

(c) The Income Tax laws of India must be equally applied to the foreigner or interns working in India.

(d) However, the intern visa cannot be converted into an Employment Travel or any other type of visa by the immigration department of India. However, the intern has an option to return to his or her home country and apply for an Employment, Business travel, etc.

(e)The rules of registration of Intern Travel provided in the Foreigners Registration Rules 1992 that will be equally applicable to an intern who intended to work in India on an internship, would be required to register himself or herself with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO)/ Foreigners Registration Office(FRO).