How India’s New e-B-4 Visa Solves Your Foreign Talent Challenges

Posted by Written by Archana Rao Reading Time: 6 minutes

India’s new e-B-4 Visa supersedes the e-PLI visa, offering Indian companies a simplified, digital route to sponsor foreign professionals.

What is India’s Production Investment Visa (B-4 Visa)?

India’s Production Investment Business Visa (B-4 Visa) is a specialized business visa category designed to facilitate the short-term entry of foreign professionals engaged in production-linked, manufacturing, and investment-related activities in India. The visa supports companies involved in setting up, expanding, or operationalizing production facilities, including activities linked to manufacturing, installation, technical supervision, and project execution.

On December 17, 2025, the Government of India operationalized a dedicated online module for the e-B-4 Visa, enabling eligible Indian companies to digitally generate sponsorship letters for inviting foreign professionals. This marks a significant shift from paper-based approvals to a fully digitized, company-driven sponsorship process, reducing processing timelines and procedural friction under India’s business visa framework.

The digital portal, launched on November 29, 2025, is administered by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The reform aligns with India’s broader policy objectives to modernize immigration processes, support production-linked investment, and enhance the country’s ease of doing business – particularly for foreign investors and multinational enterprises involved in manufacturing and infrastructure projects.

How the B-4 Visa works and eligibility criteria

India’s B-4 Visa operates under a policy circular issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in August 2025, which streamlined and clarified visa classifications across employment visas, business visas, and the former e-PLI (Production Linked Incentive) business visa regime. The objective of the reform was to eliminate long-standing ambiguities that had complicated visa selection for foreign professionals supporting production, manufacturing, and investment-linked projects in India.

Under the revised framework, certain production-linked activities that previously required an employment visa – most notably the installation and commissioning of equipment under supply contracts, as well as engagements involving fee- or royalty-based payments by Indian entities – have been reclassified under the business visa category. This reclassification reflects a policy determination that these activities are project-based, time-bound, and investment-related, rather than constituting direct or ongoing employment in India.

The MHA circular also formally introduced a dedicated subcategory within the business visa regime, designated as the Production Investment Business Visa (B-4 Visa). Under this framework, eligible Indian companies may sponsor foreign professionals – including subject-matter experts, engineers, technical specialists, and senior executives – to undertake a defined range of production-linked and operational activities, such as:

  • Installation and commissioning of plant and machinery
  • Quality assurance, testing, and essential maintenance
  • Production operations and process optimization
  • IT systems deployment, digital infrastructure, and ERP ramp-up
  • Workforce training and technical knowledge transfer
  • Supply chain development and vendor identification
  • Plant design, layout planning, and commissioning support
  • Senior management and executive oversight related to production investments

As part of the same reform package, the e-PLI business visa was formally discontinued, with qualifying production-linked engagements now fully consolidated under the B-4 Visa framework. Collectively, these changes signal India’s broader effort to modernize its immigration system, enhance regulatory certainty for foreign investors, and align visa policy more closely with the practical needs of manufacturing-led investment, industrial expansion, and supply-chain integration.

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India’s digital e-Visa and sponsorship process: An overview

Under the revised framework, the Production Investment Visa / B-4 Visa is issued exclusively as an electronic visa. As a prerequisite to the visa application, Indian companies must generate a sponsorship letter digitally through the Production Investment Business Registration module on the National Single Window System (NSWS).

The NSWS module consolidates the submission of company credentials, operational details, and information relating to the foreign professional into a single online application. Upon submission, the system automatically issues a digitally signed sponsorship letter, which serves as a mandatory supporting document for the visa application.

It is important to note that NSWS registration and issuance of the sponsorship letter do not amount to visa approval. Foreign professionals must independently apply through the Indian online visa portal, where applications are reviewed and adjudicated by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the MHA in accordance with applicable laws and procedures.

How domestic companies can apply and generate sponsorship letters

Step 1: Access the NSWS portal

Companies must log in to the NSWS using their credentials. New users are required to complete a one-time registration on the platform. Click here: www.nsws.gov.in/evisa

Step 2: Select the relevant service

From the NSWS marketplace, applicants should select “Production Investment Business Registration (Indian Company).”

Step 3: Submit application details

Companies must complete the online form by providing company information, operational details, and particulars of the foreign professional(s) being invited. The process is designed to consolidate all required information into a single submission.

Step 4: Generate the sponsorship letter

Upon submission, the system automatically issues a digitally signed sponsorship letter containing a unique reference number.

Step 5: Visa application by the foreign professional

The foreign professional must quote the unique reference number of the sponsorship letter when applying for the relevant visa on the Indian online visa portal. Visa applications are assessed and approved by the MEA and MHA in line with legal government procedures.

Strategic implications for companies and foreign professionals

India’s introduction of a digitized sponsorship and visa facilitation framework also defines how foreign technical and managerial expertise can be deployed for production-led investments.

The e-B-4 Visa reforms must be viewed against the backdrop of India’s broader industrial and supply-chain strategy. By reclassifying several production-linked activities, India has aligned immigration policy with contemporary manufacturing realities, where short- to medium-term technical deployments are integral to capital investment, technology transfer, and operational ramp-up.

What has changed for Indian companies

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For Indian companies, particularly those in manufacturing, infrastructure, electronics, renewables, and capital goods, the reforms deliver three clear advantages:

  1. Predictability and speed: The NSWS-based sponsorship module replaces fragmented, ministry-driven approvals with a single digital interface, enabling faster issuance of sponsorship letters and more predictable planning for project timelines.
  2. Broader activity coverage: The B-4 Visa explicitly accommodates a wide spectrum of production-related activities, including installation, commissioning, IT/ERP ramp-up, training, supply chain development, and senior management oversight; thereby reducing the risk of visa category misclassification.
  3. Compliance accountability: While line ministry recommendations have been removed, responsibility has shifted squarely to the sponsoring company. Digitally generated sponsorship letters, auto authenticated through MCA and Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) databases, create a traceable compliance trail that can be reviewed by visa and enforcement authorities.

Advisory for Indian companies

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Firms should treat the sponsorship letter as a regulatory undertaking, not a procedural formality. Internal alignment between legal, human resource (HR), tax, and operations teams is critical to ensure that the declared scope of activities matches on-ground reality, particularly where engagements extend over multiple visits or phases.

Considerations for foreign professionals

For foreign engineers, specialists, and senior executives, the B-4 Visa offers clearer eligibility and faster processing, but within defined boundaries.

  • The visa does not permit employment in India.
  • Activities must remain within the production-investment scope declared by the sponsoring company.
  • Any functional overlap with managerial control, revenue generation, or long-term operational roles may trigger reclassification risks.

Advisory for foreign professionals

Applicants should ensure that their role descriptions, contracts, and remuneration structures are consistent with business visa conditions. Discrepancies between sponsorship letters, visa applications, and actual activities may result in delays, questioning at ports of entry, or future visa restrictions.

Withdrawal of the e-PLI Visa and the evolving role of Proforma 5

The MHA discontinued the e-PLI Business Visa and amended the relevant provisions of the Visa Manual, 2019, to align with revised regulatory structure. These changes accompanied the introduction of the Production Investment Business Visa (B-4 Visa) and a shift towards a fully digital sponsorship process.

Overview of Proforma 5

Proforma 5 is a prescribed declaration format submitted by an Indian company when sponsoring a business visa for foreign nationals under the PLI scheme or other government-notified schemes. It serves as a company-level undertaking to Indian visa authorities, confirming that the proposed visit is strictly linked to permissible production, investment, or operational activities under the business visa regime.

Purpose and regulatory function

The primary objective of Proforma 5 is to support the assessment of a business visa application by clearly establishing the nature and legitimacy of the foreign national’s visit. Specifically, the declaration is intended to:

  • Demonstrate the commercial and operational rationale for engaging the foreign professional
  • Confirm that the proposed activities are non-employment in nature and compliant with Business Visa conditions
  • Establish a direct link between the foreign national’s role and production, investment, or implementation activities under a PLI or similar government scheme
  • Enable visa authorities to evaluate the application without necessitating an employment visa.

Applicability and filing responsibility

Proforma 5 is typically required to be submitted by:

  • Indian companies approved under the PLI scheme or comparable government initiatives
  • Companies sponsoring foreign professionals, technical experts, engineers, or senior executives for business or production-related engagements
  • Applicants at the time of filing a business visa application, alongside the sponsorship letter and supporting documentation

Key information contained in Proforma 5

Although the format may vary slightly depending on ministry guidance, Proforma 5 generally includes:

  • Details of the Indian sponsoring entity, including registration particulars and scheme approval status
  • Confirmation of the company’s eligibility under the PLI scheme or a similar government programme
  • Identification details of the foreign national, such as nationality and passport information
  • A description of the nature, scope, and duration of the proposed activities in India
  • A formal declaration that:

    • The foreign national will not undertake employment in India

    • The activities fall within the permissible scope of a business visa.

    • The sponsoring company assumes responsibility for compliance with Indian laws and visa conditions

Relevance of Proforma 5 following the introduction of the B-4 Visa

With the introduction of the Production Investment Business Visa (B-4 Visa) and the transition to digitally generated sponsorship letters through the NSWS, the practical role of Proforma 5 has, in many cases, been subsumed or replaced by the online sponsorship mechanism. Nevertheless, Proforma 5 may still be requested in specific situations, including legacy applications, cases where visa authorities seek additional clarification, or schemes notified prior to full digital integration.

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