Digital Nomad & Residency · India
India digital nomad visa: requirements (2026)
India shaded by its digital nomad & residency status
Digital nomad visa in India: no pathway.
FrameworkPassport (Entry into India) Act 1920 and Foreigners Act 1946, administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Bureau of Immigration; visa categories governed by MHA visa manual (Employment, Business, e-Tourist, e-Business) with FRRO registration
India does not offer a dedicated digital nomad or remote-work visa as of 2026, and none of its existing categories cleanly authorize a foreigner living in India while working for a foreign employer. The Employment Visa requires an Indian employer and a minimum salary of ~USD 25,000/year; the Business Visa covers meetings and commerce but not salaried remote work; the e-Tourist Visa prohibits any work. Goa has publicly lobbied MHA for a nomad-visa category and Sikkim inaugurated a 'Digital Nomad Village' (Yakten) in July 2025, but these are state-level infrastructure initiatives — no central visa has been enacted.
Key points
India has not created a digital-nomad or remote-work visa category. MHA's published visa list (e-Tourist, e-Business, Employment, Medical, Student, Conference, etc.) contains no remote-work class.
The Employment Visa requires a contract with an Indian entity and a gross salary of at least USD 25,000 per year (with narrow exemptions for chefs, non-English language teachers, and diplomatic staff). It is not available to a foreigner simply working online for a company abroad.
The e-Tourist Visa (30-day, 1-year, 5-year variants) prohibits any employment. The Business Visa/e-Business Visa covers meetings, trade and setup activities and does not authorize salaried work; each Business-Visa stay is generally capped at 180 days per visit.
Goa has publicly urged the central government to create a digital-nomad visa and to build supporting portals, and Sikkim inaugurated India's first 'Digital Nomad Village' at Yakten (Pakyong district) in July 2025 — but neither creates a new immigration status; visitors still rely on standard tourist/business visas.
India has no residency-by-investment or 'golden visa' scheme. Buying property, establishing a business, or investing in a fund does not confer any residency right; long-stay routes remain sponsored (Employment, Student, Research, Journalist, etc.).
The Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card grants lifelong multi-purpose entry, work and residence rights, but is restricted to persons of Indian origin (and their spouses) — it is not open to unrelated foreign remote workers.
Any foreigner on a long-term (>180-day) visa must register with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) within 14 days of arrival; failure attracts fines and can block a Residence Permit. This applies to all long-stay categories India does offer.
Timeline - major decisions & events
India's consolidated immigration law took effect, repealing four legacy statutes and introducing mandatory biometrics, expanded reporting by hotels/universities/hospitals, and tougher penalties, the new statutory backbone governing any foreigner (including remote workers) entering or staying in India. The same day the MHA notified the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025 in the Gazette.
DD News (Govt of India) ↗Sikkim's government inaugurated the 'Nomad Sikkim' initiative at Yakten, equipping co-working homestays with high-speed internet to attract remote workers, the first concrete state-level move to court digital nomads, though without any dedicated visa.
Government of Sikkim ↗President Droupadi Murmu signed the Bill into law after passage by both houses, completing the modernization of India's foreigner-management framework that had relied on colonial-era statutes.
PRS Legislative Research ↗Home Minister Amit Shah introduced and steered the Bill through the lower house, framing it as a national-security-focused overhaul of how foreigners' entry, stay and exit are regulated.
Press Information Bureau ↗Goa's tourism/IT minister Rohan Khaunte launched the Workation Goa campaign and began lobbying the PMO and central ministries to make Goa India's first destination with a dedicated digital-nomad visa, a proposal that has not been adopted by the Union government.
Euronews ↗India introduced its online e-Visa with ETA, initially for 43 countries; later expanded into tourist, business and other categories. Because India has no nomad visa, remote workers today rely on these e-Tourist/e-Business visas, capped at 90-day stays (180 for US/Japan).
Consulate General of India, Chicago ↗Created by a 2005 amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955, the OCI grants persons of Indian origin a lifelong multi-entry visa with FRRO-registration exemption, effectively the only long-term residency-like status available, but limited to the Indian diaspora, not general remote workers.
Consulate General of India, San Francisco ↗The cornerstone statute giving the central government sweeping powers over the entry, presence, movement and departure of foreigners in India; it governed all foreigner status (including any remote worker) until repealed by the 2025 Act.
Ministry of Home Affairs ↗India - other topics
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Last verified 9/24/2026 · Orientation, not legal advice - verify against the primary sources linked above. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026 · Explore the full world map →