New Delhi: The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has introduced a digital module that allows Indian companies to generate sponsorship letters for inviting foreign professionals under the e-Production Investment Business Visa, e-B-4 Visa. The module was launched on 29 November 2025 and is hosted on the National Single Window System.
The initiative is part of a broader set of reforms aimed at simplifying India’s business visa framework and improving ease of doing business. With the new module, companies and limited liability partnerships can generate sponsorship letters online for production-related engagements, eliminating manual processes and delays.
The reform follows a circular issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs in August 2025 to address issues linked to employment visas, business visas and the earlier e-PLI business visa. Under the revised framework, certain activities earlier categorised under employment visas have been shifted to the business visa regime. These include visits by foreign nationals for installation and commissioning of equipment as part of supply contracts, as well as cases where Indian companies pay fees or royalty for such services.
As part of the same exercise, a new sub-category titled Production Investment Visa, B-4 Visa, was introduced under the business visa regime. The visa is intended for foreign subject matter specialists, engineers, technical professionals and senior executives engaged by Indian companies for activities such as installation and commissioning, quality checks and essential maintenance, production support, IT and ERP ramp-up, training, supply chain development, plant design and senior management visits linked to production investments. The earlier e-PLI business visa has been discontinued, and corresponding changes have been made to the Visa Manual, 2019.
The Production Investment Visa is issued as an e-visa and must be applied for through the online visa portal. To support this process, DPIIT has enabled Indian companies to generate sponsorship letters digitally through the National Single Window System. The facility is available to both PLI and non-PLI companies.
The module features simplified forms and removes the requirement for recommendations from line ministries. Company details are auto-populated and authenticated using existing databases such as the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and GSTN, doing away with additional approvals. Each sponsorship letter generated carries a unique identification number, which foreign professionals must reference while applying for the e-B-4 Visa on the e-Visa portal. The visa portal has been integrated with the National Single Window System through an API to enable seamless processing.
The new module is accessible at www.nsws.gov.in, while visa applications continue to be filed through indianvisaonline.gov.in.
BI Bureau
