Every year we see the same thing: a company books someone on a business visa because it's the fastest to get, and three weeks later that person is sitting at a desk doing their actual job. That's not a visa problem until someone checks, and then it's a serious one. The categories aren't interchangeable, and which one is correct depends on what the person is actually going to do in India, not on how quickly the company needs them there.
Employment visa
This is the one for a foreign national who is being employed by, or seconded to, an entity in India, whether that's your own Indian office, a client's, or a project site. It's issued against a specific employer and a specific role, and it generally comes with conditions around minimum qualification and seniority of the role, and a minimum salary threshold that's periodically revised, so it's worth confirming the current figure rather than assuming last year's number still applies. An employment visa is usually the starting point for anyone relocating to actually work in India on an ongoing basis, and it's what triggers FRRO registration once the person arrives.
Business visa
A business visa is for exactly what it sounds like: visiting India to explore a business opportunity, attend meetings, negotiate a contract, do supplier audits, or set up a legal entity, not to perform the day-to-day work of a role once that entity exists. It's genuinely useful during the exploratory and entity-setup phase of a market entry project, and it's quicker to arrange than an employment visa. The line it shouldn't cross is doing ongoing operational work under it, which is the mistake we mentioned above.
Dependent (X) visa
Spouses and dependent children accompanying someone on an employment visa travel on a dependent visa, issued to match the primary visa holder's status and, typically, its validity period. It doesn't on its own authorise paid work in India; a dependent who wants to work generally needs their own appropriate visa category. We handle dependent visa applications as a standard part of every family relocation, alongside the school search and settling-in work, so it's one process rather than a separate errand for the family to chase down.
Project and other specialist categories
There are narrower categories too, most notably a project visa used in specific sectors such as power and steel for personnel executing a particular contract. These are genuinely sector-specific and worth a direct conversation rather than a generic guide, since eligibility is tied to the nature of the project itself.
How this connects to FRRO
Getting the right visa is step one. Most foreign nationals on a long-stay visa then need to register with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) after arrival, which is a separate process with its own timeline and documentation. We've written a full guide to FRRO registration if that's the part you're trying to plan around next.