India and the European Union early on 29 January concluded the services chapter of their long-running free-trade negotiations. The breakthrough, confirmed by senior officials in New Delhi, goes beyond tariff concessions: in return for allowing up to 15 EU-headquartered banks to open branches in India over the next four years and binding 100 % foreign-direct-investment in insurance, Brussels has agreed to lock-in a stable, transparent work-visa framework for Indian nationals.
Under the package the 27 EU member-states will offer three-year intracorporate-transferee (ICT) permits that can be extended for another two years and will automatically cover spouses and dependants. Contractual service suppliers will have access in 37 sectors while independent professionals are covered in 17. A joint committee will monitor processing times and publish quarterly data so that companies can plan assignments with greater certainty. Social-security coordination is also built in: 14 pending bilateral totalisation agreements must be signed within five years, after which Indian assignees will be exempt from paying into multiple pension systems.
Companies and professionals navigating this new EU visa landscape can streamline their documentation through VisaHQ, which already processes thousands of Schengen, ICT and dependent applications for Indian passport-holders. The India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) lets HR teams compare requirements across member states, schedule consulate appointments and receive real-time status alerts—helping organisations stay compliant with the forthcoming three-year permits while cutting processing times.
![India-EU trade deal secures predictable visa regime for Indian professionals]()
For Indian IT firms, global capability centres and consulting majors the deal removes one of their biggest headaches: erratic national rules on work-permit quotas and renewals. HR heads say the guaranteed five-year horizon will allow companies to rotate talent between Bangalore and Europe without losing project time to visa re-filings. AYUSH practitioners and teachers of traditional wellness disciplines have also been granted access to open clinics across Europe using their Indian qualifications.
The EU, for its part, gains better market entry for financial-services giants that have long lobbied for a larger on-shore presence. Officials stressed that prudential norms will still apply, but the branch quota gives European lenders a clearer growth path in the world’s fastest-growing major economy.
Businesses should now audit their mobility policies: payroll teams will need to track the new social-security exemptions, while mobility managers can begin pencilling in longer assignment lengths and family accompaniment budgets for EU postings starting as early as Q3 2026.
Under the package the 27 EU member-states will offer three-year intracorporate-transferee (ICT) permits that can be extended for another two years and will automatically cover spouses and dependants. Contractual service suppliers will have access in 37 sectors while independent professionals are covered in 17. A joint committee will monitor processing times and publish quarterly data so that companies can plan assignments with greater certainty. Social-security coordination is also built in: 14 pending bilateral totalisation agreements must be signed within five years, after which Indian assignees will be exempt from paying into multiple pension systems.
Companies and professionals navigating this new EU visa landscape can streamline their documentation through VisaHQ, which already processes thousands of Schengen, ICT and dependent applications for Indian passport-holders. The India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) lets HR teams compare requirements across member states, schedule consulate appointments and receive real-time status alerts—helping organisations stay compliant with the forthcoming three-year permits while cutting processing times.
For Indian IT firms, global capability centres and consulting majors the deal removes one of their biggest headaches: erratic national rules on work-permit quotas and renewals. HR heads say the guaranteed five-year horizon will allow companies to rotate talent between Bangalore and Europe without losing project time to visa re-filings. AYUSH practitioners and teachers of traditional wellness disciplines have also been granted access to open clinics across Europe using their Indian qualifications.
The EU, for its part, gains better market entry for financial-services giants that have long lobbied for a larger on-shore presence. Officials stressed that prudential norms will still apply, but the branch quota gives European lenders a clearer growth path in the world’s fastest-growing major economy.
Businesses should now audit their mobility policies: payroll teams will need to track the new social-security exemptions, while mobility managers can begin pencilling in longer assignment lengths and family accompaniment budgets for EU postings starting as early as Q3 2026.
