Immigration Law and Legal Insights

In Directorate of Enforcement v. Joy of India & Ors., Writ Petition No. 698 of 2018, the Karnataka High Court reaffirmed the statutory test for determining whether a person qualifies as a "person resident in India" under Section 2(v) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 ("FEMA").

The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), in force since 15 July 2026, introduces structured, capped mobility categories for professionals moving between the two countries. For employers on both sides, particularly those with cross-border secondment arrangements or client-facing service contracts, these quotas are not a background policy detail. They directly affect how many employees can be deployed, under what visa category, and within what annual limits.

The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which entered into force on 15 July 2026, is often discussed in terms of tariff cuts on goods, but for India's professional services sector, the more consequential provisions lie elsewhere. CETA opens structured, rules-based mobility pathways for IT professionals, consultants, engineers, architects, financial services specialists, and other skilled workers moving between India and the UK. For firms in these sectors, understanding the agreement's mobility framework is now essential to competitive strategy.

In Directorate of Enforcement v. Joy of India & Ors., Writ Petition No. 698 of 2018, the Karnataka High Court reaffirmed the statutory test for determining whether a person qualifies as a "person resident in India" under Section 2(v) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 ("FEMA").

The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), in force since 15 July 2026, introduces structured, capped mobility categories for professionals moving between the two countries. For employers on both sides, particularly those with cross-border secondment arrangements or client-facing service contracts, these quotas are not a background policy detail. They directly affect how many employees can be deployed, under what visa category, and within what annual limits.

The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which entered into force on 15 July 2026, is often discussed in terms of tariff cuts on goods, but for India's professional services sector, the more consequential provisions lie elsewhere. CETA opens structured, rules-based mobility pathways for IT professionals, consultants, engineers, architects, financial services specialists, and other skilled workers moving between India and the UK. For firms in these sectors, understanding the agreement's mobility framework is now essential to competitive strategy.