Hire a Japanese Chef in India: Employment Visa Salary Rules

You may hear that India has an easy rule for foreign cooks: that "ethnic cooks" are exempt from the Employment visa salary floor. The rule exists, but it is narrower than people assume, and a commercial restaurant does not benefit from it. This guide sets out what the Ministry of Home Affairs text actually says, the separate provisions for Japanese nationals, and how to build an offer that clears the threshold.

1. A small market growing fast

• MAFF's 2025 survey lists 630 Japanese restaurants in India, up 220 on 2023, an increase of more than half in two years.
• MOFA recorded 8,865 Japanese nationals in India on 1 October 2025, up 9.4%. Of those, 8,459 are long-term stayers and only 406 permanent residents.

The shape of the Japanese community matters. With only 406 permanent residents, the settled Japanese population you might recruit from is very small. Expect your chef to come from Japan or from a Japanese restaurant in another country, and plan for the Employment visa from the start.

2. The salary threshold, and the cook exemption that does not apply to you

The Ministry of Home Affairs' published details of visas granted by India describe the Employment visa as being for a foreigner who is a highly skilled and/or qualified professional. It is not granted for jobs for which qualified Indians are available, or for routine, ordinary or secretarial and clerical jobs.

On pay, the text is specific: a foreign national sponsored for an Employment visa in any sector should draw a gross salary in excess of Rs 16.25 lakh a year. You may still see an older US$25,000 figure quoted; the MHA document uses the rupee amount.

How the Rs 16.25 lakh is calculated helps an employer:

• It counts salary and all other allowances paid in cash.
• It also counts perquisites such as rent-free accommodation that are included in salary for income tax purposes.
• Those perquisites should be quantified and stated in the employment contract.
• For an Employment visa of less than a year, the threshold is applied pro rata.

So housing you provide can count towards the threshold, provided it is valued in the contract and treated as salary for tax.

Now the exemption. The floor does not apply to a short list of categories, and the first on the list is "ethnic cooks employed by foreign Missions in India". The text adds, in brackets, that this will not apply to ethnic cooks employed in a commercial venture. A cook for an embassy or high commission is exempt. A cook for your restaurant is not.

3. Foreign specialist chefs

The same MHA document lists other foreign nationals eligible for an Employment visa. One entry is foreign specialist chefs, with the note that for specialist chefs employed in a commercial venture, the minimum salary of Rs 16.25 lakh a year applies.

That confirms two things for a restaurant. First, a chef is an eligible category in its own right; you are not trying to fit a cook into a rule written for engineers. Second, the salary floor is the test that decides the case. Combined with the requirement that the job is not one qualified Indians can do, your application should explain why the role needs a specialist trained in Japanese cuisine: the techniques, the menu, the training of your Indian team.

4. Special terms for Japanese nationals

The MHA document has a section headed "Specific provisions relating to the grant of Employment visa to Japanese nationals". For a Japanese applicant who is a highly skilled and qualified professional coming to work for a company, organisation or industry in India (outside the IT sector and government arrangements), the Employment visa is granted for three years with multiple entry.

Further provisions for Japanese nationals:

• An extension of two more years, on a year to year basis, beyond the initial three years may be granted subject to documents.
• Family members (a dependent spouse and children forming part of the same household) may receive multiple entry dependent visas.
• Japanese Employment visa holders may be granted a residential permit co-terminus with the visa.
• Japanese nationals who must register with the FRRO/FRO need not attend in person for initial registration or later extensions; an authorised representative can do it.

For nationals of most other countries, the general Employment visa is up to two years or the term of assignment, whichever is less. A Japanese chef therefore gets a longer initial visa than, say, a chef from a third country with the same job.

5. After arrival: registration and extensions

If the Employment visa is valid for more than 180 days, the holder must register with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) or Foreigners Registration Office (FRO) within 14 days of arrival. Extensions are handled by the FRRO/FRO, up to a total of five years from the date the first Employment visa was issued.

The MHA text says an Employment visa is non-convertible to other visa types except in specific cases. Get the visa type right before the chef travels, and do not let anyone start work on a business or tourist visa while paperwork is pending.

6. Building the package

Because housing can count towards the threshold when it is valued in the contract, one sensible structure for a Japanese chef in India is a cash salary plus accommodation, with the accommodation valued in writing. Items to settle in the offer:

• Gross annual cash salary and each allowance.
• Accommodation, with its value stated.
• Flights at start and end, and home leave.
• Who handles FRRO registration (for a Japanese national, this can be your representative).
• Menu authority and the training role with local cooks.

Check the arithmetic: cash plus valued perquisites must exceed Rs 16.25 lakh a year. Our guides to relocation packages and contract clauses go into more detail, and training local staff covers the teaching side of the role, which also supports the case that the job needs a specialist.

7. Step by step

1. Set the role as a specialist chef position and write down why it needs Japanese training.
2. Build the package so cash plus valued perquisites exceed Rs 16.25 lakh a year.
3. Search in Japan and among Japanese chefs working abroad.
4. Interview with a practical test. See our guide to remote skills tests.
5. Issue the contract with perquisites quantified.
6. The chef applies for the Employment visa from Japan.
7. Register with the FRRO/FRO within 14 days of arrival if the visa exceeds 180 days.

General information gathered from official sources in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. The MHA visa details cited here were published in February 2018 and remain on the ministry's website; Indian visa rules and procedures change, so confirm the current position with the Indian mission or the Bureau of Immigration before acting.