The Hindu : IT industry's plea to overseas governments

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 30, 2003

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National

IT industry's plea to overseas governments

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI MARCH 29. The IT industry here has urged overseas governments to refrain from treating Indian software professionals like criminals for minor infringement of visa conditions.

Terming the deviations as `technicalities', the industry feels that detentions and denial of consular access to professionals amounted to a serious breach of the unwritten but well-understood norms of how corporates and professionals are treated, and how international business is done in all reasonable, democratic countries.

At the core of the problem is the type of visa that should be granted to the staff of IT product companies. Around the world, it is common practice for IT product companies (like i-Flex) to send their employees to sort out customer problems using a business visa and not a work permit. These companies are different from IT service companies whose employees work for extended periods in customer premises, writing programmes or providing software support services.

``If the authorities felt that the i-Flex staff were on incorrect visas, this could have been taken up in a more professional and less peremptory manner,'' noted the Nasscom President, Kiran Karnik.For the second day today, Nasscom, the country's apex industry association of IT software and service companies, expressed ``deep anguish and unhappiness'' at the treatment being meted out by the Netherlands authorities to i-Flex employees.

This is absolutely unwarranted, when it has been confirmed that all the professionals had valid visas. In a letter to the Dutch embassy, the association has urged the Ambassador to take this up with Netherlands authorities for immediate redressal and also convey to them India's deep sense of distress.

``If there is a view that the employees of the company in question had incorrect visas, this is arguable and, at worst, a technicality, but such action by the authorities is unacceptable. The sudden detention in London, without any formal charges, of the CEO of i-Flex's Netherlands subsidiary is a violation of the dignity and self-respect of the individual. If he were required for any investigation, a simple request to the company would have been a more professional and civilised way of handling the issue,'' added Mr. Karnik.

The association was hopeful that with the Government's support to restore the respect of Indian professionals, the Dutch Government would immediately withdraw the charges and any issues relating to the type of visa etc. will be sorted out amicably, as should be the practice between friendly countries. Early resolution is important so that business ties between the two countries can be put back on track and flourish.

In order to prevent any such future occurrences, Nasscom is planning to increase interaction of its members with overseas missions in India to help Indian companies understand the issues better. It will also consider initiating interaction with immigration authorities in governments abroad in order to educate them on various business models of Indian companies and understand the various work permits and visa issues which need to be complied with.

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