TCS seeks special Pak visa for staff

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has requested Pakistan authorities for a 'special business visa' for its employees. The Tata group is planning to seek similar visas for employees of other group companies Tata Steel, Tata Tea and Tata Motors, with these firms intending to set up operation in the neighbouring country.

TCS has sought a special business visa with a condition that the company's professionals should be treated like Pakistani businessmen visiting India.

This means an exemption from the tedious procedure of appearing before local authorities on a daily basis, sources close to the development told Business Standard.

At present, an Indian national on a business trip is required to appear before the authorities everyday during his stay in the country. The rule has been in place for quite sometime and was formulated owing to the ongoing tension between the two countries.

Earlier in June, senior and mid-level officials from TCS had met Sindh IT minister Syed Mustafa Kamal and discussed its plans of setting up a Centres of Excellence (CoE) for software professionals in the province.

If a special visa is granted, this could be help in untangling of diplomatic hurdles between the two countries, which have been hostile to each other for the last 50 years.

It would also be beneficial to other Indian companies IT companies such as Wipro, which were planning to foray into the country. TCS was planning to set up a CoE at Karachi in Sindh province and another at Lahore in Punjab province.