How many days can a foreign national stay in India on a single business visa trip?

Multi-year, multiple-entry business visas are common and convenient for executives who travel to India periodically, but each individual visit is still bound by the 180-day continuous stay limit, and the visa's multi-year validity refers to the window during which entries are permitted, not an entitlement to stay continuously for that whole period. A foreign national approaching 180 days on a single visit who needs to extend should register with the FRRO before that threshold, since overstaying without registration or extension is treated as a visa violation with potential fines, blacklisting, or future visa application complications.

It's also worth being precise about what a business visa authorizes even within the 180-day window — attending meetings, negotiations, and market exploration are covered, but performing actual work functions for an India-based entity, drawing local income, or taking up a role that constitutes employment is not, regardless of how many days remain on the visa. Executives who find their India visits evolving from occasional trips into a more regular operational role should proactively assess whether an Employment Visa has become the more appropriate and compliant category, rather than continuing to stretch business visa trips to cover what has become an employment relationship.