A sous chef who trained at the Institute of Hotel Management Pusa in Delhi, spent six years at the Indian Accent kitchen in Lodhi Colony, and recently signed an offer from Bibi in London Mayfair walked into our Noida office with the Skilled Worker certificate of sponsorship in his bag. His IHM Pusa diploma was apostilled. His Trade Test certificate from NCVT was apostilled. His experience letter from Indian Accent was on hotel letterhead but it had not been notarised. The UK Home Office sponsor compliance officer was likely to flag it. That last document, the one he had assumed was straightforward, was the document that would have held the Skilled Worker visa at the British High Commission Delhi counter. Three working days at a notary in Lodhi Colony, a re-issue from the Indian Accent HR desk on company letterhead with the executive chef's signature in counter-sign, and the file moved.
That sequence is the sequence most Indian chef migration files follow. The kitchens are eager. The experience is real. The documentation gap is almost always in the experience letters, the trade test certificates and the institute diplomas, and it is fixable in days if the chef knows what the receiving sponsor will actually read. Indian cuisine is now one of the world's most exported food cultures: Gymkhana, Kanishka, Trishna, Brigadiers, Bibi and Kahani in London; Indian Accent and Junoon in New York; Indienne in Chicago; Avartana at the Leela hotels; Bombay Bustle and Tamarind in Mayfair; Dishoom across the UK. Beyond Michelin, the Indian quick-service chains (Saravana Bhavan, Wagh Bakri, Bikanervala, Haldiram's exports) and global hotel groups (Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Hyatt, Taj, Oberoi) hire Indian chefs across cities from Toronto to Singapore to Sydney. This page is the documentation reference for the Indian chef preparing the move.
Which visa does an Indian chef need for each country?
The visa decides which authentication your papers need: apostille for Hague countries, embassy attestation for the Gulf non-Hague countries. Here is the destination-by-destination read.
Hague countries (apostille route)
- UK: the Skilled Worker visa with a restaurant employer sponsor at the GBP 38,700 threshold (April 2024) or the Immigration Salary List rate of GBP 30,960 for shortage occupations. The restaurant holds the sponsorship licence. Official rules at gov.uk.
- US: the H-1B specialty occupation visa is rarely used for chefs because the role is not always specialty-occupation eligible. The O-1B for chefs with extraordinary ability in arts (used by Michelin-rated chefs with press, awards and industry recognition) is more common. The EB-2 NIW or EB-1A for Michelin-rated chefs as outstanding workers. The L-1 intracompany transfer for chefs being moved from an Indian Taj or Oberoi operation to a US arm.
- Canada: the LMIA-supported work permit for restaurant employer sponsorship, or one of the Provincial Nominee Programme entrepreneur streams for chef-founders starting a Canadian restaurant. Canada has been on the apostille route since 11 January 2024.
- Australia: the Subclass 482 Skills in Demand visa (formerly TSS) for restaurant employer sponsorship, with the TSMIT at AUD 73,150 from 1 July 2024. The Subclass 858 Global Talent visa for highly distinguished chefs.
- Saudi Arabia: the Saudi work visa with apostille, since Saudi joined the Hague Apostille Convention on 7 December 2022 (see the HCCH status table), supported by the GAMCA medical and the hospitality qualification.
- Singapore: the Employment Pass at SGD 5,000 or higher per month for senior chefs, with the Ministry of Manpower's COMPASS framework points test.
Non-Hague Gulf countries (embassy attestation route)
- UAE: the standard UAE work permit through the hotel or restaurant employer, with UAE embassy attestation and the UAE MOFA attestation on the hospitality qualification. Both steps are done inside India and run digitally through VFS Global, so you do not send anything to Dubai for this stage.
- Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman: the work permit through the hotel or restaurant employer, with MEA attestation followed by the relevant embassy attestation in Delhi. For Qatar embassy attestation, the Qatar embassy counter in Delhi is the final India step before the papers travel.
Apostille or embassy attestation: which does your chef file need in 2026?
The split is simple once you know whether the country signed the Hague Convention. The MEA apostille page confirms the India process.
Apostille in India for Hague countries
For Hague countries (US, UK, Canada from January 2024, Australia, Singapore for some uses, Saudi from December 2022): MEA apostille on the hospitality qualification, experience letters and civil documents. For an educational certificate like a hotel management diploma, State HRD attestation comes first; for personal documents like a birth or marriage certificate, the SDM or Home Department step comes first. This is degree attestation feeding into apostille in India.
Embassy attestation for the non-Hague Gulf
For non-Hague countries (UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman): never an apostille. The order is State HRD attestation, then MEA attestation, then embassy attestation through VFS Global, with certified Arabic translation where the employer asks. UAE MOFA attestation runs inside India and digitally through VFS.
Certified translation for non-English countries
For non-English countries (France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Japan, Korea): certified translation in the relevant language by a sworn translator. See the language pages for German, French and Italian; certified Italian translation is usually ready within two working days.
Which documents need attestation for an Indian chef going abroad?
The chef file that leaves India carries education, experience, recognition and civil papers. Each kind takes a different first step before the MEA apostille or embassy attestation.
| Document |
Type |
First step in India |
| Hotel management diploma (IHM, Welcomgroup, OCLD, Manipal University, Christ University Hospitality) with marksheets |
Educational |
State HRD attestation |
| Culinary qualification (ITI catering, Le Cordon Bleu, ICCA, Culinary Academy of India) |
Educational |
State HRD attestation |
| Experience letters from each past hotel, restaurant or banquet venue |
Commercial / on letterhead |
Notary, then Chamber of Commerce attestation where the employer asks |
| Marriage and birth certificates |
Personal |
SDM or Home Department attestation |
| PCC from the RPO |
Personal |
SDM or Home Department attestation |
The experience letters carry real detail: the cuisine, the station, the hotel category, the meal periods, the supervisor, and the press or awards earned at that property. This is the document most likely to be questioned, so get it right on letterhead with a counter-signature.
Alongside those, keep ready:
- Awards, media features and Michelin or restaurant-ranking citations where applicable (Times Food Awards, Vir Sanghvi's annual lists, Indian Conde Nast Traveller, the various Indian Restaurant Awards).
- HACCP, food safety, allergen awareness, fire safety and first aid certifications.
- The marriage certificate if the spouse is joining, the long-form birth certificate of any dependant child, the PCC from the RPO, the passport with at least twelve to twenty-four months of validity, and the destination employer offer letter.
What does SiZA run from Noida on a chef file, and what does it not?
What we do from our Noida office
When you first send us scans on WhatsApp at +91 9220161774, we read the documents for the destination employer's HR fit and tell you which visa category and which authentication applies. We share the realistic timeline and the realistic cost end to end before any payment is taken.
When the originals reach our Noida office, we run these steps in order:
- State HRD attestation (educational), or SDM and Home Department attestation (personal), or Chamber of Commerce attestation (commercial experience letters).
- MEA apostille for Hague countries, or MEA attestation for the non-Hague Gulf.
- Embassy attestation and MOFA attestation for non-Hague countries, run through VFS Global.
- Certified or sworn translation in the relevant language for non-English countries.
- Document handoff to the destination employer's HR or PRO, and tracked return courier.
What stays with you and the employer
We do not file the visa or work permit. The destination employer or your migration agent does that. We do not arrange Michelin inspections, award nominations or media coverage. We do not handle anything inside the destination country after you arrive.
For a free scan-review of your chef migration file, send a WhatsApp message to +91 9220161774 with photos of your hospitality or culinary qualification, your experience letters, your awards or media citations and the destination employer offer letter.
Pages on the SiZA site that follow on from this: apostille in India, embassy attestation, HRD attestation and certified translation. If you already know your country, start at the UAE, Saudi Arabia or Qatar page.
