Passage to India

A prospective foreign intern recently sent this mail to her [future] colleagues working in my company. Rather amusing read it is.

"Unfortunately, the "undertaking for foreign nationals" is very difficult to interpret for me!

Point 1 of the document is not an undertaking. It is a statement. A statement of something that is obvious: no foreigner can work in India without an employment visa. Full stop.

Point 2 is also obvious: it follows from the conditions on which I am issued the visa. It is also obvious that I have to agree with Indian legal system including immigration-related regulations. Again, I there is nothing to undertake in this as it is not a question IF I agree and undertake or not... I am simply oblidged by law to leave India once I have no legal basis. I cannot convert my employment visa to a tourist visa. It is valid only for the purpose to which it was issued.

Point 3: Of course the company will not be liable for my actions once there will be no legal interconnection between the company and me. How could it be? It is an obvious fact and it is not a question of agreement, undertaking or contracting.

Point 4: Who will tell what is "material" and what is "immaterial"? How could I have caused the company and loss in the PAST??? How do you mean: "...losses suffered by the company both in the past and in the present..."? How about the future? In my understanding, any contract is a legally binding promise on things that will happen AFTER signing. I don't understand how I can undertake for something that has already happened in the past. Anyways: nothing wrong happened in the past. I was not in the position in the past to cause the company any loss.

Point 5: It is not a question IF I fulfill the conditions: I HAVE TO agree to them by Indian law and government regulations. Full stop. No "if" no "but". The "above mentioned conditions" that the document is saying are not "conditions" as they are not a question of agreement. They are either obvious facts or obligations that come from superior legal sources (government regulations). Again it is obvious that you can take legal actions against me if I break a civil contract. Any contracting party has the right to go to court...

In a nutshell, the only thing that I can see black-and-white is that I am financially responsible - "I agree to indemnify the company..." - everything else in this document is very difficult to interpret for me.

Please help me clarify the above mentioned matters!"

Poor sods. Lawyerspeak is indecipherable universally. Be it Americans, Germans or Vogons. Good luck Fraulein.