Can I live in India with no Visa?

[FennelBread]

Can I turn up there and live there (I have a place to stay a friends).

Is it possible to get a job and live or will I be tracked down and arrested?

[Dave]

Can I turn up there and live there

Not legally, no.

You'll need a visa to enter India anyway. If you don't have one, and your arrival airport doesn't offer a visa-on-arrival service, you probably won't even get past the check-in desk at your departure airport.

Countries are entitled to impose a hefty fine on an airline that carries a passenger who doesn't meet their visa requirements. That's part of what the check-in desks are looking for when they ask to see your passport.

Is it possible to get a job and live or will I be tracked down and arrested?

Exist? Possibly. Live? Very doubtful.

Even as a legal immigrant, the only reasons to employ you would be because you have a skill or expertise that's unavailable in India or because you're happy to accept lower pay than an Indian. As an illegal immigrant, the employer would be taking on an additional risk and would therefore reduce your pay accordingly to offset that risk.

As for whether you'd be tracked down, unless you can pass yourself off as an Indian I'd imagine you'd attract attention very quickly.

Apart from the fact that what you're proposing is illegal, personally I think you'd be mad to try. I can't see the benefits coming anywhere close to balancing the substantial risk, let alone outweighing it.