How Long Does It Take to Set Up an Office or GCC in India? (2026 Timeline Guide)

If you’re searching “how long does it take to set up an office in India” or “GCC setup timeline India”, you’re planning execution—not research. This article gives a realistic, step-by-step timeline (with dependencies, pitfalls, and acceleration levers) so leaders can plan budgets, hiring, and product milestones with confidence.

Executive Answer (TL;DR)

• Pilot team (EOR): 1–2 weeks

• Office + GCC live (50–100 people): 90–120 days

• Stable scale (200–500 people): 6–9 months

• Multi-city GCC (500+): 9–12 months

Speed depends on model choice, city, and governance discipline—not paperwork alone.

What Actually Determines Speed (Most Teams Miss This)

Timeline by Model (Choose First)

1) Employer of Record (EOR)

• First hire: 3–7 days

• Team of 10–20: 1–2 weeks

• Ceiling: Expensive beyond ~30 hires

Use when: You need a fast pilot or are validating India.

2) Partner-Led GCC

• Go-live: 30–45 days

• 50–100 people: 60–90 days

• Fastest path to scale with lower risk

Use when: Speed + control matter.

3) Wholly Owned Subsidiary (GCC)

• Entity ready: 2–4 weeks

• Office ready: 3–6 weeks (parallel)

• 50–100 people live: 90–120 days

Use when: You’re building core IP for the long term.

The 0–180 Day Execution Timeline (Reality)

Phase 0: Strategy Lock (Day 0–15)

Outputs

• GCC mandate (what India owns)

• City shortlist

• 12-month hiring plan

• Cost envelope (3-year view)

Risk if skipped: Scope creep later.

Phase 1: Entity, Infra & Hiring Engine (Day 16–45)

What happens

• Incorporation, PAN, bank

• Managed office secured

• Compensation bands locked

• Interview panels live

Parallelization tip: Infra + hiring can run while incorporation completes.

Phase 2: Hiring & First Delivery (Day 46–90)

What happens

• Senior hires onboard

• Tooling, security, repos live

• First production commits

• Sprint cadence established

Target metrics

• Onboarding < 15 days

• First prod release < 21 days

Phase 3: Ownership & Scale (Day 91–180)

What happens

• Modules/services fully owned

• Local leadership empowered

• Attrition stabilized (<10%)

• Hiring accelerates safely

City Choice Changes the Clock

Insight: Tier-2 cities often reach productivity 2–4 weeks earlier.

Hiring Speed vs Hiring Quality (The Trade-off)

Counterintuitive truth: Senior-first teams reduce rework and delays—net faster to value.

What Slows Teams Down (Avoid These)

1. Waiting for office perfection

2. Hiring juniors first

3. Delayed HQ decisions

4. Weak local authority

5. Treating compliance as “later”

Each adds weeks, sometimes months.

How to Accelerate Safely (Proven)

• Start with managed offices

• Run entity + hiring in parallel

• Lock comp bands early

• Hire leaders before ICs

• Use a partner-led GCC if speed is critical

Timeline Comparison (At a Glance)

How Supersourcing Shortens Time-to-Value

Supersourcing specializes in fast, clean launches—especially in Tier-2 India.

Why teams choose Supersourcing

• CMMI Level 5 execution discipline

• Google AI Accelerator Batch participant

• LinkedIn Top 10 company recognition

• Proven EOR → GCC transitions

• End-to-end ownership: strategy → infra → hiring → compliance → scale

Result: Weeks saved, not corners cut.

Final Answer (For Searchers)

If you want speed and durability:

• Pilot with EOR if needed

• Move quickly to a GCC

• Choose Tier-2 cities

• Hire senior-first

• Parallelize everything possible

That’s how top teams go live in 90–120 days—and scale without surprises.