NRI

A foreign citizen (other than a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka or Nepal) is deemed to be of Indian Origin if :
i) he held an Indian Passport at any time or
ii) he or his father or paternal grand father was a citizen of India by virtue of the constitution of India or the Citizenship Act, 1955. (57 of 1955).

No

Yes, However, Reserve Bank of India has granted general permission to foreign citizens of Indian origin, whether resident in India or abroad, to acquire immovable property in India for their bonafide residential purpose. They are, therefore, not required to obtain separate permission of The Reserve Bank of India. They are required to file a declaration in form IPI 7 with Central Office of Reserve Bank at Mumbai within a period of 90 days from the date of purchase of immovable property or final payment of purchase consideration along with a certified copy of the document evidencing the transaction and bank certificate regarding the consideration paid.

The purchase consideration should be met either out of inward remittance in foreign exchange through normal banking channels, or out of funds from NRE/FCNR accounts maintained with banks in India.

Yes. Reserve Bank has granted general permission for sale of such property. However, where the property is acquired by another foreign citizen of Indian origin, funds towards the purchase consideration should either be remitted to India or paid out of balances in NRE/FCNR accounts.

Repatriation outside India , including credit to RFC, NRE or FCNR account, of sale proceeds of any immovable property situated in India, requires prior permission of the Reserve Bank except in circumstances stated in paragraphs below:

(A) In the event of sale of immovable property other than agricultural land/farm house/plantation property in India by a person resident outside India, who is a citizen of India, or a person of Indian origin, the authorised dealer may allow repatriation of the sale proceeds outside India, provided all the following conditions are satisfied :-

(B) Authorised Dealers have been permitted to allow the facility of repatriation of funds by NRIs/PIOs in their Non-Resident Ordinary Rupee (NRO) account upto US$ 100,000/- per year representing sale proceeds of immovable property held by them for a period of not less than 10 years subject to payment of applicable taxes.

Applications for repatriation of sale proceeds are considered provided the sale takes place after three years from the date of final purchase deed or from the date of payment of final installment of consideration amount, whichever is later. Applications for necessary permission for remittance of sale proceeds should be made in form IPI 8 to the Central Office of The Reserve Bank at Mumbai within 90 days of the sale of the property.

Yes, Reserve Bank has granted general permission to foreign citizens of Indian origin to acquire or dispose of properties up to two houses by way of gift from or to a relative who may be an Indian citizen or a person of Indian origin whether resident in India or not, provided gift tax has been paid.

Yes, General permission has been granted by Reserve Bank to non-resident persons (foreign citizen) of Indian Origin to transfer, by way of gift, immoveable property held by them in India to relatives and charitable trusts / organisations subject to the condition that the provisions of all other laws, as applicable are complied with.

Yes, under the general permission granted by The Reserve Bank properties other than agricultural land/farm house/plantation property can be acquired by foreign citizens of Indian origin provided the purchase consideration is met either out of inward remittances in foreign exchange through normal banking channels or out of funds from the purchaser’s NRE/FCNR accounts maintained with banks in India and a declaration is submitted to the Central Office of Reserve Bank in form IPI 7 within a period of 90 days from the date of purchase of the property/final payment of purchase consideration. Yes they can dispose of such properties.

Yes. Repatriation of original investment in respect of properties purchased by foreign citizens of Indian origin on or after 26 May 1993 will be allowed to be remitted up to the consideration amount originally remitted from abroad provided the property is sold after a period of three years from the date of the final purchase deed or from the date of payment of final installment of consideration amount, which ever is later. Applications for the purpose are required to be made to the Central Office of Reserve Bank within 90 days of the sale of property in form IPI 8.

Yes, The NRIs/PIOs can freely rent out their immovable properties in India without seeking any permission from the Reserve Bank of India. The rental income being a current account transaction is freely repatriable outside India.

The Reserve Bank has granted permission to certain financial institutions providing housing finance e.g. HDFC, LIC Housing Finance Ltd., etc, and authorised dealers to grant housing loans to non-resident Indian nationals for acquisition of a house/flat for self-occupation subject to certain conditions. Criteria regarding the purpose of the loan, margin money and the quantum of loan will be at par with those applicable to resident Indians. Repayment of the loan should be made within a period not exceeding 15 years, out of inward remittance through banking channels or out of funds held in the investors’ NRE/FCNR/NRO accounts.

Yes, However in such cases the payment of margin money and repayment of loan installments should be made by the NRI borrower.

The following documents are required along with the application form: Photocopy of the labour contract duly countersigned by applicant’s employer (translated to English for non-English documents). Latest salary certificate (in English) specifying the following: