NRI

No

Yes, however, the 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 bona fide residential purposes. They are, therefore, not required to obtain separate permission from the Reserve Bank of India. They are required to file a declaration in form IPI 7 with the Central Office of Reserve Bank at Mumbai within 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 a 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. The Reserve Bank has granted general permission for the 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 accounts, of sale proceeds of any immovable property situated in India, requires prior permission of the Reserve Bank except in circumstances stated in the paragraphs below: (A) In the event of the sale of immovable property other than agricultural land/farmhouse/plantation property in India by a person resident outside India who is a citizen of India or a person of Indian origin, the authorized dealer may allow repatriation of the sale proceeds outside India, provided all the following conditions are satisfied:

Applications for repatriation of sale proceeds are considered provided the sale takes place after three years from the date of the final purchase deed or from the date of payment of the final installment of the 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 in Mumbai within 90 days of the sale of the property.

Yes, the 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 the Reserve Bank to non-resident persons (foreign citizens) of Indian origin to transfer, by way of gift, immovable property held by them in India to relatives and charitable trusts/organizations 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/farmhouse/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 the Reserve Bank in form IPI 7 within 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 the 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 three years from the date of the final purchase deed or from the date of payment of the final installment of consideration amount, whichever 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, 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 authorized dealers to grant housing loans to non-resident Indian nationals for the 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 the 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: A photocopy of the labor contract duly countersigned by the applicant’s employer (translated to English for non-English documents). The latest salary certificate (in English) specifies the following: