India

Residency and India connection determination

  • Non-Resident Indian (NRI) is a citizen of India resident outside India. May be in India for 182 days or less. Documentation: Overseas residential proof.
  • Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) - A person of Indian origin who is a foreign national and gets registered as Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder under Section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 is an OCI.
    • Qualification: Documentation to prove self, parents, grandparents or great grandparents being citizens of India.
  • ‘Person of Indian Origin’ means an individual (not being a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh or Sir Lanka or Afghanistan or China or Iran or Nepal or Bhutan) who at any time, held an Indian Passport or who or either of whose father or mother or whose grandfather or grandmother was a citizen of India by virtue of the Constitution of India or the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955). This is mostly defunct.

Special Transfer restrictions

Purchase

  • A NRI or PIO can purchase any immovable property (other than agricultural land/ plantation property / farm house) in India.
  • Non PIO Foregin national resident in India can purchase immovable property in India, but the person concerned would have to obtain the approvals and fulfil the requirements, if any, prescribed by other authorities, such as, the State Government concerned, etc..
  • Non PIO Foreign national resident outside India can only inherit property from a person who was resident in India - no gift or purchase allowed. But transfer requires RBI approval.
  • Payment - Funds received in India through normal banking channels by way of inward remittance from any place outside India or by debit to his NRE / FCNR(B) / NRO account.

Receiving Gift or inheritance

  • A PIO may acquire any immovable property (other than agricultural land/ plantation property / farm house) in India by way of gift from a person resident in India or a NRI or a PIO.
  • A PIO may inherit any immovable property (including agricultural) in India from anyone who acquired it legally.

Sale or gifting

  • A NRI or PIO may transfer any immovable property in India to a person resident in India.
    • But, he cannot transfer agricultural land or plantation property or farm house to an Indian Citizen resident outside India or a PIO resident outside India. That can only go to Indian citizen resident.