Living Abroad · Non-Resident Indians
The NRI Investor Hub
Indian tax, banking, property and investment rules treat non-residents differently at almost every turn — and differently again the moment you move home. These guides cover what changes, when, and what it costs to get the timing wrong.
Start with your residential status
Nearly every question on this page resolves back to one: what is your residential status in India? It decides whether your foreign income is taxable there, which bank accounts you are permitted to hold, what rate applies when you sell an asset, what is withheld at source before you see the money, and what you are obliged to disclose.
India is unusual in producing three answers rather than two. Alongside resident and non-resident sits Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident — RNOR — which taxes Indian-source income while leaving most foreign income outside the charge. It is transitional by design, and most people who hold it are recent returners who will lose it on a date that can be worked out years ahead.
That deadline is the single most useful thing to know before you move home, because almost every worthwhile decision about foreign income, asset disposals and account structure is easier to take before ordinarily resident status begins than after.
Status & Foundations
RNOR, the transition to ordinarily resident, and why FEMA and income-tax residence are two different questions with two different answers.
Banking & Repatriation
NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts, how each is taxed, and what it actually takes to move money out of India.
NRE, NRO and FCNR Accounts: Which Money Belongs Where
The three NRI account types differ on three axes that matter: where the money came from, whether the interest is taxable in India, and how freely the balance can leave the country.
Read the guide →Banking & RepatriationRepatriation from India: Limits, Forms and the Actual Process
Whether money leaves India easily depends almost entirely on which account it sits in. NRE and FCNR balances are freely repatriable; NRO funds run through an annual ceiling and a documentation chain.
Read the guide →Investing in India
Mutual funds, equities and the repatriation routes — including why some NRIs are refused access outright.
Property & Succession
Owning, letting and selling Indian property, the TDS that applies, and how Indian assets pass on death.
Tax, Registration & Disclosure
PAN, filing obligations, TDS rates by income type, rates by asset class, and the disclosure duties that follow you home.
Double Tax Treaties
How DTAA relief is claimed, the Tax Residency Certificate it depends on, and the terms of each major treaty.
Pensions
The India-side treatment of UK pensions, QROPS and overseas retirement income.
NRI questions we are asked most
Who counts as an NRI?
There are two separate definitions and they do not always agree. Under the Income-tax Act, non-resident status is decided by day counts in India across the current and preceding years. Under FEMA, which governs banking and investment, it turns on your intention and the purpose of your stay abroad. It is entirely possible to be non-resident under one and resident under the other in the same year, which is why the account you may hold and the tax you owe are decided by two different tests.
What is RNOR and why does everyone talk about it?
Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident is the intermediate status between non-residence and full residence. It taxes Indian-source income and income from a business controlled in India, but leaves other foreign income outside the Indian charge. For someone returning to India after years abroad it typically applies for a limited run of years before ordinarily resident status begins, and because the qualifying carve-outs are measured over fixed look-back periods, the date it ends is usually predictable well in advance.
Where should I start?
With your residential status, because almost everything else follows from it. Which accounts you may hold, whether your foreign income is taxable in India, what rate applies to a disposal and what you must disclose all depend on that single answer. The interactive India residential status test works through the statutory rules and tells you which limb decided the outcome, which is the right starting point before reading anything else here.
Can I keep my NRE account after moving back to India?
No, not indefinitely. NRE and NRO accounts are designated for people who are non-resident under FEMA, and on returning to India permanently they must be redesignated as resident accounts. Foreign currency balances can generally be moved into a Resident Foreign Currency account instead, which preserves the currency rather than forcing conversion. The redesignation is your obligation to initiate, not something the bank does automatically, and the tax treatment of interest changes at the same time.
Do I have to file an Indian tax return as an NRI?
It depends on your Indian income rather than your status. Filing is generally required where your India-source income exceeds the basic exemption threshold before deductions, and it is often worth filing voluntarily even below that, because tax deducted at source on interest, rent or a property sale is frequently deducted at a higher rate than your actual liability. Without a return there is no mechanism to reclaim the difference.
Is this financial or tax advice?
No. These guides are general information about how the Indian rules work and are written to help you understand your position and the questions worth asking. They do not take account of your circumstances, they are not a substitute for advice from a qualified Indian tax professional, and Global Investments is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority or the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Where the amounts are material, take advice in every jurisdiction with a claim on you.
These guides provide general information only and do not constitute financial, legal or tax advice. Global Investments is not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority or by the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Indian tax and exchange control rules change frequently and interact with the rules of your country of residence. Where the amounts involved are material, take advice from a qualified adviser in each jurisdiction concerned before acting.
Planning a return to India, or managing assets from abroad?
Our advisers work with Non-Resident Indians on RNOR timing, repatriation and cross-border structuring, and coordinate with Indian tax specialists where local filing is involved.