NRI's Corner

FAQ's

1. Do NRIs need permissions to buy property in India?
As an NRI, you need no permissions to buy property in India. You can also rent out the property and repatriate your rental proceeds, subject to payment of taxes. Please remember that an NRI who is an Indian Citizen can sell his/her immovable Property (other than agricultural or plantation property or farmhouse) to another NRI. However, the transaction has to be routed through India only. In other words, the buyer has to invest in India by way of remittance from abroad through normal banking channels or by debit to his account maintained with an authorized dealer.
The sale proceeds of the property must be credited to your bank accounts maintained with an authorized dealer in India.

2. Are there any procedures to buy property in India?
The Reserve Bank has granted a blanket permission to NRIs to purchase property in India for their residential and commercial purposes. There is also no limit on the number of investments or the quantity of investments that can be made in real estate. The immovable property can be purchased by inward remittances from any place outside India or through funds maintained in NRI accounts in the banks within the country.
All NRI investments in real estate or immovable properties are considered as transactions that get regulated under the FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act). It stipulates that before making a purchase a specified form called the IPI 7 needs to be filed with the central office of the RBI along with the title deed or any other certified copy of the document proving that the NRI has executed an agreement to purchase property within the country. The form has to be filed within 90 days of the purchase of property and has to be accompanied with a bank certificate stating the consideration paid for the purchase. Permissions are generally granted without undue delays if all the relevant papers are submitted.

3. Are there any restrictions to sell my property?
There are no restrictions to sell your property in India. However, it is best advisable to consult the RBI website for more information as guidelines do keep changing from time to time.

4. Are there restrictions to repatriation of realty returns or sale proceeds?
There are some restrictions and guidelines that RBI has set forth, and these keep changing from time to time. For more details on RBI's current guidelines related to repatriation, please visit the RBI's website.

5. Can I, as a foreigner, buy property in India?
Persons who are not citizens of India, and companies (other than banking companies), which are not incorporated in India, are required to obtain prior permission of the Reserve Bank of India to acquire, hold, transfer or dispose of property. (Refer Section 31 (1) of FERA (Foreign Exchange Regulations Act, 1973).
This also applies to partnership firms where one of the partners is a foreign national.