Guide · NRI
Buying your first or family home in India from abroad
Living abroad changes how you pay and sign. It does not change the checks. Here is the order to do things in.
Under FEMA rules (the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019), an NRI or OCI can buy residential property in India. What you cannot buy is agricultural land, a plantation or a farmhouse, without specific permission. A flat in an approved apartment project is allowed.
The ₹ figures below are illustrative only.
Step 1
Confirm your status and open the right account
Payments must come through normal banking channels: money sent from abroad, or funds in your NRE, NRO or FCNR account in India. FEMA does not allow payment in foreign currency notes or traveller’s cheques.
Step 2
Check the project from where you are
You can do most checks online: the RERA registration, the filed plan and dates, and a scan of the title papers for your lawyer. Ask the builder for a video walk of the site, and if you can, have family visit in person.
Step 3
Arrange your home loan
Banks in India lend to NRIs for buying a home, with the same RBI loan-to-value limits as for residents. Repayment comes from your NRE or NRO account or from fresh remittances. Expect to show overseas employment and income proof.
Step 4
Decide whether to sign in person or by power of attorney
If you cannot be in India for registration, give a trusted person a specific power of attorney. Sign it before an Indian consulate, or before a notary with an apostille, as the sub-registrar requires. Once it reaches India, it must be stamped under the state stamp law within three months of arrival.
Step 5
Handle TDS and registration
If you buy from a resident seller and the price is ₹50 lakh or more, you deduct 1% TDS under s.194-IA, as a resident buyer would. Illustrative: on a ₹90 lakh home, ₹90,000. Then follow the usual registration day steps.
Step 6
Keep your trail for later
Keep the bank remittance records, the account statements and the registered deed together. If you ever sell and want to send the money abroad, RBI rules let you repatriate the sale money of up to two residential properties, subject to the conditions, and your paper trail is what proves where the money came from.
FAQ
Questions buyers ask
Can an OCI cardholder buy a flat in India?
Yes. OCI cardholders are treated like NRIs for buying residential or commercial property under the FEMA non-debt instrument rules. The same exclusions apply: no agricultural land, plantation or farmhouse without permission.
Do I need RBI permission to buy a flat?
No separate RBI permission is needed for an NRI or OCI to buy a residential flat, as long as payment comes through normal banking channels or an NRE, NRO or FCNR account.
Can I pay the builder from my NRO account?
Yes. NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts are all allowed for paying for a home. Which one you use matters later, if you sell and want to send the money abroad, so keep records of each payment.
Can my parents in Bengaluru sign for me?
Yes, through a specific power of attorney that names the property and what they may do. Have it drafted by a lawyer so the sub-registrar accepts it, and stamp it in Karnataka within three months of it arriving in India.
Will I pay tax in India on rent if I let it out?
Rent from property in India is taxable in India. A tenant paying rent to an NRI must deduct tax at source. If you live in a country with a tax treaty with India, ask a tax adviser how relief works for you.
Want someone to walk this with you?
The Reeva team helps first-home buyers through every one of these steps. Ask for a callback.