For NRI and OCI buyers
A home in Bengaluru, bought from wherever you live
Many of our buyers are buying for parents, or for the day they come home. Distance should not mean doing it blind.
If you are a Non-Resident Indian or an Overseas Citizen of India, FEMA rules let you buy a home in India without separate RBI permission, as long as the money comes through normal banking channels. What changes is the logistics: how you pay, how you sign, and how you check a project you cannot walk into every week.
What the rules allow
- You can buy residential and commercial property (Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019).
- You cannot buy agricultural land, a plantation or a farmhouse without specific permission.
- Pay through inward remittance, or from your NRE, NRO or FCNR account. Not in foreign currency notes or traveller’s cheques.
- Banks in India can lend to you for a home, within the same RBI loan-to-value limits as residents.
Checking a project from abroad
Most of the checks are online. Verify the RERA number on the Karnataka website, read the filed plan and progress updates, and have a lawyer in Bengaluru review the title papers and encumbrance certificate. Ask for a live video walk of the site, and if you can, send family to visit.
Signing without flying in
A specific power of attorney lets a trusted person sign and register for you. It has to be executed abroad in a form the sub-registrar accepts (before an Indian consulate, or notarised and apostilled), and stamped in Karnataka within three months of reaching India. Our step-by-step NRI guide covers it.
Tax in one line each
- Buying from a resident at ₹50 lakh or more: you deduct 1% TDS (s.194-IA). Illustrative: ₹75 lakh price, ₹75,000 TDS.
- Renting it out: rent is taxable in India, and your tenant deducts tax at source.
- Selling later: keep your remittance trail; RBI lets you repatriate sale money of up to two residential properties, subject to conditions.
How the Reeva team helps
We can share project papers digitally, arrange a video walk-through at a time that works in your time zone, and speak with the family member you trust on the ground. If you would like to see The Shalott Marque, price on request, ask us. We will not rush you.
FAQ
Questions buyers ask
Can I buy a flat in India on an OCI card?
Yes. OCI cardholders can buy residential property on the same terms as NRIs, with the same exclusion of agricultural land, plantations and farmhouses.
Can I take a home loan from an Indian bank while living abroad?
Yes. Indian banks offer home loans to NRIs. Expect to show overseas employment and income, and to repay through your NRE or NRO account. See our <a href="/guides/home-loan-process">home loan guide</a>.
Do I have to come to India to register?
Not necessarily. A properly executed and stamped power of attorney lets someone you trust register on your behalf.
Which account should I pay from, NRE or NRO?
Both are allowed. The choice affects what you can send abroad later, so many buyers prefer to fund the purchase from NRE money or fresh remittances and keep the records. A tax adviser can help you choose.
Can I see the home without travelling?
Yes. Ask for a live video walk-through and the project documents. The Reeva team can arrange both.
Buying from abroad? Talk to us
Tell us your time zone. The Reeva team will call back, share the papers and arrange a video walk-through.