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NRI Guides
ECNR Registration for NRIs: 12 Questions Answered

UPDATE (28 Nov 2018): The decision to make ECNR registration mandatory for Indians flying to these countries on employment visa has been postponed until further notice.  The article below had been published on 25 Nov 2018 and does not reflect the update. According to a recent advisory from Ministry of External Affairs, all Indians travelling on employment visa to 18 countries including GCC countries has to register on a government website at least 24 hours before departure. The move which becomes mandatory for ECNR passport holders from 1st January 2019 onwards has led to several questions regarding the procedure and if they have to register now or the next time they visit India. Here are some of the frequently asked questions and their answers as stated on the official website: 1) What is this recent Advisory is all about? As per the MEA’s advisory dated 14th Nov 2018, ECNR Passport…

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NRI Guides
Applications for Indian Passport through online only: Indian Embassy

All applications for a new Indian passport in Qatar will have to be filled online starting from September 15, the Indian Embassy in Qatar has said. Informing this, the embassy has issued a communique on its website that explains the steps involved in applying for a new passport. Step by step guidelines to apply online for a new Indian Passport 1. Visit Passport Application website Visit the on-line passport application page by following the url:- http://passport.gov.in/nri/Online.do Passport on-line registration form will appear on your screen. 2. Major sections There are three major sections in that application. a) Online Registration b) Applicant Information c) Address Details 3. Online Registration Section Follow the steps as described below: – (a) Select the Indian Mission that applies to your jurisdiction from the dropdown menu. (b) Select the desired service from the drop-down menu. These are the options to choose from. (i) Fresh Passport (ii)…

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NRI Guides
Why and how you should convert Savings Account to NRO Account

When a person becomes a Non Resident Indian (NRI), he is required to either close his existing savings account, or convert it to a Non­ Resident (Ordinary) or NRO account. Most individuals make a mistake of continuing a resident savings account even after becoming a NRI but the law does not allow it. As per FEMA regulation, when a resident’s status changes to NRI the resident savings account have to be converted to a NRO account. Or in simple words it’s illegal to hold savings bank account for NRIs. It is not possible to convert a resident savings account to NRE account as the fund source for NRE account has to be remitted from abroad. NRO accounts can be opened with funds either remitted from abroad or generated in India. Features of NRO account These are just like a savings accounts, with certain restrictions on repatriation of proceeds to the…

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NRI Guides
Returning to India? Here’s how to manage your bank account

The changing global scenario has seen many Indians returning to the country. This amounts to change of status from Non-Resident Indian (NRI) to Resident Indian as far as money matters are concerned. NRE/ NRO/ FCNR account When an NRI comes back to India and becomes a Resident Indian, he is required to inform his bank about the change of status. The NRE and NRO accounts that he holds will have to be redesignated to resident savings account. RFC account One also has the option to convert an existing NRE account to a Resident Foreign Currency (RFC) account, where one can maintain funds in foreign currency and the funds (principal + interest) are fully repatriable. The RFC account allows credits from overseas in foreign currency from sale of assets outside India or income received outside India (in the form of employment, assets, investments) as the case may be. Redesignation of account…

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NRI Guides
Becoming a US citizen – who can do it, and how?

Immigrant advocates say they’ve seen a huge spike in calls and questions about how people can become U.S. citizens since President Trump’s executive orders on immigration and travel. Many of these immigrants have lived in the country for years but didn’t apply to become citizens earlier, citing a lack of time or money for the application fees. It’s common for presidential elections and changes in the application process to spur citizenship increases. Here’s a look at the process of becoming a citizen: 1) Who can naturalize? Immigrants can apply to become U.S. citizens through naturalization, but the process is not open to everyone. Most people must live here and have a green card for five years before applying. Spouses of American citizens can generally apply after three years with a green card. The estimated 11 million immigrants in the country illegally don’t have a direct path to citizenship. Nor can…

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NRI Guides
Complete Guide to National Pension System (NPS) for NRIs

National Pension System (NPS) is a voluntary, defined contribution retirement savings scheme. The NPS has been designed to enable systematic savings during the subscriber’s working life. It is an attempt towards finding a sustainable solution to provide adequate retirement income to every citizen of India. Since October 2015, Non-resident Indians have been allowed to open accounts under the NPS. By opening an NPS account, NRIs can create a pension corpus in India. How NPS works Under the NPS, an individual’s savings is pooled in a pension fund. These funds are invested by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) regulated professional fund managers as per the approved investment guidelines in the diversified portfolios comprising of government bonds, bills, corporate debentures and shares. These contributions would grow and accumulate over the years, depending on the returns earned on the investment made. At the time of a normal exit from NPS, the…

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NRI Guides
Indian Passport rules liberalized, Here are the 10 major changes

India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday announced new Passport Rules that are more relaxed and in sync with the modern times. Now PAN Card, Aadhar Card, Driving license would serve as the proof of date of birth of the Passport Applicant. Procedure has become easier for single parents to apply for passports for their children. The Passport acquisition has been made smoother for children, who are orphaned, adopted or born out of wedlock. “In order to streamline, liberalize and ease the process of issue of passport, the Ministry of External Affairs has taken a number of steps in the realm of passport policy which is expected to benefit the citizens of India applying for a passport,” the Ministry said in a press release. Here are the 10 major changes to the passport procedures: 1. Proof of Date of Birth Birth Certificate as the proof of Date of Birth (DOB) is…

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NRI Guides
Guide: How to add a joint holder to a NRE/NRO account

Non-resident Indians are allowed to open Non-Resident (External) and Non-Resident (Ordinary) accounts, as well as FCNR deposits with banks. The repatriation rules for each of these is different. While NRE accounts are freely repatriable, NRO account are conditionally so. When opening an NRE account, the NRI can add a non-resident joint holder to the account. Here’s how. Form A joint applicant inclusion request form needs to be obtained from the branch or downloaded from the bank website. Joint holder details, customer ID (if he already holds an account with the bank), account operating instructions (jointly, either or survivor, anyone or survivor) must be indicated on the form. Documents Self attested copies of the following documents need to be enclosed: Passport Visa/OCI/PIO card/Resident permit Overseas address proof Initial paycheque of any amount from the joint applicant’s overseas account. If the joint applicant is unable to provide the paycheque, the passport and…

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NRI Guides
Depositing 500, 1000 Rupee notes to NRI bank account : Common Questions

Most NRI’s prefer to keep small amounts of Indian currency to meet their immediate expenses when they arrive in India. For the convenience of storage it is natural that these will be higher denominations like 500 and 1000 rupee notes, which unfortunately are no longer considered legal tender by Indian Government. However there is no need to panic now, especially if the amount is reasonable and is well accounted for. In our earlier post, we discussed what are the options for NRIs to exchange or deposit this money. To simplify the options, NRIs abroad need to either carry the cash to India or send with someone else to deposit in their NRO accounts. If you haven’t read it, here is the detailed article which gained over 4 lakh page views and was shared by around 30,000 readers in few days. However, as per RBI & Customs guidelines, one person can carry only Rs 25,000 worth…

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NRI Guides
Travel Guide : How much currency can you carry to India?

This article explains the Indian Customs limit on the amount of cash (Indian and Foreign currency) you can carry in and out of India with you. Ever since India Government announced the ban on higher denomination currencies (Rs 500 and Rs 1000) overnight, there has been lot of panic among Indians as on how to exchange the currency in their hands. While Indian residents can exchange or deposit the money in banks until 30 December 2016, the options for NRIs are limited. The most suitable option is to either take the money with them or send with someone who is travelling to India soon (Read more here). The next question is how much money they can take by hand. Unfortunately, there is lot of confusing information online, including some official websites, which are not updated in the past one year (since announcement of new rules during early 2016). Even RBI and…

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