For NRI & OCI buyers
Buying in Chennai, from anywhere else.
Buying property in India from abroad is not difficult, but it is exacting: the rules about who may buy, how the money travels and what may be sent back are specific, and the decisions that matter most are the ones made before any money moves. Here is the framework.
The essentials
Can an NRI or OCI buy property in India?
Yes, for residential and commercial property, under the Reserve Bank of India’s general permission — no separate approval is needed for each purchase. The restriction is on land: an NRI or OCI cannot purchase agricultural land, plantation property or a farmhouse, although such property can be inherited, and in some cases received as a gift from a resident relative.
How must the money reach India?
Through normal banking channels only. That means an inward remittance from abroad, or funds held in an NRE, NRO or FCNR account. Payment cannot be made in foreign currency notes, by traveller’s cheque, or from an account outside these routes — the payment trail is what establishes, years later, how much may be repatriated.
What is the difference between NRE and NRO, for a purchase?
An NRE account holds income earned abroad and is freely repatriable. An NRO account holds income earned in India — rent, dividends, a previous sale — and repatriation from it is capped and requires certification. Buying from NRE funds keeps the cleanest repatriation position; buying from NRO is permitted but the money is harder to send back later.
Can an NRI take a home loan in India?
Yes. Indian banks and housing finance companies lend to NRIs and OCIs against Indian property. The loan is sanctioned and disbursed in rupees, and repaid in rupees — through inward remittance, or by debit to an NRE, NRO or FCNR account. Loan-to-value and tenor are usually a little tighter than for a resident borrower.
Do I have to be in India to complete the purchase?
No. Most NRI buyers complete through a Power of Attorney, giving a trusted person in India authority to sign and register on their behalf. The document must be executed correctly to be accepted: signed before the Indian consulate in your country of residence, or notarised and apostilled there, and then stamped and adjudicated in India. A PoA drafted loosely, or stamped incorrectly, is the single most common reason an NRI registration stalls.
What documents will I need?
A valid passport, and an OCI card or proof of Indian origin where the passport is foreign. A PAN — mandatory, because the transaction is reported against it. Overseas address proof, recent photographs, and the PoA where one is being used. Your banker will ask for more for a loan.
What tax is deducted when I buy?
It depends on who is selling. Buying from a resident seller, you deduct TDS on the consideration above the statutory threshold. Buying from another NRI, the deduction is against the seller’s capital gain and is materially higher, with surcharge and cess on top — and the obligation to deduct correctly sits with you, the buyer. Get this checked before you pay; a shortfall is recovered from the buyer, not the seller.
What tax applies while I hold it, and when I sell?
Rental income from Indian property is taxable in India, whether or not you are resident, and is declared on an Indian return. On sale, gains are taxed as short or long term depending on how long the property was held, with indexation and reinvestment reliefs available on long-term gains. If your country of residence has a double taxation avoidance agreement with India, relief for tax paid here is usually claimable there.
Can I send the money back out again?
Yes, within limits. Where the property was bought in line with FEMA and paid for through proper banking channels, sale proceeds of up to two residential properties may be repatriated. Beyond that, and for funds held in an NRO account generally, there is an annual ceiling per financial year, and a chartered accountant’s certification is required for the remittance. This is the point at which the payment trail from the original purchase matters.
How do I check a project is legitimate before I commit?
Verify the RERA registration number on the Tamil Nadu RERA portal — every project on this site publishes its number on its own page. That gives you the approved plans, the declared completion date and the promoter’s filings. Then have a local advocate run title and encumbrance checks independently of the developer.
General information, not adviceThresholds, rates and limits change — often at a budget — and your position depends on your country of residence and your own circumstances. Treat this as the shape of the thing, and take a chartered accountant’s view on the numbers before you commit.
Buying with RWD, from abroad
Shortlist from where you are
Every project here carries its configurations, areas, RERA number, location and floor plans. The map shows the whole portfolio against the city, which is usually the harder thing to judge from abroad.
See it without flying
The sales desk runs video walkthroughs of the site and the model apartment, on a call, at a time that works across your timezone.
Get your paperwork in order early
PAN, passport, OCI where applicable, and the PoA if someone will sign for you. The PoA takes the longest — start it before you choose, not after.
Move money the right way
Through NRE, NRO, FCNR or inward remittance, and keep every advice note. This is what your accountant will need when you want to repatriate.
Register, and take handover
Your attorney signs and registers in India. Construction updates continue to you wherever you are.
Talk to the NRI desk
Pending confirmationRWD to confirm: whether there is a dedicated NRI desk and its direct contact; which projects are open to NRI buyers; whether RWD assists with drafting or adjudicating a Power of Attorney; and any empanelled banks for NRI home loans.