An NRI is a person resident outside India who is a citizen of India or is a person of Indian origin.

Under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), generally, a person is resident outside India if he is in India for less than 182 days during the course of the preceding financial year and also includes any person who stays abroad.

A person who has gone out of India or who stays outside India for any of the following:

You are a person of Indian origin if have at any time held an Indian passport, or either of your parents or any of your grandparents were citizens of India by virtue of the Constitution of India or the Citizenship Act, 1955 or are the spouse of an Indian citizen or of a person of Indian origin (other than of Pakistan or Bangladesh) and are now a foreign citizen (other than of Pakistan or Bangladesh).

If you are an NRI, the following investment opportunities are open to you:

As an NRI, you can open the following types of accounts:

As an NRI, you can open the following types of accounts:

No. Only those banks holding an Authorised Dealers' License or banks specially authorised in this regard by the Reserve Bank of India are permitted to open these accounts on behalf of NRIs.
You can open an account with ING as we have an Authorised Dealer status.

Yes, you can remit funds for opening the account in any convertible currency. However, in the case of NRO / NRE, the remitted funds will be converted into Indian Rupees at the spot exchange rate. These accounts will be maintained in Rupees.
In the case of FCNR accounts, you can remit the funds in any convertible currency. These accounts will be maintained in the currency of your choice i.e. USD, GBP, EURO, JPY, AUD and CAD.

               Yes, you can.

Travelers Cheques can be used to credit/open the account. NRIs bringing Foreign Currency Notes & Travelers Cheques will have to submit a Currency Declaration Form (CDF) to the customs authorities on arrival in India if the foreign currency notes exceed USD 5,000/- or Travelers Cheques and notes exceed USD 10,000/-. You must produce the CDF for endorsement by the bank when you submit the money for opening/credit to an account.

If you choose the reinvestment scheme, Principal & Interest will be payable on maturity. However, you get the advantage of a higher effective yield on maturity.

You can avail of a cheque book / ATM Card facility with an NRO - Savings Account & Current Account as well as an NRE - Savings Account & Current Account.

               No

Since accounts under the NRE scheme are held in Rupees, you will bear the exchange risk if the Rupee depreciates and if you want to make an outward remittance.
In the case of FCNR schemes , this account is maintained in the currency of your choice (USD, GBP, EURO, JPY, AUD & CAD), therefore you will not bear any exchange risk.

Interest earnings can be repatriated. In addition to this, remittance/s up to USD 1 million per calendar year from balances in NRO accounts subject to payment of applicable taxes is allowed for any purpose up to an aggregate value of USD 1 million:

The documents required to be produced for effecting a remittance are:

     1. Account holder's Letter giving details of purpose of remittance and certifying the same
     2. Cheque or debit authority if the same is not contained in the letter in item (i)
     3. Application in Form A2
     4. A certificate from a Chartered Accountant
     5. FEMA Declaration to be filled in by the NRI

A Non-Resident Indian (NRI) or a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) may remit an amount up to US $ one million per financial year out of the balances held in his Non-Resident (Ordinary) Rupee (NRO) account, or out of the sale proceeds of assets (inclusive of assets acquired by way of inheritance or settlement), for all bonafide purposes. The remittance facility in respect of sale proceeds of immovable property is not available to a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, China, Afghanistan, Iran, Nepal and Bhutan.

     Remittance of current income
An NRI / PIO can freely remit current income like rent, dividend, pension, interest etc

     Facilities for students
As Non-Residents, they will be eligible to receive remittances from India based on the following conditions:

     • Up to US$ 2,00,000 (as per Liberalised Remittance Scheme) from close relatives in India on self declaration towards maintenance, medical grounds or any other bonafide purpose as mentioned in the RBI Master circular, which could include remittances towards their studies also.
     • Up to US $ 1 million per financial year out of sale proceeds of assets or balances in their account maintained with an AD (Authorised Dealer) Bank in India.
International Credit Cards
NRIs / PIO can use International Credit Cards abroad and settle bills out of balances held in the card holder's FCNR / NRE / Non-Resident (Ordinary) rupee accounts.

Yes. Sales proceeds not exceeding US$ 1 million can be repatriated subject to production of documentary evidence of inheritance & tax clearance certificates to the authorized dealer. Prior permission from RBI would be required for citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, China or Iran. This facility is not available for citizens of Nepal & Bhutan.

    

The type of account opened for a foreign national depends on the purpose of his visit to India. If a person has come on a tourist Visa, he/she can open an NRO account with maximum validity of 6 months. But if the foreign national has come to India for the purpose of service, he can open a resident account only.

No. The Resident Indian is not exposed to any tax obligations.

Yes, you can nominate an NRI or an Indian Resident subject to the following conditions:

Yes. You can avail of loans against your NRO/NRE/FCNR Deposits, the loan/overdraft can be used for personal purposes or for carrying on Business activities other than 1) Relending 2) Agricultural/Plantation activities 3) Real Estate Business.

Yes. Transfer of funds from NRE Accounts maintained by two different persons may be allowed for bonafide personal purposes such as personal expenses, education of children, and gifts.

Yes, you can break your deposit before the maturity period. NRE Deposits booked on or after 1st May 2003 will qualify for interest only if they have run for a minimum period of 12 months. NRO Deposits would qualify for interest only if they have run for a period of 15 days, FCNR deposits will qualify for interest only if they have run for a 1 year period.

If the customer leaves renewal instructions, the deposit will be renewed at maturity in accordance with the instructions. In the absence of any instructions, we will roll over principal & interest for the same period at the rates prevailing on the date of maturity.

Returning Indians can avail of the following facilities:

This is a scheme permitting persons of Indian nationality or origin who have returned to India for permanent settlement (Returning Indians) after being resident outside India for a continuous period of not less than one year, to open foreign currency accounts against the proceeds held in NRE/FCNR accounts of Funds remitted from abroad.

You can open Current, Savings and Fixed Deposit Accounts under the RFC scheme. However you will not be given a cheque book facility, on the RFC Savings/Current Account.

RFC accounts can be maintained in any permitted currency such as USD, GBP, JPY, EURO etc.

The frequency of interest payments on RFC Savings & Deposit Accounts is half yearly.

For Non-Resident nominees, funds can be remitted abroad to the extent of their entitlement if on the date of the account holder's death such nominees are residing outside India. If the nominee is residing in India on the date of death of the account holder, then the equivalent amount will be paid to him in Indian Rupees.

               Yes

               Yes

Funds in RFC Accounts can be remitted abroad for any bonafide purpose of the account holder.

Yes. The amount will be converted and credited to the customer’s resident a/c.

               Yes.

No. NRIs are not permitted to invest in PPF, NSCs and Post Office Savings Schemes.
However investments made by a resident (in PPF, NSCs or Post Office Savings scheme),who subsequently becomes NRI may continue to be held upto its maturity on a non-repatriation basis.

               No

               No

               Yes

Yes. However, the company offering shares for subscription must seek RBI permission to allot shares through a private arrangement to the NRI.

Non-resident Indian citizens can freely purchase and sell residential and commercial properties in India. Foreign citizens need to obtain RBI's permission for the same. However, a foreign citizen of Indian origin need not obtain RBI's permission for purchasing and selling residential and commercial properties (other than agricultural/plantation land and farm houses) for bonafide purposes, provided these purchases are met out of foreign exchange funds.

Yes, an NRI can invest in Mutual Funds. However in the case of Money Market Mutual Funds, the investments will be on a non-repatriable basis.

No , NRIs can invest & redeem units in Mutual Funds without prior permission from RBI. Contact ING for further details.

You can invest by issuing a cheque against your NRO/NRE Accounts. If you invest from funds in your NRE/FCNR Accounts then you will be able to repatriate income on Mutual Fund earnings abroad.

               No

Company deposits for NRIs have a maximum maturity of 3 years.

Yes, you can invest in company deposits with repatriation benefits.

The amount can be remitted through normal banking channels or by debiting your exisitng NRE/FCNR Accounts