9-min read

The NRI's guide to buying property in India — without getting burned from 8,000 km away

What you can buy, how to pay legally under FEMA, the tax that lands on YOU as the buyer, and the traps that catch NRIs specifically — so distance stops being a disadvantage.

For NRIs and OCIs buying a home or investment back in India — especially in Gurugram — who can't walk the site and need the structure right before they wire a single rupee.

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One number, never sold.

FEMA

the one law that decides what you can buy and how you pay for it

NRE / NRO

the only legal payment routes — no foreign-currency cash, ever

Agri = no

farmland, farmhouses and plantations are off-limits (inheritance aside)

Read this first (30 seconds)

Distance is your only real disadvantage. Structure removes it.

As an NRI or OCI you can buy residential and commercial property in India freely — any number of units, no RBI permission needed. The law isn't the obstacle. The obstacle is doing it remotely: paying through the right account, deducting the right tax, signing through a power of attorney you can trust, and verifying a property you can't stand in front of.

Get those four right and you buy on exactly the same footing as a resident — minus the site visit. Get them wrong and you overpay, get taxed twice, or hand a stranger control of your money. This guide is the four, in order.

The 20-second version

You CAN buy any number of residential or commercial properties in India. You CANNOT buy agricultural land, a farmhouse or a plantation — those can only come to you by inheritance or gift.

Pay only through your NRE, NRO or FCNR account (or normal banking channels) — no foreign-currency cash, no traveller's cheques. A PAN card is mandatory, and a property lawyer plus a chartered accountant are not optional when you're buying from abroad.

1 · What you can — and can't — buy

Under FEMA the line is about land type, not your passport:

Property type	Can an NRI / OCI buy it?	Notes
Apartment / built house	Yes	Any number, residential use
Commercial property	Yes	Any number
Residential plot (non-agricultural)	Yes	Land must be legally non-agri / converted
Agricultural land	No	Only by inheritance or gift
Farmhouse	No	Only by inheritance or gift
Plantation property	No	Only by inheritance or gift

No RBI permission, no cap on how many homes you buy. The only hard 'no' is farm / agri land — a builder offering an NRI a 'farmhouse plot' is a red flag to check carefully.

2 · How to pay — the only legal routes

Every rupee must move through banking channels. Three accounts do the work:

1
NRE account (repatriable) — use this if you might take the money back out
Funded from your foreign earnings. Money brought in via NRE is fully repatriable, so a property bought with it can later be sold and the proceeds sent back abroad (subject to the limits below). If exit-flexibility matters, fund the purchase from NRE.
2
NRO account (for India-sourced money) — repatriation is capped
Holds your Indian income (rent, dividends, a resident's gift). You can buy with it, but repatriating from NRO is limited to USD 1 million per financial year and needs a CA's Form 15CA/15CB. Fine for buying; plan ahead if you'll want the money out.
3
FCNR / home loan — the other two doors
FCNR holds foreign-currency deposits and can fund a purchase. Indian banks also give NRIs home loans (repaid from NRE/NRO or rent). What you cannot do: pay in foreign cash, traveller's cheques, or route money outside the banking system.

3 · The tax trap that lands on YOU, the buyer

Buying from a RESIDENT seller (price ₹50 lakh+): you deduct 1% TDS under §194-IA. Simple.

Buying from an NRI SELLER: you must deduct TDS under §195 at capital-gains rates — roughly 12.5–20%, pushed higher by surcharge and cess — usually on the full sale value, unless the seller gives you a lower-deduction certificate (Form 13). Deduct too little and the Income-Tax Department treats YOU as the defaulter and recovers the shortfall, plus interest and penalty, from you — not the seller.

So: get the seller's residential status in writing before you pay, and run §195 through a CA. This single line has cost buyers more than any brokerage.

4 · The five traps that catch NRIs specifically

Clean papers don't protect you from these — distance is the vulnerability:

A Power of Attorney is a scalpel, not a blank cheque

You'll probably sign through a POA because you're abroad. Make it SPECIFIC (this property, these acts), REGISTERED, and given to someone you'd trust with your bank password — ideally family, never the broker or builder. A broad, general POA handed to a stranger is the most common way NRIs get defrauded. And a POA conveys zero ownership by itself (SC, Suraj Lamp, 2011).

Plan the exit before the entry — repatriation has limits

Bought via NRE / foreign funds? Sale proceeds of up to two residential properties are repatriable. Bought via NRO? You're inside the USD 1 million / year cap with Form 15CA/15CB. If there's any chance you'll move the money back abroad, that decision is made at PURCHASE — by which account you pay from — not at sale.

Don't get taxed twice — use the DTAA

Rent and capital gains are taxable in India, and your country of residence may tax them too. India has Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements with 90+ countries — claim the credit so the same income isn't taxed in both places. Use a CA who handles cross-border returns; this is not a DIY area.

Verifying from 8,000 km is where NRIs overpay

You can't walk the site, so you lean on whoever's selling — exactly backwards. Insist on the checks a careful resident does: a 30-year title chain, RERA registration confirmed on the state portal, the Occupancy Certificate, and the CARPET area in writing — all checked by YOUR lawyer, not the builder's. (Our VERIFY and CHECK guides are the full versions.)

The 'NRI premium' and the spam machine

The moment a portal tags you as an NRI, quoted prices drift up and your number gets sold to agents across time zones. Keep your number private until a property is actually verified — basic facts (carpet area, RERA number, price) should never sit behind a phone-number gate.

Your NRI buying checklist

Screenshot this. Before you wire anything:

Property is residential or commercial — NOT agricultural / farmhouse / plantation
PAN card ready (mandatory), plus OCI card / passport for KYC
Paying via NRE / NRO / FCNR or a bank loan — never foreign cash
Seller's residential status confirmed IN WRITING (it sets your TDS: 1% vs 12.5–20%+)
TDS deducted and deposited correctly — CA-checked if the seller is an NRI
POA, if used, is specific + registered + held by someone you fully trust
Title chain, RERA, OC and carpet area verified by YOUR independent lawyer
Repatriation route chosen at purchase (NRE vs NRO; USD 1M/yr cap; 15CA/15CB)
DTAA / double-tax position checked with a cross-border CA
Every payment and tax flow documented for FEMA compliance

If the seller is an NRI and you haven't spoken to a CA about §195, stop — that's the line that costs the most.

Not legal or tax advice

This guide is general information to help you ask better questions — not legal, tax or FEMA advice. NRI rules, TDS rates, repatriation limits and DTAA benefits depend on your country of residence, the property and the date, and they change. Engage an independent property lawyer for title and a chartered accountant (ideally cross-border-experienced) before you pay or sign anything.

Sources & citations›

Who can buy / what's barred (residential & commercial yes; agricultural land, farmhouse, plantation no, except by inheritance): FEMA + RBI Master Direction on acquisition and transfer of immovable property in India.
Payment via NRE / NRO / FCNR / banking channels only, no foreign-currency cash: FEMA (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules.
TDS: §194-IA (1% on a resident seller, ₹50L+) vs §195 (NRI seller, capital-gains rates + surcharge & cess; lower deduction via Form 13). Buyer is 'assessee-in-default' for under-deduction.
Repatriation: proceeds of up to two residential properties (if bought with forex / NRE); NRO up to USD 1 million per financial year with Form 15CA/15CB.
Double-taxation relief via India's DTAA network (90+ countries). A POA conveys zero ownership: SC, Suraj Lamp & Industries v. State of Haryana, 2011.

You can't fly in for every site visit. That's exactly what we're for.

Buying from abroad means trusting someone on the ground — and most of the people offering to help get paid to sell you something. villow is buyer-first: every listing is VERIFIED before you see it (title, RERA, OC, true carpet area), builders pay us so you don't, and your number is never sold across a wall of agents. The eyes on the ground you can actually trust.