Can an NRI buy land in India — and build a home from abroad?

What an NRI/OCI can and cannot buy

Allowed (no prior RBI approval needed when paid through banking channels):

• Residential property — apartments, houses, villas
• Residential plots, including development-authority-allotted plots such as YEIDA scheme plots
• Commercial property — offices, shops

There is no cap on the number of properties you may buy.

Not allowed: agricultural land, farmhouses and plantation property. (You may only acquire these by inheritance, or as a gift from a resident Indian relative.)

NRE vs NRO vs FCNR — which account to use

All purchase and construction payments must be made in INR through banking channels — cash is not permitted.

• NRE (Non-Resident External): funded from foreign earnings, fully repatriable. Best for repatriation flexibility.
• NRO (Non-Resident Ordinary): a rupee account; repatriation of property proceeds is capped at USD 1 million per financial year.
• FCNR (B): a foreign-currency term deposit; treated like NRE for property payments.

Stage-wise construction payments are simply serviced from the same NRE/NRO account via NEFT/RTGS.

Power of Attorney — buying & building remotely

A Special Power of Attorney (SPoA) lets a trusted person in India sign documents, make payments and complete registration for that specific transaction. The authentication step depends on where you live:

• Hague-convention countries (USA, UK, Canada, most EU): get an Apostille on the notarised PoA.
• Gulf countries (UAE, Saudi, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait): get Indian Embassy/Consulate attestation instead.

Send the original (wet-ink) PoA by secure courier; in India it may need adjudication/stamping before use. Prefer a Special (not General) PoA limited to your transaction.

Repatriation — getting your money back out

• Bought with NRE/FCNR funds: sale proceeds are freely repatriable for up to two residential properties; no per-year cap for those.
• Bought with NRO/rupee funds: repatriation is capped at USD 1 million per financial year (aggregate); above that needs RBI approval.
• You will need Form 15CA (your declaration) and Form 15CB (a Chartered Accountant's certificate) for the remittance.

Your authorised-dealer bank processes the transfer once documents are complete.

TDS & tax when you sell

• Long-term (held > 24 months): TDS 12.5% (effective 23 July 2024) plus surcharge and 4% cess.
• Short-term (≤ 24 months): TDS 30%.
• TDS is typically deducted on the entire sale consideration, not just the gain — unless you obtain a Lower/Nil Deduction Certificate (Form 13, Section 197) in advance. This matters a lot on a large sale.
• DTAA relief can reduce double taxation — furnish a Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) and Form 10F.
• When you buy from a resident seller over ₹50 lakh, 1% TDS (Section 194-IA) applies — the buyer's duty.

RERA — how your money is protected

For RERA-registered projects, the promoter must keep at least 70% of buyer funds in a project-specific escrow account (RERA Act, Section 4(2)(l)(D)), withdrawable only for that project's land and construction against verified completion. UP RERA also handles buyer complaints and delay compensation.

This is process protection and recourse — not an absolute guarantee of completion. Always verify a project's registration number at up-rera.in.

Buying & building remotely — step by step

• 1. Define the goal — investment, a future home, or both; budget & timeline.
• 2. Shortlist a plot — sector, size and due-diligence (allotment letter, dues, title).
• 3. Set up money — NRE/NRO account ready; arrange the PoA (apostille/consulate).
• 4. Purchase — token, agreement, registration completed by your representative.
• 5. Design & approvals — finalise design over video; sanction the plan.
• 6. Build — milestone payments matched to verified progress; video updates each stage.
• 7. Handover — snag-free handover, documents and mutation.

Talk to the Vidastu NRI desk →

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