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If you’re planning to shift abroad for a couple of years due to professional reasons or otherwise, you’ll soon be identified as a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) in your homeland. This means your existing bank accounts will no longer hold validity as soon as your residential status changes on paper.
So how to deal with your finances here, while sitting abroad?

Firstly, it’s important to have the right bank accounts, wholly dedicated to NRIs, to make any transactions once you shift to a foreign land.

These are broadly of three types – Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO), Non-Resident External (NRE), and Foreign Currency Non-Resident (FCNR) bank account.

If you want to store your foreign earnings in a safe haven, an NRE account is pitch-perfect. It is tax-free and easily repatriable. An NRO account, on the other hand, is like a resident bank account to store the locally sourced income. Interest earned on this account is taxable and the only USD 1 million can be repatriated from this account annually. Both these accounts are rupee designated.

Meanwhile, the FCNR account is specifically for fixed deposits which permits you to save money in a foreign currency with minimum risk of exchange rate fluctuations. Interestingly, these funds are tax-free and fully transferable.

Here are the steps to open an NRI account online:

1. Visit the NRI Netbanking portal of any bank of your choice.

2. Fill in the required details to apply for a new account. This can include KYC details alongside a list of documents mentioned later in the article. (Note: You can upload scanned copies and later a bank representative can come for personal verification.)

3. Choose the suitable account type you’d wish to apply for.

4. Once all the documents are uploaded, submit them and wait for a call from the bank to assist further in the procedure.

5. You’d also need to fund your NRI account once all the documents are verified and accepted. NRO accounts can be funded by another NRO account/regular bank account. NRE accounts can be funded either from another NRE/FCNR account or via inward remittances from outside India. It is the same for FCNR accounts too.

6. Later, a nominee can also be added to the NRI account, if so desired.

Here’s a quick look at the list of documents that will be required to apply for an NRI account online/offline:

Photocopy of a valid passport

Photocopy of Visa

Overseas or the Indian address proof

Proof of NRI status

2 self-attested passport size photographs

Copy of Indian PAN Card

All the documents must be attested by either the Indian bank abroad, notary, or the Indian embassy.
Your first remittance to fund the account

If your documents are verified well in time, the NRI bank account will be active within a few days and the bank will provide you with a debit card, passbook, cheque book, PIN, etc., for easy access.

With digital banking at its peak, opening an NRI account is pretty easy today. All you need is to make some effort and provide the bank with the necessary documents to avoid any financial hassles later.