Buying property in Gurgaon and Noida from abroad

What FEMA actually allows

Under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, a Non-Resident Indian or Overseas Citizen of India may acquire any immovable property in India other than agricultural land, a plantation or a farmhouse — and may do so without any approval from the Reserve Bank of India. There is no cap on the number of properties. You may also inherit or receive as a gift property of any kind from a resident relative, including agricultural land, though you cannot then buy more of it. Foreign nationals who are not of Indian origin need RBI approval and can generally only lease for up to five years; if that is your situation, tell us at the outset so we can route the transaction correctly.

How to fund the purchase

Payment must be made in Indian rupees through normal banking channels — from an NRE, NRO or FCNR account, or by inward remittance. Travellers' cheques and foreign currency notes are not permitted, and payment from a non-resident's overseas account directly to the developer is not compliant. The practical distinction to understand is between NRE and NRO money: funds routed from an NRE account (or fresh inward remittance) are fully repatriable later; funds from an NRO account are repatriable only within the USD 1 million per financial year limit. If repatriation matters to you, use NRE funds for the down payment and keep the paper trail.

NRI home loans

Most major Indian lenders — SBI, HDFC, ICICI, Axis and LIC Housing among them — offer NRI home loans on broadly the same rates as resident loans, funding 75–80% of the property value. You will need salary slips or an employment contract from your country of residence, an overseas bank statement, a copy of your passport and visa, a PAN card, and usually a resident co-applicant or POA holder in India. EMIs must be paid from your NRE/NRO account. Loan tenures are typically shorter than for residents (often capped at 15–20 years or your remaining working life), so budget for a higher EMI on the same principal — our EMI calculator will show you the difference.

Power of Attorney — the piece most buyers get wrong

A properly executed POA is what makes a fully remote purchase possible. It must be executed on the correct format (developers and banks each have their own preferred wording), signed before the Indian consulate or embassy in your country of residence — or notarised locally and then apostilled — and then adjudicated and stamped in India within three months of arrival. A general POA drafted for another purpose will usually be rejected at registration. We coordinate the exact text with the developer's legal team and your bank before you sign anything, so the document works for booking, loan and registration alike.

Taxes you should plan for

On purchase, if you buy from a resident seller above ₹50 lakh you must deduct 1% TDS. On rental income, tenants must deduct TDS at 30% — you recover the excess by filing a return, where you also get the 30% standard deduction and home-loan interest deduction. On sale, the buyer deducts TDS on your gains (currently 12.5% plus surcharge and cess on long-term gains), and you can apply for a lower- or nil-deduction certificate under Section 197 to avoid tying up cash. Stamp duty and registration are identical to those paid by residents — the stamp duty calculator covers Haryana and UP rates, including the concession for women buyers.

Repatriating your money later

Sale proceeds can be repatriated up to USD 1 million per financial year from an NRO account, with Form 15CA and a chartered accountant's Form 15CB. If the property was originally bought with NRE funds or inward remittance, the principal amount for up to two residential properties can be repatriated outside that limit. Keep your original purchase remittance advices and bank statements — the paperwork you need at sale is the paperwork you created at purchase, and reconstructing it a decade later is painful.

How the remote buying process works with us

Step one, a video consultation across time zones to fix budget, locality and objective. Step two, a curated shortlist with verified pricing, RERA status and honest notes on each project. Step three, live video walkthroughs of the site and sample flat conducted by your advisor — not a marketing reel, but a walk around the actual tower, approach road and podium. Step four, booking with the developer and, in parallel, loan sanction. Step five, POA execution at your consulate. Step six, registration in India by your POA holder, with us present. Step seven, handover, snag list and — if you want it — tenant sourcing and property management.