An NRI or OCI can buy any number of residential or commercial properties in India without RBI permission. You cannot buy agricultural land, plantation property or a farmhouse. Payment must move through banking channels — an inward remittance or your NRE, NRO or FCNR(B) account — and sale proceeds of up to two residential properties can be repatriated.
Key facts
- Permitted: residential and commercial property, bought outright or on loan, in any number.
- Not permitted without RBI approval: agricultural land, plantation property, farmhouses. You may inherit them.
- Payment must be in Indian rupees through banking channels. Foreign currency notes and travellers cheques are not allowed.
- Indian banks and housing finance companies lend to NRIs; repayment must come from NRE, NRO or inward remittance.
- A PAN is needed to register the property and to file returns on any rental income or capital gain.
- From an NRO account, up to USD 1 million per financial year can be remitted abroad, subject to tax clearance.
- If you cannot travel for registration, a properly executed and attested Power of Attorney lets someone register on your behalf.
What can you buy, and what is off limits?
Under FEMA, an NRI or an OCI cardholder may acquire immovable property in India other than agricultural land, plantation property and farmhouses. There is no cap on how many flats, villas or commercial units you may own and no permission needed before you buy. Foreign citizens who are not OCIs are in a different category and generally need RBI approval, so if the purchase is joint, check the status of every buyer on the deed.
You can inherit agricultural land, and you can hold what you owned before you moved. What you cannot do is buy it. People get caught out on plots sold as "farm plots" near city edges: if the land is classified agricultural and has not been converted, the sale will not hold up for an NRI buyer. Ask for the land conversion order, not the brochure.
How the money has to move
Every rupee of the purchase price must arrive through banking channels. That means one of four routes:
| Route | What it is | Repatriable later? |
|---|---|---|
| Inward remittance | A transfer from your UAE bank to the builder or seller through normal banking channels | Yes, within the two-property limit |
| NRE account | Rupee account funded by foreign earnings | Yes |
| FCNR(B) deposit | Foreign currency deposit held with an Indian bank | Yes |
| NRO account | Rupee account for income earned in India, such as rent | Up to USD 1 million per financial year, with tax clearance |
The distinction between NRE and NRO money is the one that matters years later, when you sell. Money that went in from an NRE account comes out more simply. Money routed through NRO sits inside the annual limit and needs a chartered accountant's certificate. Keep the remittance advices and the bank statements for every instalment. At the point of repatriation your bank will ask for proof of how the property was funded, and a payment made eight years ago is hard to reconstruct from memory.
Can you get a home loan on a Dubai salary?
Yes. Indian banks and housing finance companies run NRI home loan products, and the assessment is on your overseas income, converted. What differs from a resident loan:
- Tenures are usually shorter, and lenders often want the loan to close before you turn 60.
- The loan is disbursed in rupees and must be repaid in rupees, from NRE or NRO funds or by inward remittance. You cannot service it from a UAE account directly.
- Documentation runs to a valid passport and visa, the labour contract or employment letter, salary certificates, overseas bank statements, and usually an attested Power of Attorney in favour of someone in India.
- Most lenders want the documents attested by the Indian consulate or notarised and apostilled in the UAE.
Rates for NRI borrowers track resident rates closely. The real variable is how quickly the lender processes attested documents from abroad, which is worth asking about before you pick on headline rate alone.
Power of Attorney: the document that decides how hard this is
If you cannot be in India for registration, you will need a Power of Attorney. A general POA giving open-ended authority over your property is a bad idea. A specific POA, naming the property, naming the acts permitted (execute the sale deed, present it for registration, take possession) and naming an end date, is the version to use.
From the UAE, the sequence is: draft the POA in India to match the sub-registrar's requirements, sign it before the Indian consulate in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, or have it notarised and apostilled, then send the original to India, where it is stamped and, in several states, registered before use. Each state's sub-registrar has its own view on what it will accept, so the draft should be prepared by a lawyer in the state where the property sits, not where you live.
Tax, in the order you will meet it
Three tax points come up, and only the first is immediate.
When you buy
If you buy from a resident seller, you deduct TDS at the standard rate for property transactions above the threshold and deposit it against the seller's PAN. If you buy from another NRI, the deduction is made under a different section, at a higher rate, and you need a TAN to deposit it. Buyers routinely get this wrong and inherit the liability. Confirm the seller's residential status in writing before the first payment.
While you hold it
Rental income from Indian property is taxable in India regardless of where you live. It is reported on an Indian return, and the standard deduction and home loan interest deduction apply as they would for a resident. The India–UAE double taxation avoidance agreement determines how the same income is treated at the other end.
When you sell
Capital gains are taxable in India, with the holding period deciding whether they are short or long term. The buyer deducts TDS on the sale consideration, and if the actual gain is lower than the deduction, you claim the difference back by filing a return, or apply in advance for a lower deduction certificate. Rates and the indexation treatment have changed more than once in recent years, so confirm the current position with a chartered accountant before you sign rather than relying on an article, including this one.
Taking the money out again
Repatriation of sale proceeds is allowed for up to two residential properties, provided the property was bought in line with FEMA and paid for through the routes above. Proceeds beyond that, and anything held in NRO, fall inside the USD 1 million per financial year limit, which also covers other NRO remittances. The bank will want Form 15CA and a chartered accountant's Form 15CB confirming that tax has been paid.
A buying sequence that works from the Gulf
- Verify the project on the state RERA portal by registration number. Telangana: tsrera.gov.in. Tamil Nadu: rera.tn.gov.in. Karnataka: rera.karnataka.gov.in.
- Get the title documents and the approved plan reviewed by a lawyer in that state. Do this before paying a booking amount, not after.
- Open or confirm your NRE and NRO accounts and get the PAN in place.
- Get the loan pre-assessed on your UAE income so the payment schedule is realistic.
- Execute the specific POA through the Indian consulate if you will not be present.
- Pay every instalment through banking channels and file the advices in one place.
- Measure the carpet area at handover against the agreement, and collect the occupancy certificate copy.
Seeing the projects without flying to India
Urbanrise runs a Dubai Experience Centre at Al Moosa Business Centre on Umm Hureir Road, where its Prelaunch Utsav is running now: pre-launch inventory across Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, VR walkthroughs of homes still under construction, NRI home loan desks that assess eligibility on a UAE salary, and advisers on RERA, POA and repatriation. Entry is free for UAE residents. Details and registration are on the Prelaunch Utsav page.
If you want an independent read on the builder before you go, PropIQ's Urbanrise review covers the delivery record, the RERA position and the caveats, and is written separately from this series.
Frequently asked questions
Can an NRI buy agricultural land in India?
No. An NRI or OCI cannot buy agricultural land, plantation property or a farmhouse without specific RBI approval. You may inherit such property, and you may continue to hold what you owned before becoming an NRI.
Do I need RBI permission to buy a flat in India?
No. An NRI or OCI can buy residential and commercial property freely, in any number, with no prior permission. The restriction applies only to agricultural land, plantations and farmhouses.
Can I pay the builder in dirhams?
Not directly. Payment has to reach the seller in Indian rupees through banking channels, either as an inward remittance from your UAE account or from your NRE, NRO or FCNR(B) account. Foreign currency notes and travellers cheques are not permitted.
Do I have to travel to India to register the property?
Not if you execute a Power of Attorney. A specific POA naming the property and the acts permitted, signed before the Indian consulate in the UAE or notarised and apostilled, lets your representative register on your behalf. Several states require the POA to be stamped and registered in India before use.
How much money can I send back out after selling?
Sale proceeds of up to two residential properties can be repatriated, provided the purchase followed FEMA and was funded through permitted channels. Other remittances from an NRO account fall within an overall limit of USD 1 million per financial year, with Form 15CA and a chartered accountant's Form 15CB.
Is rental income from my Indian flat taxable if I live in Dubai?
Yes. Income from property situated in India is taxable in India whatever your residential status, and you file an Indian return for it. How the same income is treated in the UAE is governed by the India–UAE double taxation avoidance agreement.
What is the single most common mistake NRI buyers make?
Paying instalments from mixed sources without keeping the remittance trail. The documentation that allows repatriation later is created at the time of purchase; it cannot be reconstructed years afterwards.
Talking to Urbanrise directly
Pre-launch inventory, price bands and payment plans across Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai — and, for buyers in the Gulf, the Prelaunch Utsav running now at the Urbanrise Dubai Experience Centre.
See the Dubai event →