Under the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019, an NRI or an OCI cardholder may acquire any immovable property in India other than agricultural land, plantation property or a farm house. No permission from the Reserve Bank is needed. A flat, a house, a shop, an office, a plot meant for construction — all of it is open.
Payment must come through banking channels: an inward remittance, or a debit to your NRE, NRO or FCNR(B) account. Not foreign currency notes, not traveller's cheques, and not a friend's account.
Two habits save the most trouble later. First, hold the property jointly or name a nominee, because succession from abroad is slow. Second, keep the funding trail — remittance advices, bank statements, the payment schedule — filed with the sale deed. When you sell, the repatriation of proceeds depends on being able to show how the purchase was funded.
- Agricultural land, plantations and farm houses cannot be purchased, only inherited.
- A resident Indian cannot be added as a co-owner merely to route funds.
- Home loans from Indian banks are available, and are repaid through NRE/NRO or by the tenant directly.
Source: Reserve Bank of India, FAQ Purchase of Immovable Property, updated 6 April 2023. What an NRI or OCI may buy, hold and sell is Rule 24 of the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 — agricultural land, a farmhouse and a plantation are outside the purchase and gift routes, and agricultural land may only ever be sold to a resident. Checked 20 September 2026.