You cannot open a PPF account once you are a non-resident. The rule is plain: only "an adult who is a resident citizen of India" may open one.
The account you opened before you left is a different matter, and this is where most of the wrong advice sits. It is not closed. It runs to maturity, keeps earning at the normal rate, and pays out to you.
Two things do change, and both cost money if you miss them.
It cannot be extended
A resident may extend a matured PPF in five-year blocks, again and again. You may not. Your account ends at maturity.
The rule is written for someone who leaves. It says nothing about coming back before maturity — ask, rather than assume the restriction lifts.
Returning to India permanently for good
Interest stops on the maturity date
A resident can leave a matured PPF untouched and it keeps earning. Yours does not. No interest is paid after the maturity date, however long you leave it there.
A PPF matures fifteen full financial years after the end of the year you opened it. Find that date and take the money out on it.
What you get back is not repatriable
The proceeds go to you on a non-repatriation basis. In practice that means they land in an NRO account, and sending them abroad runs through the USD 1 million route like any other NRO balance.
See what is left of your USD 1 million this year
"Non-resident" here means the tax test, not FEMA
For PPF, a non-resident is someone who is not a resident under the Income-tax Act. That is the day-count test, and it runs by financial year.
Your FEMA status can change the day you board the flight. Your income-tax status usually waits for the year to end. There is a stretch where you are already an NRI for your bank and still a resident for this rule. Both are correct.
NRI, RNOR or ROR — which one are you?
- You cannot open a PPF account as a non-resident.
- An existing account is not closed — it runs to maturity at the normal rate.
- It cannot be extended, and no interest is paid after maturity. Take the money out on the date.
Source: Government Savings Promotion General Rules, 2018 (GSR 1003(E)) — rule 4(1) on who may open one, rule 4(3) on the account you already hold, rule 2(g) on the income-tax definition. The fifteen-year term and the five-year blocks are the Public Provident Fund Scheme, 2019 (GSR 915(E)). Checked 22 September 2026.