Chapter 07 of 11 · sources checked 16 October 2026
Indian bank accounts and money rules
FEMA residency, and the NRE, NRO and FCNR(B) accounts that apply once you are resident outside India.
NRO
When a resident Indian becomes a person resident outside India, the existing resident bank account should be designated as an NRO account.
2 sourcesS115 RBIS116 RBIFEMA residency is a separate test
FEMA residency is a separate test from tax residency: FEMA s.2(v)(i) counts as resident a person in India more than 182 days in the preceding financial year, but excludes a person who has gone out of India for taking up employment, for carrying on a business or vocation outside India, or for any other purpose indicating an uncertain stay abroad.
2 sourcesS112 RBIS113 RBIRBI defines a Non-resident Indian (NRI) as a person resident outside India who is a citizen of India.
2 sourcesS114 RBIS115 RBI
Your accounts
When a resident Indian becomes a person resident outside India, the existing resident bank account should be designated as an NRO account.
2 sourcesS115 RBIS116 RBINRE account: an Indian-rupee account for NRIs/PIOs, in savings, current, recurring or fixed-deposit form, with inward remittances and remittances outside India permitted.
2 sourcesS115 RBIS114 RBIInterest on NRE account balances is exempt from Indian income tax; the Income Tax Act 2025 keeps the exemption (Schedule IV), linked to non-resident status under FEMA.
2 sourcesS115 RBIS99 Income Tax e-filingFCNR(B) account: foreign-currency fixed deposit only, in any permissible currency, for NRIs/PIOs; RBI's account table gives terms of not less than 1 year and not more than 5 years.
2 sourcesS115 RBIS114 RBINRO account: a rupee account; balances are not repatriable abroad except current income and, for NRIs/PIOs, up to USD 1 million per financial year.
2 sourcesS115 RBIS114 RBI
Sending money out while resident
Check yourself
3 questions on this chapter, each answer linked to its sources.
Information only, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Every statement comes from an official UAE or Indian government page, checked on 16 October 2026. Rules change, so confirm with the authority before you act.