Renting a flat in Mumbai

Q: Is it possible to rent a flat in Mumbai for three to four months?

A: I hear it’s a nightmare when it comes to finding the right apartment or house to rent. In Maharashtra there is a property rental lease system called ‘leave and license’. This is a form of lease that is valid usually for eleven months. The person leasing the property usually pays a security deposit of ten months rent to the owner. The security deposit is returned when the premises are vacated.  No interest on the security deposit is paid to the tenants and the interest on the deposit belongs to the landlord. Most landlords prefer to rent their properties to companies rather than individuals. The leave and license system seems to work well in the state of Maharashtra.

Indians Visiting Nepal Documents Required

Q: Is it true that Indians do not require a visa to visit Nepal and can go to Nepal by showing a Indian ration card. (A.P. Aggarwal)

A: As of 1.10.2000, I believe only a ration card is not sufficient for Indian citizens to enter Nepal if they arrive in Nepal by air.
Nepalese and Indian citizens, while travelling by air, between the two countries must be in possession of any of the following documents to prove their nationality :

(i) valid national passport ;
(ii)valid photo identity card issued by the Government of India / State Government or UT Administration / Election Commission of India ;
(iii)emergency certificate issued by the Embassy of India, Kathmandu to Indians and by the Embassy of Nepal in Delhi in respect of Nepalese citizens.

When making airline reservations I am sure your travel agent should be able to guide you on the latest entry requirements. Unless rules have changed, you will not be allowed into Nepal in the absence of one of the above mentioned documents. Indian citizens traveling to Nepal by road may still be able to do so with a ration card from India, however you should confirm this with the proper authorities as rules and regulations constantly change.

Items to take back to India

Q: What items should one bring back with them when returning to India from USA?

A:  That would be a personal decision according to your lifestyle. Most items are now available in India and reasonable prices. I would even go further and say that almost everything is now available in India and many items are priced cheaper in India than they are overseas.  From Whirlpool refrigerators to Duracell batteries. Most items are being manufactured right here in India now for the local population.
Most of the popular cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, and Chennai etc have numerous plazas that offer just about every brand and item that comes to mind.

PIO - Indian Visa for Foreign Passport Holders Born in Pakistan

Q: First of all, it’s a great website. Loads of information concerning NRIs and facilities available to them is very helpful.

Kindly please assist with the following question:

Is the wife of a foreign passport holder (husband is eligible for OCI and PIO) can apply to become PIO? The wife was born in Pakistan but is not a Pakistani citizen and is a foreign passport holder. Will appreciate your answer to above query. Regards N. Sehgal

A: While the spouse of a citizen of India or a Person of Indian Origin is eligible for PIO. I believe that there is also a stipulation that states that if an applicant has ever been a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh then he/she is not eligible.  I suggest you contact your nearest Indian embassy to seek detailed clarification.
In case the Indian embassy confirms your spouse is not eligible for a PIO card then your only alternative would be a tourist visa. Foreign passport holders if they were born in Pakistan fill a special visa application form in quadruplicate and I believe the process of granting visa takes extra time as clearance comes from Delhi and this can take some time.

Australian work holiday visa

Q: A travel agent in Jalandhar has told me that he can get me a Australian holiday visa that will let me also work in Australia the fee is very reasonable and I want to know more before spending money for this.?

A: Your travel agent may be referring to what is called the 'Australian Working Holiday Visa' While I am no immigration expert, to the best of my knowledge Indian passport holders cannot get this type of visa.

The Australian Working Holiday Visa I believe is a special visa that is available to citizens of the following countries:

Bank Accounts after Return to India

Q: I was an NRI for the past 13 years. Now I am planning to get settled down in India. How long I can maintain my NRI account. My company may send some of my benefits after one year. Please clarify. Thanks, Sundaram.

A: Individuals who have returned to India after 17th July 1992 after a continuous stay abroad of not less than one year. Can continue to maintain their foreign currency accounts, shares, securities, property abroad without declaration to the Reserve Bank of India, provided these funds and assets were lawfully acquired by them out of foreign currency earned through employment or business taken up when they were outside India. 

OCI Holder Living in India

Q: Hello, I saw your NRI info on net is too good. I have a query below. Could you please help.? I'm an Indian born currently residing in UK and recently became a British Citizen. I have applied for OCI (Dual nationality). Once OCI approved, can I go back to India (with British passport) and settle down there for life? Cheers Shreesha

A. Once you get approved for OCI, a multiple entry, multi-purpose OCI ‘U’ Visa Sticker will be pasted on your British Passport. This will entitle you to live in India as long as you wish. You can travel to India as many times as you want and stay as long as you want.  

If at a later stage you decide to become an Indian citizen and get an Indian passport. You will be able to do so as per provisions of section 5(1) (g) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, “a person who is registered as an OCI for 5 years and is residing in India for 1 year out of the above 5 years, is eligible to apply for Indian Citizenship. 

Rahul Sharma2010/10/30 10:27 pm

How long can OCI Holder live in India continously?

Deep2010/10/30 10:30 pm

Forever as OCI is lifelong visa

Arup Sinha2010/12/4 9:30 pm

Excellent website for NRI/OCI's. Love it !!!
Now, my Questions:
- I had opened an NRO account in 2008 and deposited matured proceeds from investments in India when I was a resident Indian citizen. Now I am a US citizen with OCI status, and I have remitted some funds to the NRO account from USA. Can I use all of these funds to buy a residential property? Or is it necessary to have all funds from abroad?

- Can I rent out the property until I return to India, and deposit the rent in my NRO account?
- Do I have to submit IPI 7 form when I acquire the property?If so, can you please send me a link to download it? I see many versions of IPI 7 forms on the web (including RBI website).

Warm Regards.
-Arup

Anupama2010/12/8 7:09 am

Arup I think if you want your question answered by the administrator then you need to email it in. This area is for others to post comments or answers. Any way I think you can use the funds to buy property in India

S.V.Raghavan2010/12/19 1:59 am

My daughter who is a US citizen acquired the PIO card on arrival in India .
I am told she should get the OCI also as it is a life long visa. Kindly advise if the PIO and OCI are same or different?

T.S.Sankaranarayanan  2011-03-01 06:08:17

My brother is a OCI, residing in USA. Does he require a visa for visting Nepal ? 

Shudhir 2011-03-01 07:02:12

If your brother has OCI then he must have a foreign passport. American passport holders require a visa to visit Nepal. He can get visa prior to travel or purchase fifteen-day multiple-entry visas ($25), one-month multiple-entry visas ($40), or three-month multiple-entry visas ($100) upon arrival in Nepal. Check with the Nepal consulate near you for latest information before travel. Hope this helps.