An NRI can open an NRI or non-resident Indian account. Being an NRI, you must have dual income. That is in your own residential foreign country and the other one in INR as an Indian investment. You can open your NRI account with any Indian authorized bank.

Types of NRI Accounts 

There are three different types of NRI accounts. And has many NRI account benefits.

  • NRO saving account
  • NRE saving account
  • FCNR saving account

You must need to transfer your earned money abroad to India frequently, and that earned in India back abroad frequently. For managing these transactions, you need any of the three NRI accounts. Based on your financial objective, you can choose the account you need. In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about what an NRI account is.

Who can have an NRI account?

Those humans reside in outer areas other than India for 120 days or more annually. And for the past four years, they had spent a maximum of 365 days in India. They are eligible to open an NRI account. Or, the one that leaves India to seek employment is eligible to open an NRI account as they’re declared as NRI immediately. Following these criteria can make you eligible for an NRI account.

  • Non-resident India (NRI).
  • Indians residing in any foreign country for reasons like employment, studies, vocation, business, etc. 
  • When the Indian government deputes any officials abroad. 
  • People posted in UN organizations.
  • PIO 
  • OCI 
  • Someone having a passport of a foreign country but:
  1. had a passport of India before.
  2. Grandparents were citizens of India, according to the act of 1955.
  3. A person married to a citizen of India.

Documents in need of opening an NRI account

The documents are as follows:

  • Pan card
  • Passport
  • A valid NRI proof like a work permit, work visa, resident card, etc.
  • Photographs that must be passport size
  • Initial payment status in the form of a draft or a check
  • Address proof

These must be a scanned copy of the above-mentioned documents and must attest by any one of these:

  • Court magistrate
  • Judge
  • Indian embassy, the residence of NRI

NRE Account

An NRE account is a savings account. In this account, you can deposit earnings of foreign currency, and you’re free to repatriate money in your account back to your residential country. 

Its key features are:

  • Deposited money in this account is completely tax-free and repatriable.
  • This account provides you with a facility for transferring foreign currency to India. This maintains your INR balance in an Indian bank account. 
  • Around 3.5% p.a. interest rate is earned in this savings account.
  •  Around 5.75% p.a. interest rate is earned in these NRE deposits.

NRO Account

An ordinary non-resident account is a savings account. This is useful when you get earning sources like pensions, equity returns, rentals, etc., in India.

Its key features are:

  • NRO helps you manage income from several sources in India. 
  • You can easily convert foreign currency to INR with a Non-resident ordinary account with the applicable exchange rate.
  • Only INR withdrawals are available.
  • Around 3.5% p.a. interest rate is earned in this savings account.
  • Around 5.75% p.a. interest rate is earned in these NRO deposits.
  • Easy repatriation for around USD one million with an NRO account.

FCNR Account

With FCNR, you can save the money that you’ve earned overseas in a term deposit in foreign currency.

Its key features are: 

  • Being an FCNR holder, you can easily check on and maintain your deposit in different currencies like SGD, CAD, AUD, USD, GBP, and HKD.
  • The period of these deposits can range between one to five years. 
  • The deposited amount and interest earned are fully repatriable.
  • This account automatically renews the deposit on maturity.
  • The FCNR deposits are tax-free in India. 

Conclusion

This is all about NRI accounts. These NRI Accounts include NRE, NRO, and FCNR(B) accounts. These three accounts help you manage your income from various sources in very easy and convenient ways. These accounts also allow you to manage and transfer funds from and in between your residential country and India. Just read about each type of bank account and choose according to your needs. With these accounts, you can avail of exclusive privileges for your families like travel assistance, medical expenses, education for your children, your taxes, and much more.