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According to section 6(4) of the FEMA, a person resident in India can hold, own, transfer or invest in any immovable property situated outside India if such property was acquired, held or owned by them when they were resident outside India or inherited from a person resident outside India.
Any citizen of India aged 18+ is eligible to buy property in the country. However, certain states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, North-eastern states like Assam, Nagaland, Sikkim, among a few others, restrict non-farmers from purchasing agricultural land. Under Indian law, an unborn person can also receive immovable property1.
If you’re a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) or Person of Indian Origin (PIO), you cannot purchase agricultural land/plantation property or a farmhouse anywhere in India, but there’s no such restriction when it comes to residential properties. However, you can inherit such land from a resident Indian or other NRIs/PIOs upon receiving special permission from the Reserve Bank of India.2
Individuals and companies can also acquire immovable property and this is governed by the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and various circulars notified by the RBI from time to time.
- Section 13 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882.[↩]
- RBI Master Circular on “Acquisition and Transfer of Immovable Property in India by NRIs/PIOs/Foreign Nationals of Non-Indian Origin”,Accessed at: https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/notification/PDFs/04MCNIP010713.pdf[↩]
