● Foreign Nationals of Non-Indian Origin Resident cannot purchase an immovable property in India.
● Citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, China, Iran, Nepal, Bhutan, Macau, Hong Kong or Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), irrespective of their residential status, cannot, without prior permission of the Reserve Bank, acquire or transfer immovable property in India. (Section 4(b) of Foreign Exchange Management (Acquisition and Transfer of Immovable Property in India) Regulations, 2018.)
● Foreign Nationals of Non-Indian Origin Resident in India (except 11 countries listed above) can acquire immovable property in India in the form of lease not exceeding five years.
● And can acquire immovable property in India by way of inheritance from a resident. (Section 9 of Foreign Exchange Management (Acquisition and Transfer of Immovable Property in India) Regulations, 2018.)
● Non-Indian or an Overseas Citizen of India, who is a spouse of a Non-Resident Indian or an Overseas Citizen of India may acquire one immovable property (other than agricultural land/ farm house/ plantation property), jointly with his/ her NRI/ OCI spouse with a precondition that their marriage should have been registered and subsisted for a continuous period of not less than 2 years (section 6 of Foreign Exchange Management (Acquisition and Transfer of Immovable Property in India) Regulations, 2018).
● Section 3 deals with Acquisition and Transfer of Property in India by a Non-Resident Indian or an Overseas Citizen of India:- An NRI or an OCI may acquire immovable property in India other than agricultural land/ farm house/ plantation property: