OCI Card Holders Buying Property in India: What Is Allowed
Yes. An OCI cardholder can buy any number of flats, houses, plots, shops or offices in India without RBI approval, on the same terms as an NRI under rule 24 of the FEMA (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules, 2019. The one bar is agricultural land, farmhouses and plantation property. The exception is an OCI who holds a passport of a restricted neighbouring country, who needs RBI permission.
Key takeaways
- OCI is not citizenship. You are a foreign national with a lifelong visa, and property law gives you NRI parity only because a 2021 Home Ministry notification says so.
- That notification treats OCIs as foreigners in every matter it doesn't list. Property purchase is on the list, so buying is unaffected.
- Payment must come from abroad through banking channels or from your NRE, FCNR or NRO account. No cash, no foreign-currency notes.
- The friction is paperwork: a foreign passport where the office expects an Indian one, a PAN on the new Form 95, and states that now ask for Aadhaar at registration.
- When you sell, the buyer deducts TDS as for any non-resident seller, and repatriation follows the NRI rules.
OCI, NRI and foreigner: where you stand
Three labels get mixed up. An NRI is an Indian citizen living abroad. An OCI cardholder is a foreign citizen of Indian origin, or the foreign spouse of one, registered under the Citizenship Act. A foreigner has neither link. For property, FEMA treats the first two alike and the third very differently.
| Point | NRI (Indian citizen abroad) | OCI cardholder | Foreign national, non-resident |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy a flat, house, plot, shop or office | Yes, no approval | Yes, no approval | No |
| Agricultural land, farmhouse, plantation | No | No | No |
| Limit on number of properties | None | None | Not applicable |
| Take a lease | Yes | Yes | Up to 5 years only |
| Citizen of a restricted neighbouring country | Not applicable | RBI permission needed | RBI permission needed |
| Repatriate sale money | Up to USD 1 million a year from NRO, plus the NRE route | Same as NRI | Not applicable |
| PAN application form | Form for Indian citizens | Form 95 (old 49AA) | Form 95 |
| Aadhaar | Optional | Not needed; passport used | Not needed; passport used |
A foreign national who moves to India for work or business and stays more than 182 days in the previous financial year is treated differently again: FEMA then lets them buy, though some advisers read the rules as limited to a home for their own use. That route has nothing to do with the OCI card.
The 2021 notification and the court challenge
On 4 March 2021 the Home Ministry issued notification S.O. 1050(E) listing OCI rights. It gives OCIs parity with NRIs in a short list of matters, including the purchase or sale of immovable property other than agricultural land, farmhouses or plantation property. In every matter not on the list or covered by FEMA, an OCI now has the rights of a foreigner.
That second sentence caused the alarm, mainly over university seats. OCI students who had competed for general seats in NEET and JEE were confined to NRI seats. In Anushka Rengunthwar v Union of India, decided in February 2023, the Supreme Court held that the notification applies only prospectively and protected those who held rights before it. A wider challenge to the curtailment of OCI rights, led by Dr Radhika Thappeta, was still being listed in the Supreme Court in October 2025.
For a property buyer, the practical effect is small. Property purchase is expressly one of the areas of NRI parity, and rule 24 of the FEMA rules says the same independently. What the notification removed was the old assumption that OCIs are "almost citizens" everywhere else, so don't expect a state scheme, quota or concession meant for citizens to extend to you.
If your passport is from a restricted country
FEMA bars citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, China, Iran, Nepal and Bhutan from acquiring or transferring immovable property in India without prior RBI permission, other than a lease of up to five years. Some adviser lists add Hong Kong, Macau and North Korea. The OCI rules separately exclude anyone who, or whose parents, grandparents or great-grandparents, is or was a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh, so those two rarely arise. But an OCI holding, say, a Sri Lankan or Nepalese passport should assume the RBI permission rule applies and take advice before booking. What counts is the passport you hold, not where your family came from.
Paying for it
Under the FEMA rules the price must come from inward remittance through normal banking channels, or from your NRE, FCNR or NRO account in India. OCIs are eligible for these accounts as persons of Indian origin. Keep every foreign-inward remittance certificate and bank debit, because they decide how much you can take back out later.
Worked example: what you can repatriate
You remit Rs 1 crore from abroad to your NRE account and buy a flat in Chennai. Several years on, you sell it for Rs 1.6 crore.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sale price | Rs 1,60,00,000 |
| Buyer's TDS at 14.95% if you have no lower deduction certificate | Rs 23,92,000 |
| Long-term gain (no indexation) | Rs 60,00,000 |
| Tax at 12.5% before surcharge and cess | Rs 7,50,000 |
| Repatriable as original foreign exchange paid | Up to Rs 1,00,00,000 equivalent |
| Balance, after tax, through the NRO route | Within the USD 1 million yearly limit |
Two points jump out. The TDS of Rs 23.92 lakh is more than three times the Rs 7.5 lakh of basic tax, so a lower deduction certificate before the sale matters. And the original purchase money goes back more easily than the gain, which is why the trail of foreign remittances is worth keeping for years. The foreign-exchange route covers the sale proceeds of up to two residential properties; from the third, the NRO route applies. Tax on the gain is set out in our capital gains guide.
Friction at the counter: passport, PAN and Aadhaar
The law is settled; the paperwork is where OCI buyers lose weeks.
PAN
Since 1 April 2026, Form 49AA has been replaced. An individual who isn't an Indian citizen applies on Form 95, with the foreign passport as proof of identity and date of birth and a separate address proof; the OCI card is accepted for address. If you had a PAN as an Indian citizen, keep using it, but update your citizenship and address so the name matches your foreign passport. OCI holders are exempt from linking PAN with Aadhaar.
The sub-registrar
You register the sale deed like any buyer, with your foreign passport and OCI card as identity. Some states have tightened identity checks: Uttar Pradesh made Aadhaar authentication compulsory for registration from 1 February 2026, and Karnataka has also moved to require it. Non-residents without Aadhaar should be offered an alternative, and the Registration Act, 1908 accepts a passport, but expect a clerk to ask. Book the appointment through a lawyer who has registered for OCI buyers in that office before. The general document pack is in our guide to documents required for property registration.
Name and citizenship mismatches
Former citizens usually hold a renunciation or surrender certificate from the consulate, because it is required for the OCI card. Carry a copy. If your Indian-era documents show a different name or spelling from the foreign passport, the bank, the builder and the sub-registrar will each ask why. A one-line affidavit linking the names, prepared once, saves repeating the story.
Old PIO cards
The PIO card scheme was withdrawn in 2015 and the cards were treated as OCI cards until 31 December 2025. If you still hold only a PIO card, convert it before you buy.
Gifts, inheritance, farmland and loans
- Gifts and inheritance follow separate FEMA rules; our guide to gifting Indian property to an NRI or OCI covers both directions.
- Farmland is off-limits to buy, the same as for NRIs; see can an NRI buy agricultural land in India.
- Home loans are open to OCIs on NRI terms; see home loan for NRIs.
When buying as an OCI is a poor fit
- You hold a restricted-country passport and don't want an RBI application.
- You plan to let it out from abroad. The tenant deducts 31.2% TDS from the first rupee; see NRI rental income tax.
- You want farmland or a farmhouse. Not possible by purchase.
- You may give up the OCI card. Without it, a non-resident foreigner cannot buy, and later dealings get harder.
Frequently asked questions
Does an OCI cardholder need RBI approval to buy a flat in India?
No. Rule 24 of the FEMA (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 lets an OCI buy residential or commercial property under general permission, with no limit on the number of properties. Approval is needed only for agricultural land, farmhouses or plantation property, and for an OCI who is a citizen of a restricted neighbouring country such as China, Sri Lanka or Nepal.
Did the 2021 notification reduce an OCI's property rights?
Not for buying or selling property. The March 2021 notification lists property purchase, other than farmland, among the matters where OCIs have parity with NRIs. What it changed was everything outside that list, where OCIs are treated as foreigners. The court fights since then have been mostly about university admissions, not property.
Can an OCI register a property without Aadhaar?
Yes, in law. The Registration Act, 1908 accepts other identity documents, and a foreign passport with the OCI card is the standard proof. In practice some states now ask for Aadhaar authentication, so use a lawyer who knows the local office's process for non-residents and carry your PAN, passport, OCI card and address proof.
Can an OCI buy property jointly with a resident relative?
Yes. There is no bar on joint ownership with a resident Indian, an NRI or another OCI. Each co-owner's share should match what they paid, and your share must be paid through permitted channels: remittance from abroad or your NRE, FCNR or NRO account. Keep the paper trail, since it governs how much of your share you can later repatriate.
How much of the sale money can an OCI take abroad?
Up to the foreign exchange you originally brought in to buy it, for up to two residential properties, plus further sums from your NRO account within USD 1 million a financial year, after tax. The bank will want your remittance records, the sale deed and tax paperwork before it sends the money.
If you hold an OCI card and are looking at a flat, plot or office in India, the Realty Hunting team can help you check the paperwork before you commit.
