r2i forum

Hi everyone,

We are a family of 3 (husband, wife and young child) who wish to move India permanently in the next 6-9 months. We both work but are planning to quit our jobs and move to India and find work afterwards (we have enough savings that we can manage for a few years while looking) and both of us have 15 plus years of management experience so we hope that one of us will find a job within couple of years after moving.

However, our biggest dilemma is this. Both of us are from tier 2 cities in India but we want to move to a tier 1 city (Hyderabad or Bangalore) for from child?s education and our career perspectives. The problem is, we don?t know anyone in these cities who can help us with the move process (identifying the right neighborhood, managing rental agreement process etc.).

My question to all of you would be: can we manage the move on our own without any family/friends/company relocation package? Specifically the areas where I am worried about the logistics are:
· Managing the rental agreement process
· Getting handymen/painters etc. to get the apartment move-ready
· Finding a maid/driver
· What to do/ where to stay on day 1 after we land (our household goods will probably take a month or 2 to arrive)

Any help would be appreciated. We are really keen to move and are planning to visit India in June for a look-see visit in Hyderabad and Bangalore but the initial setting up process seems quite daunting.

Thanks in advance!

Not able to PM you since you dont have 10 posts yet on the forum.


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Thanks! And I will ping you once I do have 10 posts.

PPAT,

Congratulations on the move back home. I don't see this as a big issue - things are definitely not going to be as smooth as in the US but I do not expect you to have any major issues in settling down in Hyderabad or Bangalore without any friends there.

A few helpful pointers -

1) Pick the city first and lets say you pick Hyderabad. Research the areas you would like to live in Hyderabad (can be done online or by asking friends in the US who are from Hyderabad). If its Hyderabad, you will most likely choose the newer parts of Hyderabad which are Hitech city or Gacchibowli. I would then pick a service apartment to stay in that area and I am sure you can book these from the US. These apartments are completely furnished and you can rent in for a month or two. They also come with a kitchen where you can either do your own cooking or order from the menu and it will be delivered to you from the central kitchen by a cook. Cleaning services will be included.

2) When you are in the service apartment, start looking around for apartments to stay by using an agent. Negotiate the fees with him beforehand and you only have to pay after you finalize a place, so there are no risks here. Hyderabad has lots of popular options for apartments in all ranges (basic to luxury) and it should not take much time to finalize a place. When you rent an apartment, the owner will take care of cleaning it and getting it into move in ready condition. It is not your responsibility.

3) Do you have to worry about schools for your kid? If yes, this should be the other priority. You should try and live very close to the school that he/she is going to attend. Again, plenty of options here in Hyderabad in the GAcchibowli or Hitec city area. Atleast for some schools, you can apply online from the US and get the admission process finalized before they even land in India.

4) Maids and drivers are best handled once you get here. Most of the time - once you move into your apartment, there will be lots of people who will come and talk to you about working for you. You can pick them if you like or you can talk to your neighbors to see if they have any recommendations. This is not difficult at all though. Pay them a little more than market average and treat them with respect and dignity. You will be surprised how well they take care of you when you do this.

5) Having your government ID's ready is probably the biggest hurdle. Do you have your PAN card? or your Aadhar? If not, I would get try and get these done right away. This will help a lot during your initial days - from getting a cell phone, to opening a bank account, to getting internet, to getting a gas connection etc. If you don't have the patience to fill forms and stand in queue's, then get an agent to do all this for you by paying them some money. Its not much and can save you a lot of time and frustration in dealing with the government offices in India.

I am originally from Hyderabad but moved to Gurgaon without knowing anyone in Gurgaon. I had to go through most of the steps that I wrote about here. It was definitely more difficult than doing it in the US, but no major issues and easier than I had originally imagined. Took about 4-6 weeks to completely settle down.

PPAT,

PAN can definitely be done from abroad. Not sure about Aadhar and not sure how the rules change for foreign passport holders.

I have an Indian passport, so it was a bit easier.

Aadhar card is for residents and not available to persons living abroad.

Even for residents, it may be initiated from abroad but the bio-metrics can be completed only in person in India. It is available for foreign passport holders. I am one of them and the fact was communicated at the time by using the passport as Id proof.

Thanks! In that case we will wait for Aadhar card until we move.

For PAN card, does anyone have a recommended online website/agent? The other option would be to just apply through the Govt website (TIN). Has anyone tried that?

Thanks again!