Bank Account Type for PIO/ OCI holder living in India

[bchris19]

Can a PIO/ OCI card holder SETTLED IN INDIA, open a regular bank account like a Indian citizen?. or do we need to open only NRO / NRE accounts?

[gwldaddu]

Can a PIO/ OCI card holder SETTLED IN INDIA, open a regular bank account like a Indian citizen?. or do we need to open only NRO / NRE accounts?

NRO/NRE account is for "Non Resident Indians (NRI)". Once you settle down in India, you are no longer an NRI. Your only choice then is to open a regular bank account.

I understand that you will have a PIO or OCI and that you will not be a citizen of India. But you will be a resident of India.. So, you will be opening a regular bank account. No choice here. Sorry.

[gurusw]

I already had NRI account in India. I got USC this year. Am I supposed to close this NRI account?

If I am in USA right now, I am not eligible to open ordinary bank account till I become Indian resident then. Is that correct?

I am looking for jobs in India, and will relocate soon. What's the best course of action?

[dbs]

I already had NRI account in India. I got USC this year. Am I supposed to close this NRI account?
If I am in USA right now, I am not eligible to open ordinary bank account till I become Indian resident then. Is that correct?
I am looking for jobs in India, and will relocate soon. What's the best course of action?

No,
Yes,
Continue as at present. After R2I, close NRI and open an ord resident account. If you decide to keep some FEx in India, open FCNR account as well.

[mgk2010]

Dbs

A followup question on this -
I followed this route - I am an OCI. After R2I closed my NRI account and opened an ordinary resident savings and salary account. Couple of questions

a. Would the indian bank need to know if i am US citizen? I do not recall them asking my citizenship. They just wanted to know my PAN card

b. If i ever go back to the US, how do i repatriate my money from the ORD indian bank account to the US ?

Thx

No,
Yes,
Continue as at present. After R2I, close NRI and open an ord resident account. If you decide to keep some FEx in India, open FCNR account as well.

[VS007]

As per the new RBI guidelines, NRO account can be converted to resident account upon R2I and vice versa.

Check out the faq for repatriation: http://www.icicibank.com/Personal-Banking/account-deposit/Outward-Remittance/faqs.html

[mgk2010]

Thanks, VS007.

Unfortunately - i did not convert my NRE/NRO account on R2I. I closed it and instead used an old unused savings account. The bank converted this into a salary account.

Could you help me understand my options ?

Thx

[RocknRoll]

Dbs

A followup question on this -
I followed this route - I am an OCI. After R2I closed my NRI account and opened an ordinary resident savings and salary account. Couple of questions

a. Would the indian bank need to know if i am US citizen? I do not recall them asking my citizenship. They just wanted to know my PAN card

Depends on the bank.
Some banks ask for this information (i.e., about Citizenship/Nationality), others don't.
You can answer honestly - it is not a barrier to opening an account.
What they really need to open the account are ID proof, address proof & PAN number.

[QUOTE]
b. If i ever go back to the US, how do i repatriate my money from the ORD indian bank account to the US ?

You can convert them to USD as per the RBI guidelines operational at the time you move back.

[gurusw]

b. If i ever go back to the US, how do i repatriate my money from the ORD indian bank account to the US ?

Thx

You can remit $200K per year per person to USA from ordinary account using 'Liberalized Remittance Scheme'. Search for it in this forum or Internet.

[mgk2010]

Thank you all for the responses