Documents Required by an NRI for Buying a House

Buying a House is an important decision both for Resident Indians and Non-Resident Indians or NRIs. There is a lot of clarity about the documents required by Resident Indians for buying a house. Since they are India, they can easily make multiple trips to the bank branch where they are requesting the loan and sort out the problems. But, for an NRI things are not so easy.
The purpose of this post is to throw some light on the basic documents that Banks would ask from NRI’s when they apply for a home loan with them. A Copy of all the below mentioned documents need to be submitted to your bank when you apply for a home loan.

This article is split into Two sections depending on what the NRI is actually doing abroad.

1. Salaried Individuals
2. Self-Employed Individuals

One type of Document that all categories of home buyers will need to submit with their respective banks is “Documents related to the Property”. The Builder will provide a full booklet that you can submit to your bank while you apply for the loan.

For Salaried Individuals

Almost 95% or more of the NRI’s would fall into this Category and they would comprise a huge chunk of the population that apply home loans from banks in India. The documents required would be:

1. Employment Proof – Offer Letter or Contract Letter or Agreement Letter
2. At least 3 months’ Salary Slip (Some banks may ask for up-to 6 months’ payslips)
3. At least 6 months Bank Statement – Statement from the bank where your employer credits your salary
4. Latest Foreign Identification Copy (Ex: NRIC in Singapore and equivalent identification for other countries)
5. Passport (All non-blank pages)
6. VISA/Work-Permit
7. Residence Address Proof in the Country of Residence/Work – Electricity/Gas Bill, Telephone bill etc
8. Passport Size Photographs (The number may vary from bank to bank. They will atleast ask one photo)
9. Latest Credit Bureau Report (Wherever applicable. For country’s like US, Singapore etc this will be required)
10. A Cheque favouring your bank for the Processing Fee

For Self-Employed Individuals

The remaining small % of people who conduct their own business abroad will require the following documents while applying for a home loan:

1. Company Profile, Brochure and Registration Details
2. Last 3 years Income Tax Assessment
3. Bank Statements for the last 6 months (The official bank account that is used for transactions)
4. Latest Credit Bureau Report (Wherever applicable. For country’s like US, Singapore etc this will be required)
5. Latest Foreign Identification Copy (Ex: NRIC in Singapore and equivalent identification for other countries)
6. Residence Address Proof in the Country of Residence/Work – Electricity/Gas Bill, Telephone bill etc
7. Passport Size Photographs (The number may vary from bank to bank. They will atleast ask one photo)
8. Passport (All non-blank pages)
9. VISA/Work-Permit
10. A Cheque favouring your bank for the Processing Fee

Note: The above is a list of the most common & important documents that banks ask from NRI’s while they apply for a Home Loan to buy property in India. However, banks alter their processes from time to time and may ask for extra or fewer documents as compared to the list above. The list is only an indicative list of documents that you will need before you apply for the loan. It is not a complete or exhaustive list. Please contact your respective bank to get a full list of the exact documents they will require to grant you a loan.

Happy Home Buying!!!