Q.1084 Aadhaar enrollment

through Indian consulate in USA

Question: Sir, RBI notify to stop bank account operation after December,2017 to the a/cs where adhar card is not linked. My daughter and son-in-law are NRI under H1B visa to USA and not having Adhar Card to link in the a/cs.In such a situation they are not in a position to come back to India immediately for Adhar card enrollment. Kindly inform whether any facilities available in Indian consulate to USA to enrollment Adhar card for NRIs,if not please guide how to solve the problem and to enroll the names through Indian consulate in USA without physical presence in Indian. Thank you sir, Answer: There are no facilities abroad to apply for Aadhaar Cards. Physical presence of the applicant in India is compulsory. There is something that I want to point out to you and perhaps many others who may find themselves being asked by Indian banks to link their Aadhaar cards to their bank accounts by December 31, 2017. Failing which, they would not be able to operate their bank accounts. • Compulsory linking of bank accounts to Aadhaar in India applies to residents who are eligible for Aadhaar card. Since NRIs are not eligible they are exempt. Any NRI who had an Aadhaar Card prior to becoming NRI, should provide their bank with their Aadhaar information. • NRIs who do not have an Aadhaar and have been contacted by banks to provide Aadhaar numbers, may fall into two categories: 1. They hold domestic [resident] bank accounts in India. This can happen when an NRI who has a domestic bank account moves abroad and fails to get his bank accounts designated as non- resident bank accounts. o In such a situation, the only recourse is to contact your bank and notify them of your non- resident status. Get your bank accounts converted to NRI accounts. 2. NRIs who do NOT hold domestic accounts but have NRI accounts may have been asked for Aadhaar numbers by banks. Perhaps their bank may have sent a mass email to all account holders without being aware that those not eligible for Aadhaar [NRIs] cannot get an Aadhaar card and hence will not be able to provide it. In this type of situation, contact your bank and advise them that you are Non-resident and unable to provide Aadhaar. NRIs should be aware that they are not allowed to hold domestic bank accounts once they become non-residents of India. Many people, such as non-resident Indian pensioners who may have thought that it would be easier to continue with domestic bank accounts so their pensions continued to be deposited in their bank accounts without interruption. This may have worked in the past, however now with Aadhaar things are changing and such account holders are having a problem. Non-residents should get their domestic bank accounts converted to non- resident bank accounts by notifying their banks of their NRI status. Penalties for holding domestic bank accounts by NRIs For information on this topic see question/answer number 1079 titled ‘Penalty for holding domestic bank account after becoming NRI’