Q440. New Zealand citizen having old resident bank accounts in India . . . Can I keep these

Question: Hi there, I have referred the web site and would like to get some information . I am a OCI and at present in India. having NZ passport I have bank accounts in couple of banks here. I opened it long time ago when I was a Indian Citizen carrying Indian Passport. I would like to ask ,can I continue with these accounts? Can I withdraw my money when needed? I have also applied for a new PAN card which I will be getting shortly. Thanks in advance. Regards, Avinash

Answer: You do not mention whether you have moved back to India with your OCI status to live in India or are simply visiting India. Regards to your questions: • If you are in India for a visit with no intention of settling there, you cannot keep Resident Indian Bank Accounts. Only those who are full time residents of India can open and operate resident Indian bank accounts. It is illegal for a person holding a foreign passport, who is visiting India to have resident bank accounts. • If you are simply visiting India for a few months, then you should advise your bank where you have your resident accounts that you are a Non-Resident and they should re-designate your resident bank account as NRO account. Basically, you will be closing all your resident bank accounts and transferring the money to a NRO account. Having multiple NRO accounts is allowed. • On the other hand if your intention is to now live in India, then you can keep resident Indian bank accounts. • You can withdraw your money when ever you wish, does not matter if it is a resident or non-resident bank account. After all its your money.