NRI - OCI - PIO Guide & Information

319. Inheriting property in India by Foreign citizen - OCI Q: Dear mr chand, My husband , myself and our son are all Australian citizens with oci. My husband has a share in a property in india along with his mother and brother. Considering that my son and I are both oci holders , what would be the status of that property if something happens to my husband. I read something about non residents only being able to pass on property to residents . Is that true? Thanks and will appreciate your response. Regards A. I have never heard of such a rule. Being Australian citizens or OCI holder's should not matter when it comes to inheriting property in India. If your husband has a share in property he can by way of will, give it to whoever he wishes to. You may have read something relating to agricultural land which if owned by a non-resident can only be sold to a citizen of India living in India. Sadly, sometimes when property disputes arise in India amongst relatives where one party is a non resident, relatives that reside in India, create legal hurdles in an effort to grab property as they know that it is not easy for non-residents to fight court cases over property in India from abroad. As these cases can take several years to be heard and non residents quite often cannot spare the time and money for such disputes. Foreign citizens of Indian origin who hold shared property in India with resident Indian citizens, should settle their affairs relating to their property share themselves as it is certainly not an easy task for children or spouse to tackle.