Hello,

Recently I have been Canadian citizen and have questions around following:

(1)In order to buy property(like condo) do I need to apply for OCI first?
(2)I have NRI account with Citibank?Can I still use it or this is not valid considering I became Canadian citizen or I need to apply for OCI?

Thanks for your help.


Regards,
Ani

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ani

You are permitted to purchase any property, except properties in agricultural use. (This is currently under discussion for those who are returning to India to settle down and acquire one)

Since you will be using funds from abroad, as a Canadian Citizen, they will (Citibank NRI accounts) will ask you to deposit first into NRI, and then whenever you receive after a sale, ( when and if it takes place) will deposit back, but into NRO account first. You can bring the original remittance back to Canada. The profits will be considered Capital gains. Even that sum can be brought back to Canada without paying taxes in India, after a period of three years of investing in appropriate vehicles that they have stipulated. (Please keep all of the cheques and transactions report etc., for the future retrieval)

But you cannot escape the Capital gains tax, from the Canadian Government. That is the cruel blow.

Hope this helps you a little.

Freddie.

India -Of falling property prices and when to buy a house

http://specials.rediff.com/money/2008/oct/22slid1.htm