Just moved, or about to
Your first 182 days abroad.
The ones that decide the next 10 years.
You just moved for a job, a masters, or a better life. The Indian tax system hasn't caught up yet. Your resident bank account is technically illegal. Your PF is sitting in limbo. Your mutual funds may need re-KYC. Your employer in India may still be deducting Section 192 salary TDS. We walk you through the first 182 days so nothing breaks and you don't overpay a rupee.
The checklist
Five things, in order.
Skip any one of these and the next year of your Indian tax life gets harder. Each step cites the exact Section or Form so you can verify.
Check if you're an NRI yet
Residential status is decided by days in India, not by your visa. Section 6 uses a 182-day test plus a 60-day + 365-day test. Run the numbers for the current FY and the next FY before you do anything else, because your NRI status determines everything that follows.
Citation: Section 6
Start step 1Convert your bank accounts
Once you're an NRI, you cannot legally hold a resident savings account. Convert to NRE (foreign-earned, repatriable, tax-free interest) and NRO (Indian-earned income, taxable). FCNR is optional, it holds deposits in foreign currency so you don't lose on INR depreciation.
Start step 2Get your first TRC + Form 10F (or Form 41 from FY 2026-27)
Your new country of residence issues a Tax Residency Certificate. India needs it alongside Form 10F (replaced by Form 41 from FY 2026-27 per CBDT Notification G.S.R. 198(E) of 20 March 2026) to give you the DTAA treaty rate under Section 90. Without both, your bank deducts 30% TDS on every rupee of NRO interest, the full default rate.
Citation: Section 90, Form 10F / Form 41
Start step 3Decide your PF and equity
If you had an EPF account as a resident employee, you can claim full withdrawal on permanent emigration (EPF Scheme 1952, Para 69(1)(c) — for migration from India for permanent settlement abroad or for taking employment abroad) or after 2 months of non-employment using Form 19 / Form 10C. Otherwise, keep it earning the prevailing rate till retirement. Mutual funds need an NRI KYC update at the AMC and a re-flag in CKYC. Existing PPF accounts run to original 15-year maturity at the PPF rate, and NRIs may continue contributing to a pre-existing PPF until that maturity (per DEA Notification G.S.R. 585(E) of 25 July 2003); the 3 October 2017 amendment that would have barred NRI contributions and dropped the rate to POSB was put on hold and is not in force. NRIs cannot open a new PPF or extend an existing account in further 5-year blocks beyond maturity. Resident demat accounts must be re-designated as NRO non-PIS or NRE PIS depending on repatriability needs.
Start step 4File your transition-year ITR
The year you move is a split year. Part salary as a resident, part as an NRI. NRIs are not eligible for ITR-1 (Sahaj); use ITR-2 (or ITR-3 if you have business/professional income). You may owe in India, and you may also owe in your new country — file Form 67 before the ITR due date to claim Foreign Tax Credit on tax paid abroad in the year of departure. This is the most complex ITR you'll ever file and the one most CAs get wrong. Start with a CA who's done transition-year NRI returns before.
Citation: Section 139
Start step 5Talk to someone who's done this before.
Our CA panel handles becoming nri cases every day. One 15-minute call gets you a scoped plan with a published fee before you commit to anything. No NRI markup.