Citizenship and residency by investment for Indian nationals

India does not recognise dual nationality. Voluntarily acquiring another citizenship means surrendering the Indian passport and obtaining a surrender certificate, after which OCI status can generally be applied for. OCI provides lifelong visa-free entry and most residence and economic rights, but it is not citizenship and it excludes voting, public office and certain agricultural land ownership.

For families who are not ready for that, investor residence permits are the more common answer, because they add rights without removing any.

Outward remittance from India is regulated and subject to per-person annual limits under the liberalised remittance scheme, along with tax collected at source on certain transfers. Larger investments are typically funded across multiple family members and, where the plan allows, more than one financial year.

Structure this with a qualified Indian adviser before committing to a program with a payment deadline. A missed deadline caused by remittance limits is an expensive and entirely avoidable failure.

Expect income tax returns for the review period, audited financials for any company, chartered accountant certification of net worth, PAN and Aadhaar based identity records, and apostilled civil documents. Where wealth derives from ancestral property or family business, provide the chain of ownership, not just the current position.