NRI Home Loan in India 2026: Eligibility, Documents and How SBI, ICICI and HDFC Compare

Many NRIs buy Indian property outright. Many more would rather keep capital invested abroad and borrow in rupees, repaying from overseas income or from rent. Indian banks lend to non-residents routinely, but the product differs from a resident home loan in its eligibility tests, documentation and the way repayment must flow. This guide sets out what is published by the regulator and by three of the largest lenders, as checked on 3 October 2026.

What the regulator allows

• Who can borrow: banks offer home loans to NRIs and to persons of Indian origin. SBI's NRI home loan page lists NRIs and PIOs as eligible; HDFC Bank's NRI home loan listing includes NRIs, PIOs and OCI cardholders.
• What you can buy: residential or commercial property. Agricultural land, plantation property and farmhouses are outside what NRIs and OCIs may acquire under India's foreign-exchange rules, so they are outside these loans too.
• How money must flow: under FEMA, NRIs and OCIs pay for property only from funds remitted through normal banking channels or held in NRE, FCNR or NRO accounts (Deutsche Bank India's FEMA summary), and home loans are repaid the same way: by inward remittance or by debit to the borrower's NRE, NRO or FCNR(B) account. Rent from the property, typically credited to an NRO account, can also be used.
• Loan proceeds are for the home only: Deutsche Bank's summary notes such loans cannot be used for agricultural activity, real estate development or capital market investment.
• LTV caps are the same as for residents: up to 90% for loans up to ₹30 lakh, 80% above ₹30 lakh up to ₹75 lakh, and 75% above ₹75 lakh, per the RBI's housing finance norms. Stamp duty and registration are excluded from the financed cost.

Published eligibility: SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank

Each bank's terms below are taken from its own NRI home loan page (or, where noted, a reputed aggregator summarising it). Banks change criteria without notice, so treat these as a starting point.

• SBI: borrower age 18 to 70; minimum loan ₹15 lakh; tenure up to 30 years; no prepayment penalty; interest on daily reducing balance; concession for women borrowers (homeloans.sbi.bank.in). SBI has historically cited a minimum overseas net income of US$500 a month or US$6,000 a year and two years of employment abroad (BankBazaar's summary of SBI's criteria).
• ICICI Bank: age 21 to 65 or retirement age at maturity; salaried applicants need at least one year of overseas employment and self-employed applicants three years in their current business; minimum income of USD 42,000 a year for the US and most countries, AED 84,000 for the GCC, and USD 24,000 for merchant navy; tenure up to 30 years; disbursement possible without visiting India through a power of attorney (icici.bank.in).
• HDFC Bank: age 21 to 65; salaried, self-employed professional and self-employed non-professional applicants; NRI, PIO and OCI eligible; NRI tenure up to 20 years, per BankBazaar's summary of HDFC's NRI product.
• Takeaway: income thresholds differ widely. A Gulf-based salaried applicant who clears one bank's floor easily may fall short at another; check before you apply rather than after a rejection affects your credit history.

The document list, consolidated

SBI and ICICI Bank publish detailed checklists. Combined, a salaried NRI should expect to provide:

• Identity and status: valid passport with visa, work or residence permit, or OCI card; PAN (ICICI marks PAN as mandatory for NRIs).
• Overseas address proof and Indian address proof.
• Income: recent salary slips or salary certificate (ICICI asks for the latest month; SBI for three months), employment contract and work permit, with an attested English translation where needed (SBI).
• Bank statements: three months of overseas statements showing salary credits (ICICI) or six months (SBI).
• Tax returns: SBI asks for the individual tax return, except for applicants in the Middle East and merchant navy.
• Overseas credit report: ICICI asks for one from select countries, not older than 45 days.
• Self-employed applicants: two years of audited financial statements and tax returns (both banks).
• Property papers: agreement for sale, title chain, approvals, and for resale the occupancy certificate and society NOC.

Worked example: a ₹2.2 crore Bengaluru apartment, US-based buyer

Assume a salaried NRI in the US earning the equivalent of ₹3.5 lakh a month net, no existing loans, buying a ₹2.2 crore apartment. We use an illustrative 8.5% rate over 20 years (about ₹868 EMI per lakh) and an illustrative lender FOIR of 50%.

• LTV cap at 75%: maximum loan ₹1.65 crore.
• Income test: 50% of ₹3.5 lakh = ₹1.75 lakh EMI capacity, which supports roughly ₹2.0 crore. The LTV cap binds.
• EMI on ₹1.65 crore: about ₹1.43 lakh a month, paid from an NRE account funded by US salary.
• Own funds: ₹55 lakh down payment plus about 7.6% Karnataka stamp duty, registration and cess (about ₹16.7 lakh) = roughly ₹71.7 lakh.
• Currency: the loan is in rupees. If the rupee weakens, the dollar cost of each EMI falls; if it strengthens, it rises. Size your buffer accordingly.

Which account should the EMI come from?

• NRE: funded with foreign earnings and freely repatriable. Paying EMIs from NRE is the cleanest record of foreign-sourced funding.
• NRO: holds Indian-source income such as rent; useful for using rental income to service the loan.
• FCNR(B): a foreign-currency deposit that can be broken to make large prepayments.
• Whichever you use, keep the paper trail. Per Deutsche Bank India's FEMA summary, sale proceeds of property bought with foreign remittances or NRE/FCNR debits can be repatriated up to the original acquisition cost (for up to two residential properties), while NRO-funded purchases fall under the USD 1 million a year limit. The bank will ask how the purchase and the loan were funded.

Power of attorney and process

Most NRI loans are executed partly or wholly through a power of attorney holder in India, who signs the loan documents, attends registration and handles the disbursement. ICICI Bank explicitly allows disbursement without visiting India through a power of attorney. The POA must be executed and attested correctly abroad and then stamped (adjudicated) in India within the state's time limit; we explain that step by step in our separate guide to NRI powers of attorney.

Interaction with TDS and tax

• As buyer, you still owe the buyer's TDS obligation: 1% if the seller is resident and the value is ₹50 lakh or more, more if the seller is an NRI. Banks usually disburse net of TDS, which you deposit.
• A non-resident buyer cannot use the PAN-based simplification for purchases from NRIs introduced on 1 October 2026; that relief is for resident individuals and HUFs (Business Today).
• Tax deductions for home loan interest depend on whether the home is let out or self-occupied and on the tax regime you choose; NRIs with Indian rent should take advice on both.

A realistic application sequence

• Shortlist two lenders whose published income thresholds you clear comfortably, and ask each for its NRI document checklist and POA format.
• Obtain an overseas credit report if your lender asks for one; ICICI Bank wants it no older than 45 days, so time it close to submission.
• Apply for in-principle sanction before signing the agreement for sale, with the bank's legal and technical evaluation of the specific property.
• Execute the POA abroad in the bank's format, courier it, and have it stamped in India within three months of arrival.
• Sign the agreement, deposit your own contribution, and arrange TDS on the payment to the seller.
• Disbursement follows registration (resale) or construction stages (new launch). Set up EMI debit from the NRE or NRO account you intend to use.

Common reasons NRI applications stall

Plan for the paperwork, which is where most avoidable delays arise: a POA in a format the bank does not accept, an employment contract not translated into English, a name spelled differently on the passport and the PAN, or a property whose approvals the bank's lawyer cannot verify. Each of these is easy to fix in advance and slow to fix after submission, when the courier has to go back abroad. Agree the format of every document with the bank before anything is signed.

Not financial, tax or legal advice

This article summarises published regulatory and bank criteria as of the date shown. It is not a loan offer, and bank terms change frequently. Confirm eligibility directly with the lender and take advice from a chartered accountant and a property lawyer on your specific facts.