Indians in Bahrain are persons resident outside India under exchange control law: resident accounts should have been redesignated as NRO and investments routed correctly. On return to India the process reverses: NRE accounts are redesignated, foreign savings may be kept in a resident foreign currency account, and a period of "not ordinarily resident" tax status usually applies. Lapses on either side can be compounded.
- Document route
- Embassy attestation; apostille possible
- Time difference
- 2.5 hours behind IST
- Handled in India at
- Authorised dealer bank, RBI and ED
- Travel to India
- None
How it works from Bahrain
We review your accounts, deposits, property and investments against the rules for your current status, regularise anything overlooked, such as a resident savings account kept running, and file a compounding application where needed.
For those planning to return, we prepare a checklist with dates: what to tell banks, which deposits can run to maturity, how to hold end-of-service benefits and overseas savings, and when foreign income first becomes taxable in India.
What is different for NRIs in Bahrain
- Regularise before a property sale or large transfer.
- FCNR deposits may continue to maturity after return.
- Keep proof of the date you left and the date you return.
Step by step from Bahrain
Free review call
Calls are held in Bahrain office hours, two and a half hours behind India. We read your papers on a FEMA question first, so the call is about your options and not a repeat of the facts.
Authority from Bahrain
Where a representative must act for you in India on a FEMA question, you sign before the consular officer at the Embassy of India in Manama, or use the notary and apostille route. We draft the document and send signing instructions.
Work in India
In India, we map each transaction against the FEMA rules, regularise what can be regularised and file a compounding application where required. Updates for clients in Bahrain go by email and WhatsApp with scans of whatever is filed.
Result and handover
At the end you receive a written opinion or the compounding order, and corrected bank records. Originals are couriered to your address in Bahrain if you need them.
The law in full
This page covers what changes when you handle a FEMA question from Bahrain. For the Indian law, the complete document checklist, common mistakes and more questions, read our main page on FEMA Compliance & RBI Notices. For other matters, see all legal services for NRIs in Bahrain or the Tax, Banking & FEMA practice area.
Questions from NRIs in Bahrain
What happens to my NRE account when I return from Bahrain?
It is redesignated as a resident account, or balances are moved to a resident foreign currency account.
Is keeping a resident account while in Bahrain a violation?
Yes, but it is readily regularised and compounded.
When does my foreign income become taxable in India after return?
Generally after the not-ordinarily-resident period, typically two to three years, depending on past stays.