NRIs are eligible to buy under YEIDA residential plot schemes and in resale. The complications are not about eligibility. They are about money movement, signatures and tax, and all three are easier to solve before you commit than after.
This is orientation, not advice. Take the specifics to your banker and your chartered accountant.
Eligibility
YEIDA residential plot schemes are open to applicants who are 18 or over and Indian citizens, and NRIs are eligible under the schemes. Read the eligibility clause of the live scheme at YEIDA rather than taking it from a listing site. Resale purchases follow the same authority transfer process as for a resident buyer.
Scheme RPS-10/2026 reserved 17.5 per cent of plots for farmers whose land was acquired and 5 per cent for functional industrial units inside Yamuna City, leaving 77.5 per cent for the general public. A further 5 per cent was reserved for persons with disabilities, including 1 per cent for visually impaired applicants. Read the reservation structure of any live scheme before you apply, because it decides which pool you are competing in.
What you may acquire as an NRI or an OCI cardholder is governed by the Foreign Exchange Management Act. The Master Directions, regulations and FAQs sit under Foreign Exchange Management at the Reserve Bank of India. Read the rule at source. Agricultural land, plantation property and farmhouses sit outside what you can buy, which is why the allotted plot schemes are the route.
Payment route
Settle this with your banker first, because it shapes everything downstream.
- Which account the funds move through, and the documentation that account requires.
- How the token, the balance consideration and the statutory charges will each be paid.
- Repatriation on a future sale, and what documentation you will need years from now to support it.
Pay by banking channel only. Every rupee. A cash component destroys your cost base for capital gains and creates an exposure you will be arguing about at exit.
Power of attorney, done properly
You will not be in the country for every signature. A registry appointment requires appearance.
Execute a specific power of attorney in favour of someone you trust, properly attested for use in India, covering the exact acts required: signing the agreement to sell, appearing at the sub-registrar, filing the mutation application, taking possession.
Two cautions. A power of attorney given to your representative for convenience is entirely different from buying a plot on a general power of attorney from a seller. The second is not a purchase and the authority will not recognise you as the allottee. And get the POA drafted before the deal is live, because chasing an attestation from another country while a seller waits is how deals collapse.
Documents to have ready
- Passport and visa or OCI card.
- PAN card. You need one.
- Overseas address proof.
- Bank account documentation for the payment route.
- The executed and attested power of attorney if you will not be present.
Costs to budget
Stamp duty at 7 per cent for a male buyer, 6 per cent for a female buyer and 6.5 per cent for joint ownership, on the circle rate or transaction value, whichever is higher, as notified by the Stamps and Registration Department, Uttar Pradesh. Registration at 1 per cent. Lease rent to the authority before the lease deed. Authority transfer charges on a resale. Legal and documentation expenses, which are non-refundable.
Tax questions for your accountant
Ask these specifically, before you buy, and get the answers in writing. The Income Tax Department portal carries a dedicated Non-Resident section covering return forms, slabs and deductions, and it is where your accountant will check the answers.
- Tax deducted at source on the purchase, and on a future sale by you as a non-resident.
- Capital gains treatment and the holding period that applies.
- Repatriation limits and the documentation required.
- Whether double taxation relief applies in your country of residence.
The practical advice
Buy the sector with the deepest resale market rather than the highest projected return, because you will be selling from a distance and you want buyers to exist without effort. Sector 18 is the obvious candidate for that reason.
And put one person on the ground you actually trust. Not to make decisions, but to stand on the plot, attend the sub-registrar and pick up documents. Distance is the real difficulty in an NRI purchase, and it is solved with a person, not a process.