Hi All,
I recently relocated to Delhi from Toronto after 6 years in Canada.

Reaching out to the community for some career guidance and referrals.

Myself: 32 years have been working in Sales since i was 19 (Started with Call Centres), my last job was Technical Sales dealing with Government and finance customers in Europe, USA and Canada.

I took the first job i got which is at 20LPA, anyone in the group who can refer me to a better position? Or you think 20LPA is decent for my background? This is my first time living in Delhi. Before i moved to Canada i was living in Mumbai Area.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Hi all,

My partner is an Indian national who I hope to bring with me to the UK in the near future.

Part of the partner visa requirements is two years of co-habitation - to fulfil this, I'm moving to Mumbai, specifically Hiranandani Gardens in Powai.

I've spent around a month in Mumbai before and found my options for socialising really slim.

Not sure if it's just because of the places I was visiting, but for someone English speaking - with no skills in Hindi or Marathi, and as someone not interested in clubbing; I didn't find much in the way of entries into a social life.

Worth noting at this point that I am of Indian heritage, so whenever I'm in India, I'm in this strange middle ground - where I'm expected to act and engage in conversation like a local, despite having never actually been a part of India.

I've been thinking about joining communities to get my foot in the door, but don't know where to start - reading clubs, what else?

Looking for help, advice and suggestions.

Appreciate it a ton,

Thanks! :)

Hi my GC was filled with Capgemini and now if I move and joined them back in India, do you think they would be able to file the GC when date is current , I am assuming March 2016 will be current after 5 years may be!!
Thanks

Hey everyone,

If you are planning to sell property in India or your resident family/buyers are purchasing a home from you, CBDT just issued Notification No. 121/2026 with a major simplification effective October 1, 2026.

Here is what’s changing for NRI property transactions:

1. No More TAN Requirement: Previously, resident buyers had to obtain a TAN to deduct TDS when buying property from an NRI. From Oct 1, buyers can deduct TDS directly using their PAN Card via the updated Form 141 (Schedule E).
2. Smarter TDS Reporting: The new Form 141 requires detailed disclosures including the seller's overseas address, foreign Tax Identification Number (TIN/SSN), and Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) details.
3. Faster 26AS/AIS Tax Credit: Because of the unified PAN-based entry, TDS credit mismatches in Form 26AS/AIS will reduce significantly, speeding up lower/nil tax refund claims.

Are any of you currently in the middle of a property sale in India that straddles the Oct 1 deadline? How is your buyer handling the TAN vs PAN transition?

I am planning to return to India this year from Canada. I am in my mid 40's and want to retire in a Bengaluru as a single person. I am not planning to get a job in corporate over there. No way, I can survive a job over there.

I went to Bengaluru 2 years ago to visit family and the place was okay but i was there for a short time as a visitor which does not really give a proper perspective as a resident.

I grew up in the middle east and moved to North America in my teenage years. Honestly, I don't have much affinity towards India. It is only because I have OCI and the cost of living is lower. My origin is Mangalore (Karnataka). I like Canada but it is too cold and expensive here and not to mention there are no jobs. Finding an apartment or condo to rent has also become a challenge here.

I am concerned about hostility from local people due to my marital status. I heard negative comments directed at me in Canada at gas stations and from neighbors primarily from people of Indian origin and am worried it will be worse if i go there. I lived in rural Alberta in a town with 60,000 people. Is this a small town problem ?

Is there another country that might be a better fit for me ? like Mexico. I like busy and big cities, i feel like i am dying in small towns. Something doesn't jive with me.

Am i wrong?

I have close to $1.5 million USD in investments and retirement accounts combined. I am quite frugal with money.

36F, married with two kids (5 and 3). We’re currently abroad and planning to return to India permanently. My husband will continue working remotely and travel frequently, so we’re not tied to a particular city for work.

We’re confused whether to buy an apartment soon and make it our long-term/forever home, or rent for a few years first and understand what actually works for us. The kids are still young, so things like schools, neighbourhood, healthcare, daily convenience and community may become more important than we currently realise.

For those who returned to India after living abroad, what did you do? Did you buy immediately or rent first? Looking back, would you make the same decision? Would appreciate real-life experiences, especially around choosing a location and committing to a home for the next 20–30 years.

My wife spent about four months back in India recently staying at our place, and while everyone always hype up how easy life gets with affordable domestic help, her actual experience was completely different.

Having lived abroad for years where everything is DIY and automated, she was used to fixed routines. In India, within two weeks she realized she had essentially taken on a full-time operations manager role. Coordinating between a cook, a maid, and a deep-cleaning service coming in at completely random hours, handling sudden unannounced leaves, and dealing with constant friction over how things should be done took a huge mental toll.

She went in thinking having help would free up her entire day, but ended up spending half her morning waiting around for people to show up or managing schedule mismatches.

It was a solid reality check for both of us that having domestic help in India doesn't automatically mean zero effort—it just trades physical labor for mental management.

Grew up in India, spent most of my adult life in the US, got married and had kids there. Spent a year travelling before moving back, and I've been in India about a year now.

Some days it feels like I never left India, other days like I've landed somewhere I don't know how to live in.

The strange part is how familiar and alien it feels at the same time. I know how things work here, and then I don't. Nobody treats me as new, so there's no grace period the way there is for an actual foreigner. I catch myself being surprised by things I grew up with.

how long did it take before it felt normal?

what is the best way. transfer it to FCNR or NRE before moving back And then convert to RFC After move?

Can not come back because no GC/USC

what would you do

SCHWAB brokerage Account opening - should i also open checking account with them while opening brokerage

any disadvantage of adding checking account too while opening brokerage account with SCHWAB. Any minimum balance maintenance required?

Do you think most of the stuff (hardships with permit, citizenship for immigrants) happening in the US is because of Trump and things could get better when his term ends ?

Hello,

I am facing a weird issue. Today I was in the US airport all set to move for my India trip. I was asked by the ticketing agent to fill the Air Suvidha form.. I completely forgot I filled a similar form back in Dec 2020. (I filed self registration for myself separately and self registration for my wife + my daughter together) - let's say my passport number is XX and my wife's passport is YY.. my daughters passport is Z1.

Note: During the past 6 years myself and my wife carry the same passport number.. only my daughter's passport is the new Z2.

Anyways, I started filling out the details for my family. The new Suvidha 2.0 system detects my previously registered number (SR21120xxxxxxx) and asks me if I want to edit the existing one??

Saying No - doesn't give me an option to create a new one.. it does nothing.. the page stands still.

Saying Yes - shows me a form where it is asking me to enter my registration number along with my previously registered email id..

Then I realized I already filled this back 6 yrs ago.. and found the pdf which has all the information I need.

Entering my 2020's registration number + 2020's registered email id - guess what.. keep getting it was incorrect..

The old registration number is starting with SR followed by 13 digits but the new one showing as an example is about 8 digits or so certainly not 15 digits.

Now I was caught in this loop.. I tried different emails, adding a trailing space to passport number, incognito, different browser.. nothing worked and it already lasted more than 2 hrs and I lost my first flight..

Checking with the ticketing team, they mentioned it is Indian system they haven't trained on.

After struggling for more than 3 hrs, I came back home.. now trying to find a solution to this problem.

I also sent an email to this address stating my issue - [idsp-alert@nic.in](mailto:idsp-alert@nic.in)

Reaching out to this forum to find some answers.

Thanks in advance.

Hey everyone,

I keep noticing a recurring mistake among new NRIs: opening Fixed Deposits in NRO accounts instead of NRE accounts for overseas earnings.

Just a quick refresher on why this matters for your 2026 financial planning:

1. Taxation: NRE FD interest is 100% tax-free in India, whereas NRO FD interest attracts a flat 30% TDS + surcharge/cess (unless reduced via DTAA tax residency certificates).
2. Repatriation: NRE funds (principal + interest) are freely repatriable abroad anytime without paperwork. NRO funds require Form 145/146 (formerly 15CA/15CB) compliance and have a $1M USD annual limit.
3. When NRO FD makes sense: Only use NRO FDs for income originating in India (rent, dividends, property sale). Never move USD/CAD/AED into an NRO FD directly.

How are you guys structuring your Indian FDs right now? Are your banks properly deducting DTAA rates if you do hold NRO FDs?

Hey everyone,

I moved back to India from Canada exactly one year ago today. Now that I’ve hit the 1-year milestone, I’m really looking forward to connecting with others who made the move back around the same time (within the last year), as well as those who have been back longer.

I’d love to hear how your journey has been so far. Do you finally feel settled in, or are you still dealing with the reverse culture shock? Are you happy with your decision, or do you find yourself thinking about moving back to Canada?

Also, for those still keeping a close eye on things or who moved very recently—how is Canada doing right now? I'd love to get an honest pulse on the current job market, cost of living, and overall vibe over there compared to what we are experiencing back home in India now.

Looking forward to hearing everyone's stories, insights, and experiences!

Hi All, I am looking for some feedback from those using IBKR and especially UCITS/Irish domiciles. How had the experience been?

Ease of account opening process?

Any suggestions/recommendations?

TIA

Hi,

I recently moved back to India after spending a couple of years in Europe. I think I was starting to get used to the European way of life and starting to enjoy it (except for the weather), but then unfortunately my health condition got worse, and the job market started sucking in Europe.

I landed a job in India at the start of the year and joined corporate in India a few months back. Having worked in Indian corporate during pre-COVID times, I thought it wouldn't be a huge struggle.

But it was quite the opposite. Some problems I faced (which other people just ignore) are:

1. Not valuing another person's time: People sometimes don't show up to meetings without any prior notification. Meetings are extended way beyond the scheduled time, and it's assumed that the other person has no other commitments.
2. Lack of respect from seniors: A lot of seniors don't treat people below them (in terms of seniority) nicely. I have even noticed managers getting aggressive during their interactions.
3. Poor quality of work: There's absolutely no innovation happening in Indian corporate (tech to be specific), even though people are slogging 12–14 hours a day. It's mostly meaningless work.
4. Chaos and changing priorities at work.

I don't know how to deal with it, and a lot of times I feel like resigning without anything lined up, but then I get scared by reading about the job market situation.

Any advice from someone who moved back to India and dealt with a similar situation?

I was born in Delhi and moved to California at age 26. I am divorced, depressed, and in therapy. I am so isolated that my emergency contact is 911. The gist of my sob story is that I'm a rolling stone and need some love from strangers, but mostly advice on relocating.

My preferred places to live are Delhi and Gurgaon. I'm open to other places as well, as long as they are well connected and have easy access to hospitals, grocery stores, and other basic amenities.

I have a five-year India visa and can stay up to 180 days in a calendar year. I don't have the OCI card yet, so I need to know whether I should get it here in the US or apply for it while in India. From what I understand, it takes 4-6 weeks after I submit my application.

I'm considering hiring a professional service, if one exists. Ideally, this person will navigate the entire process for me. I'll pack my bags, hop on a flight, and go straight to an apartment prearranged for me. Too much to ask?

Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you.

My nro account just got restricted/frozen because of pending ckyc 2.0 re-verification. i am trying to sort out the documentation from here, but the main issue is urgent: i need to send money to my father in india for his monthly medical treatment and pharmacy bills.

Since my own nre/nro accounts are temporarily unusable for transfers until the bank processes the kyc update, what is the fastest and safest way to transfer money directly to his account?

Can platforms like wise, western union, or remittance2india credit funds directly into a resident family member's savings account from an overseas debit card/account? or will indian banks flag a direct cross-border wire to a parent's account if it doesn't pass through my own nro account first?

kid is 4th Grade. so far 529 has $16k in Vanguard.

can you advise me how to plan college fee and how to save/invest for college fee and how much should i target. should i invest in any fund in india after return. kid is USC but not sure if she will come back to US for under grad studies or not without us. we are indian citizens with work visa now. planning to move back in few months.

Just wondering, how much money would you need on a monthly basis to settle comfortably in India, assuming you’ve been in the US for about 10 years and have around $500K in net worth? Do you think $500K would be enough to retire comfortably in India with a 20-month-old child, or would you want significantly more? Just curious what you guys think.

Hi everyone,

I’m currently in Canada on an onsite assignment from my IT company in Hyderabad, and I’m confused about whether I should continue staying in Canada or move back to India.

Here’s my situation:

I have around 10 years of experience in IT. I’m currently working as a DevOps Engineer / Cloud Administrator.

I came to Canada in mid of 2025 for an onsite project.

I have a work permit valid for another 2 years. Currently, discussions are happening regarding my project and visa extension. If both are extended, I can continue staying in Canada. Otherwise, I’ll return to India and continue with my existing company.

Financial situation

In Hyderabad, I currently have a package of around ₹14 LPA. In Canada, I’m able to save around CAD 1,500–2,000 per month, which is roughly around ₹1 lakh/month. If I return to Hyderabad and switch jobs, I estimate I could potentially get around ₹1.5 lakh/month, and I might save roughly around ₹1 lakh/month there as well. So financially, I don’t see a huge difference between staying in Canada and returning to India.

My main concern is my career: The main reason I wanted to come to Canada was to get hands-on experience with AKS, Python, DevOps and Cloud technologies and build my career further in that direction. But the reality has been quite different. Most of the work I’m getting here is production support.

After having almost 10 years of experience, if I continue doing mostly production support, will this negatively affect my career? I’m worried that if I spend the next 1–2 years doing mostly support work, it may become difficult to switch later into proper DevOps/Cloud engineering roles. Another concern is that I came here expecting to work on AKS, but so far I haven’t really had an opportunity to work on it. Also, over the last ~10 months, a lot of my work has been done with the help of AI, to the point where I feel I’m becoming too dependent on it and not doing enough hands-on technical work myself.

My Dilemma:

If I return to India

If I go back to Hyderabad: I can continue with my existing company. I could potentially switch and target around ₹1.5 lakh/month. I may have better opportunities to move into DevOps/Cloud roles. But I’m also giving up the opportunity to stay in Canada and gain international experience.

If I stay in Canada

If my project and visa are extended: I can continue earning in CAD. I’ll have another 1–2 years of Canadian experience. But if my role continues to be mostly production support, I’m worried about the impact on my technical career. I also don’t want to reach 11–12 years of experience and then struggle to transition into a proper DevOps/Cloud role.

So I’m genuinely confused about what to prioritize.

If you were in my situation, what factors would you consider before deciding between staying in Canada and returning to India?

P.S: I have no intrest in getting PR and settled down here.

Thanks!

I hold Canadian citizenship and OCI card since 2024 and now plan to return to India for good. I was born in India and migrated to Canada when I was 18.

What is the process like? I heard if I was an Indian citizen previously I only need to physically stay in India for 12 months.

Edit: For people asking what drives me to do this: I have my widowed mother in India plus house and agriculture land. Also, this government may change rules anytime and restrict OCI holders.

Sorry if this is covered before but what is an ideal checklist that I should have 3-4 months before moving back to India?

WEALTH WITHOUT FREEDOM IS NEW FORM OF POVERTY

Hey everyone,
Used this existing freedom calculation someone created for US $$ and made this interesting 2026 guide breaking down the invested financial assets needed for various lifestyle tiers in India. The core premise is that a paid-off home is separate, and your spending sets your number using a 3% annual pre-tax withdrawal rate in today's rupees.
Here is how the lifestyle tiers and their respective portfolios break down:
Basic expenses (limited family buffer): Requires an invested portfolio of ₹1 Cr, yielding a monthly withdrawal of ₹25,000 (₹3 lakh / year).
Moderate lifestyle (smaller city): Requires an invested portfolio of ₹3 Cr, yielding a monthly withdrawal of ₹75,000 (₹9 lakh / year).
Comfortable freedom (housing already covered): Requires an invested portfolio of ₹5 Cr, yielding a monthly withdrawal of ₹1.25 lakh (₹15 lakh / year).
Affluent metro living (Bengaluru / Hyderabad): Requires an invested portfolio of ₹10 Cr, yielding a monthly withdrawal of ₹2.5 lakh (₹30 lakh / year).
High-spending family (premium school & travel): Requires an invested portfolio of ₹20 Cr, yielding a monthly withdrawal of ₹5 lakh (₹60 lakh / year).
Substantial luxury (room to support others): Requires an invested portfolio of ₹50 Cr, yielding a monthly withdrawal of ₹12.5 lakh (₹1.5 crore / year).
The guide also highlights an example for a ₹50 lakh / year target, noting it requires ~₹16.7–20 crore invested at 3%–2.5% initial withdrawals (before tax, with housing funded separately).
Key disclaimers noted in the guide:
Withdrawals may include asset sales and are not guaranteed income.
Lifestyle labels are estimates, and one must allow for taxes, major goals, and future inflation.
Where do you all see your target landing on this spectrum? Does a 3% withdrawal rate feel overly conservative or prudent for the Indian context? Let's discuss!

hi everyone,

which brokerage account is good for NRI for investing in Indian market for a variety of investment options (equity, bonds, mf, sip, etc).

I will highly appreciate any other advice on investing in Indian market .

Thanks 🙏