On the New Zealand corridor the single biggest sequencing risk is timing the four-year transitional-resident exemption against the Indian RNOR window, because the two reliefs run on different clocks and can easily be wasted.
Last reviewed: September 2026 · Updated for AY 2026-27
Lock the target year of return and project your Indian day-counts. Inventory your KiwiSaver balance, your foreign investment fund holdings and any New Zealand property. Map the four-year transitional resident exemption against the Indian RNOR window so you can see where the two reliefs overlap and where one runs out first.
Decide how KiwiSaver will be treated, whether that means withdrawal or transfer, and make the decision deliberately rather than leaving the balance in place by default. Review your FIF positions: New Zealand has no general capital-gains tax but does tax foreign superannuation and FIF holdings. Open or refresh your NRE, NRO and FCNR accounts.
Prepare the IRD departure return for your final New Zealand year. Build the Form 67 file so that New Zealand tax paid can be credited in India under the India-New Zealand DTAA on a residence basis. Confirm the landing date, which drives the Indian day-count and sets your residential status for the year of return.
Land. Within 30 days redesignate your NRE and FCNR accounts to RFC and file the FEMA changes that follow the status change. Begin the Schedule FA workpaper for the first resident year so that the foreign holdings you carried across are captured from the start rather than reconstructed later.
A 45-minute working session that ends with a written next-step plan.
This guide is general information published by RTA & Associates. It is not tax, legal, financial or investment advice, and it does not create a client relationship. It does not take account of your personal circumstances, and you should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of anything here.
Cross-border outcomes turn on the specific facts — your day-counts, the timing of your move, the wrappers you hold and the treaty position between the two countries. A small change in any of those can change the answer completely.
References to the law, rules or practice of countries other than India are included for general orientation only. They are not advice on the law of that country, and they should be confirmed with a qualified adviser in that jurisdiction before you act.
Tax law, exchange-control rules and treaty positions change, and they change often. This page reflects our understanding as at the date shown above. We do not undertake to update it.
To the extent permitted by law, RTA & Associates and its partners and staff accept no liability for any loss arising from reliance on this page. For advice on your own position, book a consultation.
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