Plan the UK departure and India arrival as one timeline. Inventory ISAs, SIPP, other investments, property and trusts before the move, and review UK split-year treatment alongside Indian residence. RNOR depends on your history, not simply returning home; withdrawal timing, banking changes and reporting each need their own review.
Last reviewed: · Reviewed by Regi Tom Antony, FCA
Lock the target year of return. Project Indian day-counts. Inventory ISAs, SIPP, GIA, NS&I, UK property and any UK trusts. Start the UK split-year conversation with HMRC if relevant. Use the return-planning hub, the Section 6 residence tests, the NRE, NRO and FCNR decision guide, and DTAA residence and credit evidence to connect these steps.
Decide ISA and GIA disposals — most are cleaner before Indian residency. Open or refresh NRE/NRO/FCNR accounts. Begin Indian broker KYC. Document SIPP value and contribution history.
Confirm UK tax-year fit. Draft the Form 67 / DTAA file for the Indian return. Confirm school admission, lease end and movers — these drive your actual landing date.
Land. Within 30 days, redesignate NRE/FCNR to RFC, notify banks and brokers, file the FEMA changes. Review Schedule FA from the first Resident and Ordinarily Resident year; it is not required while NR or RNOR.
The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April and India's from 1 April to 31 March, so the two nearly line up. Under the UK statutory residence test you are resident for a whole tax year unless a split-year case applies — for example, leaving to work full-time abroad, or ceasing to have a UK home. If one applies, the year is split into a UK part and an overseas part, and foreign income after departure is generally outside UK tax. Getting this right removes the main source of double tax in the year you leave.
On the Indian side, the year you land is tested under Section 6. Arrive after early October and you will not reach 182 days, but the 60-day limb can still make you resident if your visits over the previous four years total 365 days or more. Long-term UK residents usually qualify as RNOR for two to three years once resident — the window to realise UK gains and draw on UK savings.
ISAs keep their UK tax-free status after you leave, but you cannot subscribe as a non-resident, and India does not recognise the wrapper once you are ordinarily resident. General investment accounts are outside UK capital gains tax once you are non-resident, subject to the temporary non-residence rules, which can tax gains made during an absence of five years or less if you return to the UK. UK rental property stays taxable in the UK under the non-resident landlord scheme and becomes taxable in India too once you are ordinarily resident, with credit for UK tax. SIPPs and workplace pensions can usually stay invested; the UK is a notified country for Section 89A.
Tell HMRC you are leaving — on form P85 if you do not file self-assessment, or through the residence pages of your final return if you do. Keep evidence of your departure date, overseas contract or new home: both the UK split-year claim and the Indian day count depend on it.
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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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