A complete checklist for moving to India: documents, NRI finances under FEMA, household-goods shipping under Transfer of Residence, and your first weeks.
To move to India smoothly, start six to twelve months out and work five tracks in order: documents (passport, visa or OCI), finances (for returning NRIs, your tax-residency timing and redesignating your NRE/NRO accounts under FEMA), household-goods shipping under the Transfer of Residence concession, pet or vehicle if any, and a destination plan for your first weeks. Sea freight is the default for a full home, with a typical direct ocean leg of about three to five days between the Gulf and India's west coast and a few weeks door-to-door; air is for small, urgent items.
This checklist runs in that order so nothing is missed. It covers the timeline and the paperwork, the NRI banking and tax points that catch returning residents, what to ship versus sell versus buy, and how to settle in your first ninety days. For the duty-free rules in depth see our India customs & Transfer of Residence guide; for what a Gulf-to-India move actually costs, see the cost-to-move guide and the cost calculator. If you are moving from the Gulf, start with the Moving to India hub and the Dubai to Mumbai corridor.
Confirm passport validity, visa or OCI, and — if you are a returning NRI — how long you have been abroad (it drives both your Transfer of Residence band and your tax status). Start gathering quotes and reading the customs rules early.
Plan the redesignation of your NRE/NRO accounts under FEMA for when you become resident, and speak to a tax professional about RNOR timing. Begin assembling documents: passport, visa/OCI, and the itemised valued inventory customs will need.
Take in-home surveys from two or three movers, get written door-to-door quotes, and choose sea for the bulk of a full home or air for an urgent essentials box. Lock pet (AQCS) or vehicle paperwork now if relevant — these have the longest lead times.
Finalise what to ship, sell, donate or bin; arrange all-risk transit insurance; confirm packing and pickup dates and your destination address in India.
Supervise the packing inventory, keep an essentials box (consider air-freighting it), photograph high-value items, and hand over the keys.
Clear your shipment under Transfer of Residence with your inventory and documents, complete your banking redesignation, and start the first-90-days settling-in steps below.
Valid passport; visa or OCI as applicable; an itemised, valued inventory for customs; bill of lading or air waybill; and ID/address proof for your destination in India. A car (right-hand-drive, restricted import) and a pet (AQCS clearance) are documented on their own tracks.
On becoming a resident, redesignate your NRE account as a resident account, or transfer the funds to an RFC (Resident Foreign Currency) account, promptly under FEMA. Your NRO account is also redesignated to a resident account. This is a redesignation on return — not a simple "NRE to NRO" switch.
Many returning NRIs qualify as Resident-but-Not-Ordinarily-Resident (RNOR) for a transitional period, during which foreign income is broadly not taxed in India — but it depends on your prior years abroad. Treat this qualitatively and confirm your exact position with a qualified tax professional.
Used personal and household effects clear under the Transfer of Residence concession (Baggage Rules 2026), with the duty-free band scaling by how long you were abroad. The detail lives in the India customs & Transfer of Residence guide; confirm the current bands with Indian Customs / CBIC before you ship.
When you bring a home into India, used personal and household effects clear under the Transfer of Residence (TR) concession set out in the Baggage Rules 2026 (in force from 2 February 2026). The duty-free value band scales with how long you were continuously abroad, with a separate general duty-free allowance, and goods above your allowance attract the applicable current duty. Eligibility also depends on not having availed TR recently and not having spent too long in India during the qualifying period.
The exact bands, the general allowance and the eligibility conditions are set out — with sources and as-of dates — in our India customs & Transfer of Residence guide. Always confirm the current figures with Indian Customs / CBIC before you ship, because thresholds and conditions are revised from time to time. Keep an itemised, valued inventory: it is the single document that makes clearance go smoothly.
You do not have to move everything. A good rule is to ship what is quality, sentimental or genuinely hard to replace, sell or donate bulky low-value items, and buy on arrival anything that costs more to ship and clear than to re-buy in India.
Decluttering ruthlessly before the in-home survey is the highest-leverage thing you can do for your budget. Use the cost calculator to see how trimming volume changes the figure.
Arrival is the start of the settling-in track, not the finish line. Front-load the admin in your first weeks so the rest of the move feels easy.
If you are moving from the Gulf, the Dubai to Mumbai corridor page and the Moving to India hub cover the route logistics, and the Moving from the UAE hub covers the exit side.
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