NRI legal services for property, divorce and succession in India
VIVS Legal provides NRI legal services from its office in Sanpada, Navi Mumbai, for Indians living in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, the Gulf and elsewhere. We handle property, divorce, succession and banking matters in India by phone, WhatsApp and video call, with a registered Power of Attorney for the steps someone must sign or attend.
This page sets out what we handle, the country pages beneath it, the rules that apply to NRIs, and an honest list of what can and cannot be done from abroad.
Last updated 11 August 2026 · VIVS Legal, Sanpada, Navi Mumbai
- Who it is for
- NRIs and OCI cardholders with property, family or money matters in India
- Acting from abroad
- Power of Attorney signed before a notary with an apostille, or at the Indian mission
- Property rules
- FEMA (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules, 2019
- Tax on a sale
- TDS by the buyer under the Income-tax Act, 2025 (earlier Section 195)
- Foreign divorce in India
- Section 13 CPC and the Narasimha Rao test (1991)
- How we work
- Online from Sanpada, Navi Mumbai; courts in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai
On this page
NRI legal services we handle
Divorce, maintenance and custody
Filing in India from abroad, answering a petition your spouse has filed here, and testing whether a foreign divorce will hold in India. Our NRI divorce lawyer page covers jurisdiction, the personal laws and video hearings for every country.
Buying, selling and looking after property
Title checks before you buy, sale deeds signed through your attorney, tenants and caretakers, and the tax deducted when you sell. The NRI real estate page explains each step under the FEMA rules.
NRI property disputes
Encroachment, forged sale deeds, relatives who will not share or leave, and tenants who stop paying. Read illegal possession of NRI property for the civil and criminal remedies, and our page on partition suits if the dispute is among heirs.
Inheritance, succession certificates and probate
Bringing a parent's flat, bank deposits or shares into your name: probate where there is a will, a succession certificate or legal heir certificate where there is not, then mutation in the land or society records. See will drafting and probate.
Power of Attorney drafting
A Power of Attorney written for the specific job, whether a sale, a court case or a bank account, with signing instructions for your country. Our Power of Attorney drafting is from Rs 7,000.
Banking and money matters
Frozen accounts, cheque bounce cases where you are the payee, consumer complaints against builders or insurers, and recovery of money lent to someone in India.
Pages for your country
Each country page covers that country's signing route for documents and the questions its residents ask most. The UAE pages also cover each emirate.
- USA: divorce and family and property.
- UK: divorce and family and property.
- Canada: divorce and family and property.
- Australia: divorce and family and property.
- UAE: divorce and family and property.
- Singapore: divorce and family and property.
- New Zealand: divorce and family and property.
- Saudi Arabia: divorce and family and property.
- Qatar: divorce and family and property.
- Kuwait: divorce and family and property.
- Oman: divorce and family and property.
- Bahrain: divorce and family and property.
How we approach an NRI matter
An NRI matter usually involves three people: you, abroad; the person you appoint in India, often a parent or sibling; and us in Navi Mumbai. Most problems we are asked to fix later began with a Power of Attorney that was too wide, too vague for the sub-registrar, or never stamped. So we settle the document before anything else.
- First call. A video or phone consultation on the facts, with your documents emailed beforehand.
- A written plan. Which court or office is involved, what your attorney can do, and which steps need you in person or on video.
- The Power of Attorney. We draft one limited to the task and send it with signing instructions for your country.
- Signing abroad. You sign before a notary and obtain an apostille, or sign at the Indian mission, and courier the original to India.
- Stamping and use. The original is stamped in India within three months of arrival and, where needed, filed with the sub-registrar or the court.
- The work and reports. We act with your attorney and send you an update after each date or step.
Which NRI matters can be handled without coming to India?
Most of the paperwork, but not every step. The table shows where the line usually falls.
| Step | Your attorney in India can | Usually needs you |
|---|---|---|
| Selling or buying a flat | Sign the deed and present it for registration under a specific Power of Attorney. | Nothing further, if the Power of Attorney is properly signed and stamped. |
| Civil suit or complaint | File it, sign as your recognised agent and attend routine dates. | Your own evidence on facts only you know, by video where the court allows. |
| Mutual consent divorce | File the petition and attend routine dates. | Your consent statements, which many family courts now record by video. |
| Probate or succession certificate | File the petition and attend most dates. | Usually nothing; if the will is contested, an attesting witness must give evidence. |
| Bank accounts | Operate the account within the bank's own Power of Attorney rules. | KYC updates, which banks often want from you directly. |
The evidence point comes from Janki Vashdeo Bhojwani v. IndusInd Bank (2005): a Power of Attorney holder cannot depose to facts within the principal's personal knowledge. The video point comes from Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur (2017), where the Supreme Court allowed family courts to use video conferencing. We tell you at the start which of these steps your matter involves.
Can an NRI give a power of attorney for property in India?
Yes. An NRI can appoint a person in India to buy, sell, let or manage property, or to run a court case, by a Power of Attorney signed abroad. It is authority to act for you, not a transfer of the property. Since Suraj Lamp & Industries v. State of Haryana (2011), a so-called GPA sale passes no title, so a buyer who is handed only a Power of Attorney owns nothing.
Making it usable in India
- Make it specific: name the property or case and list each act allowed, such as signing, presenting for registration and receiving money into a named account.
- Sign it before a notary and obtain an apostille if your country is a party to the Apostille Convention, or before a consular officer at the Indian embassy or consulate.
- For registration work, Section 33 of the Registration Act, 1908 accepts a Power of Attorney signed abroad if a notary or an Indian consular officer authenticated it.
- Pay stamp duty in India within three months of the original first arriving here, or it may be impounded with a penalty.
- Limit its duration, ask for copies of everything signed under it, and revoke it by a registered deed if trust breaks down, telling everyone who relied on it.
Signing routes in the main countries
| Country | Notary and apostille | Or sign at |
|---|---|---|
| USA | Apostille from the Secretary of State of the state where the notary is commissioned. | The Embassy of India in Washington DC or a Consulate General. |
| UK | Apostille from the FCDO Legalisation Office. | The High Commission of India in London or a Consulate General. |
| Canada | Apostille from Global Affairs Canada, or from the province that issues its own (Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Saskatchewan) since January 2024. | The High Commission of India in Ottawa or a Consulate General. |
| Australia | Apostille from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. | The High Commission of India in Canberra or a Consulate General. |
| UAE | Most UAE clients use the mission route instead. | The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General in Dubai. |
Mission appointment rules and outsourced service centres change, so confirm the current process on the mission's website before you book.
Where we work: Navi Mumbai office, online for clients abroad
We have one office, in Sanpada, Navi Mumbai, open Monday to Saturday from 9 AM to 6 PM India time. Gulf clients share most of that day with us. UK clients usually call in their morning, Australian clients in their afternoon, and clients in North America early in their morning, which is the end of our day.
We appear in courts in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. We advise on property and family law wherever in India the property or the marriage is, and we file MahaRERA complaints and online consumer complaints ourselves. If your case must be heard in another state, we tell you at the first consultation how appearances there will be handled and what that will cost.
Questions about the law of the country you live in, such as your divorce rights there or how it taxes your Indian income, need a lawyer licensed in that country. We will say when you have reached that point. Our advocates are Adv. Swanand Pandit and Adv. Ashok Ingle; read more on the about us page.
Key law for NRIs: property, tax, succession and foreign decrees
| Question | Law | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| What can I buy? | Foreign Exchange Management (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules, 2019. | An NRI or OCI cardholder can buy residential or commercial property, but not agricultural land, a farm house or plantation property. |
| How must I pay? | The same Rules. | Through normal banking channels or from an NRE, NRO or FCNR(B) account, never in foreign currency notes. |
| What if I inherit? | The same Rules; Hindu Succession Act, 1956 or Indian Succession Act, 1925. | Any property can be inherited, farmland included; inherited farmland can later be sold or gifted only to a resident Indian citizen. |
| Tax when I sell | Income-tax Act, 2025, in force from 1 April 2026 (earlier Section 195 of the 1961 Act). | The buyer deducts tax at source on the price; a lower deduction certificate from the Income-tax Department can reduce it. |
| Sending money abroad | FEMA rules on remittance of assets. | Up to USD 1 million each financial year from NRO balances, sale proceeds included, with the bank's tax paperwork. |
| Is my foreign divorce valid here? | Section 13, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. | Tested under Y. Narasimha Rao v. Y. Venkata Lakshmi (1991): the ground and the other spouse's participation or consent matter. |
NRI succession certificate, legal heir certificate or probate?
A succession certificate is an order of a civil court under Part X of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 that lets the holder collect a deceased person's debts and securities, such as bank deposits and shares. A legal heir certificate is issued by the revenue authority and is mostly used for pensions, utility transfers and some mutations. Probate is the court's certification of a will, and it is compulsory for most wills made in Mumbai or dealing with immovable property there (wills of Muslims and Indian Christians are exempt). An NRI heir can apply for any of them through an attorney in India; the court or office publishes notice and waits for objections, so allow several months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have a question?
Speak with our legal team about your matter with clarity and confidence.
From an advocate enrolled in India who does NRI work regularly. Check the enrolment with the State Bar Council and ask who will actually appear in the court concerned. Women facing problems in a marriage to an NRI can also approach the NRI Cell of the National Commission for Women. For property and family matters, email us a short note and your documents and we will fix a call.
Yes. An NRI can file civil suits, divorce petitions, consumer and RERA complaints and criminal complaints in the court or authority that has jurisdiction over the property, the marriage or the other party. You swear the supporting affidavit abroad before a notary or consular officer, and a Power of Attorney holder can sign as your recognised agent and attend routine dates.
Yes. Your attorney signs the sale deed and presents it for registration, provided the Power of Attorney specifically authorises the sale of that property, was authenticated by a notary with an apostille or by an Indian consular officer, and has been stamped in India. The buyer deducts tax at source, and the price is usually paid into your NRO account.
There is no single statutory format. A usable one names you and your attorney with passport and address details, describes the property or case exactly, lists each act allowed, says whether the attorney may appoint a substitute, and states how long it lasts. It can be printed on plain paper abroad, because stamp duty is paid when it reaches India.
Your attorney files a petition before the District Judge for the place where the deceased ordinarily lived, or where the assets are if there was no fixed home, with the death certificate, proof of your relationship and a list of the debts and securities to be collected. The other heirs must be named and either consent or be served. The court publishes notice, hears any objection and, if none succeeds, grants the certificate, usually after several months.
We appear in courts in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. For a case in another state, we advise on the law, draft the papers and plan the case, and we tell you at the first consultation how hearings there will be handled and what that will cost. It is better you know this before engaging us than discover it after filing.
Drafting has published fixed fees: a Power of Attorney from Rs 7,000, a sale deed from Rs 18,000 and a will from Rs 10,000. Court cases depend on the forum, the city, whether the other side contests and how many hearings follow, so we quote them in writing after reading your documents. Stamp duty, registration fees and courier charges are separate.
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