Buying agricultural land in India as an NRI? Stop right there!

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]There is a door in India that [clears throat] looks open for NRIs.

[00:00:03]Same country, same passport family, same emotional connection to the land. But walk through that door and FEMA is waiting on the other side with a violation that is very hard to unwind.

[00:00:14]The door is agricultural land, plantation property, farmhouses, anything that touches the soil in that category. FEMA prohibits the purchase outright. No workaround. No special RBI permission for individuals. Not even if you have an OCI card. OCI does not unlock more property rights than a standard NRI. You can inherit agricultural land, but you cannot buy it. Here is what you can buy: residential, commercial, as many units as you want, no cap. Under construction projects as long as they are RERA registered. The freedom is actually quite wide. The trap is just one category. Most NRIs find out about the trap mid-deal. Token check already signed. Emotions already invested. Know the door before you walk through it.