r/nri

Sister called me diwali morning asking if I'd forgotten the kids' shagun. I had sent it. Five days earlier. Money was just parked somewhere in the international banking pipeline doing whatever wires do for a week, scheduled to land november 3rd.

Diwali was october 31st. Mom's verdict: "not the same, they opened their other gifts without anything from you."

Four years I've used chase wire for every festival send because I set it up my first week in seattle and never touched it again. Apparently UPI from abroad has existed for two years and lands in phonepe in minutes. Minutes. While I've been wiring.

NRIs, what are you actually using these days? Is UPI really as fast as people claim or is that best case scenario marketing?

Trying to renew my Indian passport through Passport Seva while living in the US and the photo upload has been a nightmare. The portal keeps rejecting with "photo does not meet requirements" but doesn't say which requirement specifically.

I know the specs - 35x45mm, white background, 630x810px, JPEG, under 250KB - but even when I resize and compress to match exactly, it still fails. Tried three different photos taken in different conditions.

Has anyone successfully uploaded a compliant photo from outside India recently? Did you use a specific tool or service that outputs the exact Passport Seva format? The VFS appointment is coming up and I don't want to show up with the wrong photo.

Hi
I am in the process of applying for surrender of Indian passport certificate. The checklist for the application says photo size of 2*2. So I got it done. However when I printed application, it says to attach 35*45mm photo.
I am confused as to which photo size should I follow for sending 2 physical photos.
Please recommend if you have recently applied for it.

Quick question for NRIs, what's your actual all-in cost when you send money home?

Just compared 5 services and the gap between advertised and real rate is wild. Trying to figure out if anyone's solved this.

Do you guys get OTPs when overseas with Airtel postpaid or do you have to purchase international roaming along with postpaid.

I'm planning to pay my postpaid for a few years before I leave India. Is this okay?

Lately, my feed is absolutely flooded with NRIs and tourists filming public dance reels all over Europe, America, and Australia. I know the algorithm is feeding it to me, but there are clearly millions of these videos out there.

It feels like Gen Z and Millennials can't get over the intense romanticization of the West from 90s/2000s Indian cinema song sequences. Back in those days Indian movies taught us that going abroad means bursting into a song sequence in the middle of a European street, and now everyone wants to recreate that fantasy to show the world.

But honestly, it’s getting to be too much. On one hand, it feels incredibly childish—like people can't escape the fake reality created by the Indian movie industry. On the other hand, it shows a massive lack of civic sense and basic decorum, completely disregarding and disturbing the local population just for a few views.

Am I the only one who finds this trend both cringe and deeply disruptive? What's your take?

How to help elderly parents manage their lives in India, esp., if there is no immediate family to support on the ground and if they are diagnosed with progressive disease limiting quantity and quality of life?

I believe this resonates with many first generation immigrants from India. I’d acknowledge the thoughts of leaving everything behind to provide for those who nurtured you. But…
It’s an emotional topic and one can write a lot.

My purpose of starting this thread is not to spark discussion on this dilemma and morality attached to it. But it is more to get ideas, stories and inspiration from those who managed to sail through it. The story of choices made and lived.
How do they feel about their choices and decisions down the line?
Thanks all.

I am booking alternate tickets for my parents from Delhi to Chicago (ORD) because their original flights got cancelled.
I’m looking at Qatar, Emirates, Etihad, and Lufthansa, but all of them are charging a hefty extra fee just to select regular economy seats. Otherwise, it’s "random assignment at check-in."
Since it's a super long-haul journey, I really want them to sit together, but paying the extra seat fee for 4 segments (round trip) is adding up to a crazy amount.
For those who have travelled recently on these airlines with a companion under the same PNR/booking code without paying for seats:

Did the system automatically seat you together when online check-in opened?

Did anyone actually get aggressively split up into random middle seats?

Would love to hear your real-world experiences, especially with Lufthansa or the Gulf carriers.

I’m an NRI living in the US and earning rental income from rental apartment in India.
Do I still need to file an income tax return in India?
Would appreciate hearing from other NRIs who have dealt with this.

Yes, your PAN remains completely valid after becoming a Non-Resident Indian (NRI), but you must officially update your residential status with the Income Tax Department to keep it active and avoid higher tax deductions.

I keep telling myself I'll wait for a pullback to 95 before sending my next chunk to India. That was the plan at 94. And 93. And 92.

Meanwhile the rupee just keeps grinding lower. Oil, FII outflows, Iran — there's always a reason it goes one way. I've been 'waiting for a better rate' for months and at this point I have no idea where it ends. Could be 100. Could snap back. But every time I try to time it I end up with worse fills than if I'd just sent in chunks.

Curious how others here think about this. Do you DCA monthly? Send only when you actually need rupees in India? Wait for big dips? Or have you just given up trying to time it?

20 M US citizen residing in India since birth anyone has idea about this new notification regarding aadhar saying aadhar validity will be same as passport or pio validity https://uidai.gov.in//images/UIDAI_Circular_no_7_of_2025_-_Changes_in_eKYC_response_xml_and_pdf_for_Foreigner_enrolled_ANH.pdf

I (23M) am a holder of an expired PIO card, and need to get a new OCI card issued. I have verified that I am eligible for an OCI card, (both parents are valid OCI card holders).
I have been trying to get an OCI card for almost a year now. I have applied multiple times on the ociservices online platform, and on each application, I see this message
" The application is not acknowledged at the Mission/ FRRO yet. "

Not sure what to do here,
Do I need to schedule an appointment at the FRRO office?
I have tried this as well, but unable to register on the efrro portal, as I'm not receiving the SMS OTP required for registration (tried this with multiple different numbers, same issue each time). I was able to recieve the email OTP, but they require both SMS and Email OTP to be filled in order to register.

Even tried calling the FRRO contact number, multiple times, but the call is never recieved.

I'm at my wit's end, completely frustrated, so any help/leads would be greatly appreciated

Been noticing a lot of NRIs struggle with managing
Indian investments, property, and taxes from abroad.

Curious what's actually the most painful part for you:

- Tax filing (US + India both)?
- Sending money home at the right time?
- Managing property/tenants remotely?
- Tracking Indian investments?
- Something else entirely?

Not selling anything — just trying to understand
if this is a widespread problem before I build
something to solve it.

Hope i made it understood