Corporate Salary Accounts are becoming increasingly popular because of the advantages they offer both to companies and employees. It’s much easier for a company’s accounts department to directly credit salaries to individuals instead of issuing hundreds of cheques. Employees also enjoy a host of advantages. For one, since salaries are automatically credited, they don’t have to bother filling pay in slips and depositing cheques in a bank branch.
Then there are a host of other advantages for employees too. Many banks, for example, offer zero balance accounts for those taken under corporate packages. Banks also provide accidental death cover, secure fund transfer options and even locker rent discounts. These offers vary from bank to bank and also from one corporate to another. You may be enjoying these benefits as part of your Corporate Salary Account package. So what happens when you have to shift abroad? Well, you obviously cannot take your Corporate Salary Account with you.
How to transfer Corporate Salary Account abroad
If you are wondering if your Salary Account can be transferred overseas in case you move to another country, the answer is No. If you are assigned or deputed abroad by your own company or if you join a new company, the Corporate Salary Account will not work anymore.
So what happens to the Salary Account if we shift abroad?
Well, it all depends on your situation. You will have two options -- you can convert your existing Salary Account into a Non-Resident Ordinary (NRO) Account and continue to receive your salary into this account, or you can close this account and open a new Non-Resident External (NRE) Account. Both are applicable in different situations, depending on your source of income.
If you are transferred to a different country by your company or if you join a new company abroad, but you receive a salary from India in Indian Rupees, you will have to convert your Corporate Salary Account into a NRO Account. In this account, you can continue to get your salary as well as any other funds generated within India in the form of rents or royalty. According to the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), non-resident Indians are not allowed to hold any Savings Accounts or any other kind of accounts.
Now, if your company transfers you to a foreign country and you earn a salary in a foreign currency in your country of residence, you will have to open a new NRE Account. You could choose to close your Corporate Salary Account or convert it into a NRO Account. You must deposit any earnings from outside of India in a NRE Account.
You must deposit any additional income, apart from that in your country of residence, in a NRO Account. It could include rent from property in India, royalties or even a gift. You can’t deposit any of these in a NRE Account. It is, therefore, better that you convert your Corporate Salary Account into an NRO Account. You can transfer money to your NRE Account (from your NRO Account), subject to a maximum of USD 1 million in one financial year.
Open a Corporate Salary Account with HDFC bank today and manage your finances with ease!
Wondering how to transfer money to your NRI Account? Click here to read more.
*Terms and conditions apply. The information provided in this article is generic in nature and for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for specific advice in your own circumstances.