Can an NRI Get a Car Loan or Gold Loan in India?

If you are planning your move back to India or living abroad and want to buy a car for the family or raise rupee funds against household gold, the two products below work differently for a non-resident.

Yes, an NRI can get a car loan in India under dedicated NRI car-loan schemes where the NRI is the borrower and a resident Indian close relative acts as co-applicant or guarantor. Lenders such as SBI finance up to 90% of the car's on-road price, meaning the ex-showroom price plus registration and insurance, over a tenure of up to 7 years, for new passenger cars, MUVs and SUVs only. The applicant typically needs a valid Indian passport, at least two years employed abroad, and a minimum net monthly income of about USD 1,000 (or annual USD 12,000), with EMIs auto-debited from an NRI account.

Before you apply, check the eligibility rules that lenders apply most consistently:

• Borrower age is generally 21 to 70 years, with the loan cleared before age 75.
• The co-applicant must be a resident close relative: father, mother, spouse, son or daughter.
• Your EMI-to-net-monthly-income ratio is usually capped at 50% to 65%.
• Used cars are generally excluded; these schemes finance new vehicles.
• Not all banks run an NRI car-loan scheme, so availability varies between lenders.

An NRI gold loan is a loan advanced against pledged gold jewellery, but availability is limited because most gold-loan lenders and NBFCs require the borrower to be resident or to have a resident co-borrower.

Where a lender does offer it, the loan-to-value is capped by the RBI (Lending Against Gold and Silver Collateral) Directions, 2025 at 75–85% of the assessed gold value depending on loan size (85% up to ₹2.5 lakh, 80% from ₹2.5 lakh to ₹5 lakh, 75% above ₹5 lakh), the tenure is short (often a few months to a couple of years), and disbursal is fast once the gold is valued. The gold must be the borrower's own jewellery, and repayment is made in rupees through an NRE or NRO account.

A gold loan is one way to raise money secured against an asset you already hold, much like borrowing against your fixed deposits or securities.

An NRI car loan and an NRI gold loan differ in eligibility, loan-to-value and tenure: the car loan is a vehicle loan available under dedicated NRI schemes at up to 90% of on-road price over up to 7 years, while the gold loan is a secured loan against jewellery capped at 75–85% LTV by loan size for a short tenure and is far less widely offered to NRIs.

A car loan fits a planned vehicle purchase with a resident co-applicant, while a gold loan suits quick short-term rupee liquidity if a lender accepts NRI borrowers. The full menu is in which loans an NRI can get in India.

An NRI repays both car and gold loans in Indian rupees through an NRE or NRO account, usually via a standing instruction, and never in foreign cash. For an NRI car loan the lender requires a resident Indian close relative, namely father, mother, spouse, son or daughter, as co-applicant or guarantor, and often a Power of Attorney so the loan can be serviced and documents signed in India while the borrower is abroad. This routing through NRE/NRO accounts creates the rupee-account record FEMA requires.

Line up the documents and power of attorney you'll need before you approach a lender.

Two-wheeler and bike loans for NRIs are rarely offered as a dedicated product; most banks that lend to NRIs restrict vehicle finance to cars, MUVs and SUVs under their NRI car-loan scheme. An NRI wanting a two-wheeler in India usually funds it from an NRE/NRO account or asks a resident family member to take the loan. Confirm availability directly with the lender, as this segment is not standardised.