Can an NRI Get a Loan Against Property, Fixed Deposits or Securities in India?

Yes. An NRI or OCI can take a secured loan against three kinds of Indian asset: immovable property (a loan against property, or LAP), fixed deposits held in NRE, NRO or FCNR accounts, and financial securities such as mutual funds, shares or bonds. Each is a distinct product with its own loan-to-value, tenure and repatriability treatment, all governed by FEMA and RBI rules rather than by residency alone. LAP suits large, long-tenure needs against an owned flat or shop; a loan against a deposit or securities suits quick, short-tenure liquidity without breaking the investment. What you cannot pledge is agricultural land, a farmhouse or a plantation, because FEMA does not permit an NRI to hold those in the first place.

Secured borrowing against an asset you already hold is one branch of the full range of loans an NRI can get in India.

LTV and tenure are lender credit-policy ranges within RBI prudential norms, not single statutory figures; verify per lender.

An NRI loan against property (LAP) lets you borrow against a residential or commercial property you already own in India, typically at 50–75% of the property's assessed market value, for tenures up to about 15 years, with flexible end-use for business or personal needs (not speculation). Unlike a home loan, which finances a purchase, a LAP mortgages an asset you hold to raise cash while keeping it. The property is secured by an equitable mortgage, and lenders may take a lien on other Indian assets as additional security. You cannot raise a LAP against agricultural land, a farmhouse or a plantation, because FEMA bars an NRI from owning those; only residential and commercial property qualify.

If your need is to buy rather than to borrow against what you own, that is an NRI home loan to buy or construct a property, a separate product covered on its own page.

How a LAP differs from a home loan:

• LAP loan-to-value of 50–75% is lower than a purchase home loan's 75–90%, because it is advanced against existing collateral rather than a new asset.
• LAP tenure is usually shorter than a home loan's.

Execution is often handled through a Power of Attorney (POA), and both disbursement and repayment run through your NRE or NRO account. Where a LAP is taken on a floating-rate basis for non-business purposes, RBI has barred prepayment and foreclosure charges from 1 January 2026.

An NRI can take a loan or overdraft against an NRE, NRO or FCNR fixed deposit at a high loan-to-value (usually a large share of the deposit value) with minimal documentation and quick disbursal, because the bank already holds the collateral. The deposit keeps earning interest while it is pledged, and the loan interest is generally priced a small margin (often around 1–2%) above the deposit rate. Tenure is capped by the deposit's remaining maturity, and the loan is repaid in Indian rupees. Repatriability differs by deposit: a loan against an NRE or FCNR deposit keeps you within repatriable funds (an FCNR deposit stays in foreign currency while the rupee loan runs against it), while a loan against an NRO deposit is treated as non-repatriable, subject to the USD 1 million per financial year limit if you later remit.

An NRI can take a loan or overdraft against mutual-fund units, listed shares and bonds held in an Indian demat account, typically at about 50% of value for equity holdings and a higher percentage for debt funds or bonds, because equity prices are volatile and lenders keep a wider margin. The securities are pledged, not sold, so the portfolio stays invested and continues to earn returns while you draw a revolving credit line against it. The loan is disbursed and repaid in Indian rupees through your NRE or NRO account. Repatriability follows the account through which the securities were bought: holdings acquired on a repatriable (NRE/PIS) basis keep the funds repatriable, while those bought on a non-repatriable (NRO) basis do not.

If the pledged value falls, the lender can make a margin call, so a loan against securities suits short, revolving needs rather than long fixed borrowing.

Whatever the collateral, an NRI repays a secured loan in Indian rupees from an NRE, NRO or FCNR account, or by fresh inward remittance, never in cash and never from a resident account while still an NRI. Repatriability of the borrowed money, and of the asset when you unwind, is decided by the source account: NRE and FCNR assets are freely repatriable, while NRO-linked funds are non-repatriable and subject to the RBI limit of USD 1 million per financial year on remittance of assets. When you return to India permanently, these accounts are redesignated to resident (or RFC) accounts and repayment moves to resident channels.

The redesignation step is covered in full in what happens to these assets when you return to India.