Every resident individual under Indian exchange control law qualifies, including minors (where a guardian operates the account). The cap is per individual, per financial year (April–March), and it is gross — drawdowns do not 'reset' when investments are sold and proceeds repatriated.
The USD 250,000 envelope
5 min · For educational purposes only
Every resident individual — adult or minor — gets their own USD 250,000 per financial year. Understanding how the cap is measured and aggregated is step one.
Who gets the envelope
What counts against the cap
- Investments in foreign securities, ETFs, mutual funds, real estate
- Gifts to non-resident relatives
- Maintenance of close relatives abroad
- Travel, education and medical expenses (above specified thresholds)
- Deposits in foreign banks
What does not count
- Business remittances under separate FEMA provisions
- Inward remittances to India (no limit on receiving funds)
- Reinvestment of overseas gains within the same overseas account, provided the funds are not repatriated and re-remitted
Key takeaways
- USD 250k per individual per FY — including minors.
- Aggregated across all permitted purposes, not just investments.
- A four-member family has USD 1M of annual outbound capacity.