mungbean

hi,

I've been searching all over for information on my situation but haven't found anyone with any experience of it yet.

I'm about to move from UK to India for work, where I'll be paid in Rupees. I have financial commitments in the UK which mean I will need to send back home about Rs36,000-Rs64,000 per month (GBP 500-900).

I understand this is known as an "outward remittance".

I'm trying to set up a range of options before I move out in December. So far I've settled on these two:
I've read conflicting reports about there being limits on how many Rupees you can send out of the country in a year, which might scupper my plans. Regulations such as Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) seem to be constantly revised (and liberalised), so it's hard to find up to date information on the situation now.

I've also heard that I might have to prove I've paid 3 months' income tax before I can do any transfers at all, or that I might even have to have operated my Rupees account for a year first.

I just want to set up a regular monthly transfer that will be reliable. (Missing a payment will cause all kinds of problems.) And preferably automatic, like a standing order.

Can anyone offer any advice based on first-hand, recent experience?

thanks!

mungbean

After looking into this a bit further, it seems that I'd have to raise a SWIFT payment to transfer from my Rs account to the Forex account anyway, which is probably no easier than doing a SWIFT transfer to a UK bank account?

In which case it would only be worth considering a Forex agent if transferring a larger non-urgent amount where I'd be more interested in locking in the exchange rate than ensuring rapid transfer?