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I have a normal Indian bank account, joint with my mother. Now, I wish to open an NRE account as I no longer live in India. How can I transfer money from this existing Indian account to the new NRE account? To the best of my knowledge the following hold:

  1. I should convert the normal account to NRO. But then I would pay tax on the interests. So, I'd remove my name from this account and close it or make my mother the sole holder.
  2. To transfer money to an NRE account, the money must be from a currency different from INR. So I should withdraw INR, convert them to Euros/USD, go to my NRE bank, and deposit this cash. This process would likely result in losses from the transaction rates. Is there another way?
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  • Notice that your option #1 where you remove your name entirely from the savings account results in you losing control of the money in your account entirely. Surely converting the account into an NRO account and paying taxes on the interest is more preferable, no?
    – Dilip Sarwate
    Mar 1, 2020 at 14:18
  • @DilipSarwate no, because I can always use mother's account if need be.
    – bissi
    Mar 1, 2020 at 15:01

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How can I transfer money from this existing Indian account to the new NRE account?

Technically you can't and shouldn't.

Transfer into NRE account is earnings outside of India remitted to India. Your funds in saving account is not earned outside India and hence can't be transferred into NRE.

You should either convert the savings account to NRO or get your name removed, i.e gift this amount to your mother.

Alternatively you can transfer the funds to your account in US under the liberalized remittance scheme.

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  • So you mean, first transfer the INR to US, and then transfer back to an NRE account.?This process would involve commissions twice...
    – bissi
    Mar 1, 2020 at 15:18

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