Monday, June 29, 2009

R2I Checklist - 25 things to do


Good to know that you are thinking of Returning to India (R2I). R2I is indeed a hard decision and requires meticulous planning. (Also read: R2I Planning Guide) There are lots of things to take care of, during R2I. This blog post makes your R2I planning, easier. It captures the list of things to do before your move to India.You can treat this as your Return to India (R2I) checklist.

1. Join the R2I Club Forums. This has lots of useful discussions on returning back to India. You can also look at Garamchai.com, which is a portal for Indians in US, and also has a number of R2I related articles/blogs.

2. Start preparing a to do list. You may not be able to get all the things in one shot. Keep updating the to do list as & when you remember/realize that something was missed out.

3. Start looking for a job in India. Update your resume & circulate it through your contacts. You should *get* a job before moving to India. A person in US who is moving to India would get a better treatment/package when compared to the local-ites. Many folks may have the question - what is the right pay? A rough ball-park is "You should get at least 1/3rd of what you are getting in US". The package varies significantly based on the city, your interview performance, your negotiation skills etc., So, talk to your friends in India to get ball parks. (Also read: List of MNCs (Product & Software) Companies in Chennai)

4.
Tell your employer about your move. When to inform your employer is a tough question to answer. It depends :) I told my employer the next day after I decided to move back. They were very co-operative through-out the process & they helped me to the extent possible.

5. Consolidate all your bank accounts. Maintain one bank account with online access. You can use that to pay your bills or to file tax returns. Keep your ATM/debit card with you, safely.

6. Close all your credit cards. You can use your debit card for all the expenses during you travel. (Note: Your credit score shouldn't get affected when you close your credit cards in good terms. Talk to your financial advisor for details). I closed all my credit cards during the last week before my return.

7. Lock your SSN/Credit. If you want to prevent the fraudulent usage of your SSN, lock your credit. You need to apply for credit lock/freeze through all the 3 credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian & TransUnion.

8. Close all your utilities accounts (phone, TV, mobile phone, PG&E etc.,) at appropriate times. Have your mobile phone till the last day. You may need it for emergencies. I called & closed my mobile phone account on the last day.

9. Give "Change of Address" to your post office. It is recommended to give the address of a friend who owns a house (A friend who rents a house may move around). Also, the friend has to be very reliable. He/she shouldn't miss important mail communications to you. Give "Change of Address" to people from whom you may receive some correspondences (Banks, Utility providers, USCIS, IRS, DMV, etc.,).   (Also read: R2I Change of Address - Checklist)

10. Decide what you want to do with your 401K account. You don't have to close your 401K when you leave the country. You can maintain the account till your retirement, also. Talk to a financial advisor to decide which option is best for you. I had very little balance in my 401K (I started with 401K very late). So, I sold all my possessions. Yes, there will be a 10% penalty for early withdrawal (paid during the time of filing tax returns) + 20% tax deducted at source. When you file your tax returns, you can calculate/settle the actual tax that you owe to the government. (Note: On the last day of your employment, you'll fill a 'participant distribution' application which instructs what your 401K provider should do with your account. You have an option of selling all the positions & wiring the money to your bank account. Just talk to your 401k provider/HR about the available options well in advance). Read the "R2I - 401(k) closure FAQ" for details.

11. Decide what you want to do with your stocks/bonds. I had very little money in stocks. So, I sold all my stocks. (Read: Stock Trading Lessons)

12. Track the USD -> INR conversion rates. When I returned to India, the conversion rates were at their best levels. So, I moved all my USD to India (INR), right away. I left some minimal balance in the bank to take care of the tax payments, next year. (Note: I had the practice of sending money to India on a monthly basis. So, I normally don't care about the conversion rates. If you are transferring money to India on a regular basis, it would get Dollar Cost Averaged out). Also read: US to India money transfer strategies

13. Decide what are some of the items that you want to take back to India, with you. You may need to arrange for containers to ship your personal belongings. There are several folks who take care of shipping items from US -> India. They'll take care of door-to-door delivery. It takes about 2 - 3 months for you to receive the shipment in India. You can get a price quote online. I didn't send any items through containers. All I sent/brought from US is just 7 suitcases. Rest of the items were either sold or donated to someone.

14. Sell/Donate the items that you don't want to take with you to India. Take pictures of items & put them in Craigslist for sale. Donate items to Goodwill. You'll get a tax credit for the items that you donated, when you file your tax returns. In order to avail the tax credit, get a receipt from Goodwill & keep that safe.

15. Plan well in ahead to sell your big ticket items (like house, car etc.,). My costliest asset was my car. I sold it to a friend of mine. I didn't have the pain of going through multiple prospects or the car dealers. (Note: Some of my friends, bought houses just before the housing market touched bottom in 2008. Their home values lost nearly 10 - 20%. If you are thinking of returning to India, don't make risky bets. Otherwise, you may be stuck in USA for a while).

16. Make proper long-term investments in India well-ahead of (years before) your move. I had made sure that I get continuous income in India. That way, you don't have the pressure to 'work' immediately. You can take a short break. Also, having worked in US for several years under stress, it is time for you to relax a bit. (Read: Power of Attorney for NRIs - FAQ, if you are thinking of buying properties in India)

17. Purchase a VOIP phone (such as Skype, Magic Jack, or Vonage) and take it with you to India. You may need that to stay in touch with your US friends & to communicate with people who maintain your US accounts. Magic Jack seems to be the cheapest at the time of writing this blog (But, your computer has to be kept ALWAYS ON for you to receive calls). I bought a Skype phone with SkypeOut number. The voice quality is good & the calls are very reliable. (Read: IP Phone - Magic Jack vs Vonage vs Skype)

18. If you have school going kids, you may have an additional responsibility of planning the move around the time the academic year starts in India. Some of the schools finish their admissions in Dec/Jan time frame. You should plan your move, accordingly (Read: Getting KG admission for a kid in school - the math behind itR2I school admissions - FAQ)

19. Get medical documents for your family from your health care provider. Some of the providers make them available online. You may need to just take printouts. Complete your regular health checkups, dental appointments etc.,

20. If you don't know anyone in the Indian city where you are going to move to, you may have to arrange for a house, basic stuff for your move, well in advance. In the worst case, book a hotel for your stay for the first few weeks or so.

21. Send your family first to India. You can find out if they are getting adapted to India or not. Also, it will be easier for you to clean-up things in US, if you are alone (For ex., you can stay with your friends/some bachelors during the last few days in US)

22. You should have some "significant" money when you are in India. The cost of living in India has gone up, quite a bit. You would need money to settle down, comfortably. The amount of money that you need may vary based on your family size, life style, commitments etc.,

23. Scan all your important documents & convert them to soft copies. It is easier to maintain soft copies of documents (like tax filing documents, bank information, visa related documents etc.,).

24. If you have been in US for 10 years, you would've earned 40 credits for social security. You will be eligible for Social Security benefits after your retirement. From what I read, US government would send you the 'check' wherever you are. You have to just keep IRS updated about your whereabouts. [Also read: How can I get my Social Security benefits?]

25. If you have kids who are US citizens, you may need to get a PIO card for them to visit India. After reaching India & after being in India for 6 months, you need to submit a 'registration' application to extend the stay of US Citizens. Visit your nearest passport office (or) refer to the passport office web site for more details. [Recommended reading: "The OCI Hoopla" "Extending stay of a PIO card holder"]

My planning actually started 6 years back. Yes. I was preparing to go back to India since I landed in US. I was very conservative since day one. I made sure that I buy only the *mandatory* things. Whenever I visit India (or) if someone from India visits me, I send a lot of unused household items through them to India (such as books, mementos, gift articles etc.,). We started visiting important places in US, ~2 years before our move :)

Always, keep your options open. You may decide to return back to US, if you can't get adjusted to things in India. So, keep that in mind when you are planning for your move. I burned all my boats before I left US. That way, the only option for me is to be in India :)

If you think something is missed out, please drop me a note. I'll be happy to include that to the list.

Wishing you all the best for your move. India needs people like you.

Related posts:

Things to do after your R2I
100 reasons to R2I
Green Card vs. US Citizenship

40 comments:

  1. cool, awesome...nice posting..I bookmarked it ;) ..I really appreciate ..

    Thx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, you pointed out a few things we did not think about. Thannks for a comprehensive list

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for a very detailed list Saro. This is very helpful.

    One comment on - "Send your family first to India. You can find out if they are getting adapted to India or not."

    No, absolutely not. In fact, that is one sure way to fail with the transition. Kids especially need lot of support from both the parents as lot of things change for them suddenly.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes. I agree. Kids do need a lot of support from the parents during this transition.

    I didn't have a problem because my parents/in-laws are in India. My daughter was more than happy to be in India with her grand parents. He was pampered quite a bit.

    - Saro

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  5. saro,

    can you tell me how much money can we transfer and if there is a tax implication. I want to maintain my account here for tax purposes but nothing more.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thomas,

    "A taxpayer is a resident-not-ordinarily-resident (RONR) if he or she has not been a resident of India for nine out of the previous 10 years, or if one’s stay in the country does not exceed 729 days during the previous seven years. As an RNOR, the taxpayer is taxed only on income that arises in India."

    So, you don't have to pay any tax in India for the money that you bring from US for the first 2 years. However, you have to pay tax for any money that you bring from US subsequently (Yes! It will be taxed twice).

    R2I Club Forum has lots of discussions around this.

    Please also check with a financial adviser.

    - Saro

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  7. Great Post Saro, i hope will help me soon enough...!! --Uma

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am becoming a fan of your post, keep em coming.

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  9. Good..Excellant posting. I like the "Burned all my boats" option.....

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  10. I think this collection of blogs is the BEST I have seen on R2I. Hats off for the superb job!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Saro: Hats off to a great collection of articles. I have been engrossed for the past 2 hrs as I am taking baby steps to r2I...Vishwanath.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Question: Question: If I visit Inida in 2010 for a few weeks to scout things with the intention of returning for good in 2011....should I interview for jobs in 2010? Will companies wait for an year or so? Seems unlikely? ....

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  13. I would not recommend looking for jobs 1 year in advance. Start testing waters and start generating leads 6 months before your R2I. Get aggressive 3 months before your R2I.

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  14. Great job, appreciate your efforts.

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  15. Question/Comments appreciated :-
    Great post.. really appreciate it. I came across this blog accidentally. I was looking for some tax advise on my family's return to India. I am planning to send my family to India and planning to join them in next 2 years (I need couple more year of experience in the current field I am working). I need to send my family now, otherwise it will be very difficult for my 5th grade kid to adjust. Any comment/tips on this approach.. Once again, Thanks for your very detailed blog.
    Thx
    Sal

    ReplyDelete
  16. I can understand your situation. If you are going to have a good support structure (through parents/in-laws/relatives) in India for your family (wife + kid(s)), you should be fine. Otherwise, you need to think twice.

    2 years seem to be very long time. However, if you are making regular trips to India in between, you should be good.

    Be in constant touch with your family/kids, when they are in India. Your kids shouldn't feel bad that they have to stay away from the DAD.

    Settling down in India takes time. Hopefully, your wife/kids are ready handle issues on their own - with just remote guidance from you.

    Having said all that, 2 years will fly in no time. My family already celebrated their first R2I anniversary in India (I'm yet to ...!). Just go with the flow and you should be fine.

    Wishing you all the best with your R2I. Keep me posted.

    - Saro

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  17. Dear Sir,

    This is a great post and truly insightful.Could you please expand upon the process required to be completed for the credit freeze & SSN closure? Also, with regards to SSA benefits it appears that nothing needs to be done now, is that right? Thanks,

    ReplyDelete
  18. Credit freeze will prevent people from mis-using your SSN. You've to apply individually at Equifax, Experian & TransUnion.

    I've given below the relevant pointers for you to follow-on:

    https://www.freeze.equifax.com/Freeze/jsp/SFF_PersonalIDInfo.jsp

    http://www.experian.com/consumer/security_freeze.html

    http://www.transunion.com/corporate/personal/fraudIdentityTheft/fraudPrevention/securityFreeze.page

    Hope this helps !

    - Saro

    ReplyDelete
  19. Dear Saro,
    Thanks for the checklist. I am planning to R2I in a month's time and this has been very helpful. Do you have similar for basic things-to-do when we land in India?

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Saro,
    I have not seen you mention anything about pension. I periodically get a pension statement from my employer with a good sum in it. Is this something I can take home when I R2I.
    As always, continue reading your informative and interesting blogs.
    regards
    Sal

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  22. Is there something called "pension" other than 401k and Social Security benefits? I'm not aware of any such thing. It would be good if you can provide more information on that.

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  23. Thanks Saro... this is very helpful.. I'm planning to move to Chennai year-end, we meet if there is a chance... - Saravanan :)

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  24. Sure Saravanan. Drop me an email when you are here in Chennai. We can meet.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Great blog! enjoyed reading it. We are also planning to r2i in a few months!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi

    I currently have indian visa for my son and planning to visit only for 1 month. If for some reason my visa stamping got denied, can I apply for my son's PIO card while we are in India

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Yes ! If you are in India with a long term visa (greater than one year), you can apply for PIO card

    http://www.path2usa.com/pio-card-person-of-indian-origin

    ReplyDelete
  28. Very helpful list... keep up the good work :-)

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  29. Very helpful post.
    I have few items that I would like to take with me to india, but i am thinking what would be a good choice between shipping or carrying them along on flight.
    How much does the airline charge for extra baggages?
    How much would a shipping company charge?
    Does USPS offers homeland shipping?

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hi Gaurav,

    Thanks for the feedback. The airline charge for extra baggage varies between airlines and it is published in their respective websites.

    I do not have much information about shipping. But, R2I Club forum r2i.sarosclubforums.com has lots of articles on shipping. Hope you find them useful.

    Wishing you all the best with the move.

    - Saro

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hello saro,
    can you please tell me if we can resume accumulating credits after couple of years gap or the 40 point credits has to be in one stretch.
    piuesh

    ReplyDelete
  32. SSN ID is valid for your life time. You can accumulate credits after a gap also.

    ReplyDelete
  33. what kind of investments will be good to do if i am planning to return to india in 1-2 years?

    ReplyDelete
  34. Do an investment that can provide you some monthly returns. For ex., a property/flat that can be rented out, an investment that gives you interest every month, a business that produces profit every month etc., Thus, you'll have more confidence to come back 'n settle. Even if you take a few months to find a job, the money that you get will help you run the family.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Hi Saro,
    Thanks a lot for such useful information. I wanted to know if we can take my car to India. Its used one.. also if can't take my current car due to different driving (like right to left the wheel is) can I get a new car with correct wheel as like on right and according to Indian driving condition... what I heard is that it becomes a old car and taxes on Import are less...they also said I can take only 1 car like this... it can be rumor too...so can please help me

    ReplyDelete
  36. Hi Saro,
    Thanks a lot for publishing such useful information. I heard that we can ship a used car one per household to India and the taxes are very less. It might be a rumor. I know that the driving directions and handle is on right in india where as its left here in US. So what they have suggested is to order a car for Indian driving conditions with correct handle side...etc .. is there a website that I can get more information.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Cars with Left hand side wheel are not allowed to be used in India. So, it will not be worth bringing it here.

    Here are some references.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-_and_left-hand_traffic#India

    http://r2i.sarosclubforums.com/forums/showthread.php/24935-Has-anyone-tried-taking-CAR-Mini-Van-from-US-to-India

    ReplyDelete
  38. Great Post Saro. I came across you site today and it each and every information is well-mentioned and clearly stated....thanks for the post...:)

    ReplyDelete
  39. Very structured and informative. Thanks for putting in the effort.

    ReplyDelete

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