NRE and NRO Accounts: What to Do With Your Indian Bank Accounts After Moving to Sweden

Buddy Hive
7 min read · Oct 11, 2026

When you move to Sweden for work, your Indian bank accounts stay in India, but the rules for them change. Under India's rules for foreign money (FEMA), you become a non-resident Indian (NRI) as soon as you leave to work or live abroad. Your bank must then treat your accounts in a different way.

This guide covers what to tell your Indian bank, when an NRE account is worth opening, how interest is taxed in India and Sweden, and how to keep online banking working from Sweden.

Photo: Ravi Roshan on Pexels

The steps in short

1. Tell your bank you are now an NRI, and ask it to change your savings accounts to NRO.
2. Update your ID check (KYC) and contact details, so you can still use online banking.
3. Decide if you need an NRE account for money you send from Sweden.
4. Update your investments: shares, mutual funds, fixed deposits and insurance.
5. Sort out tax on interest, in both India and Sweden.

Step 1: Tell your bank you are an NRI

For bank accounts, the FEMA rules count, not the 182-day rule for income tax. If you leave India to take a job abroad, or to live abroad, you are a non-resident from that day.

Once you are a non-resident:

• Your normal savings accounts must become NRO accounts. You cannot keep a normal savings account.
• Your fixed deposits also become NRO deposits.
• Shared accounts with family in India can usually continue, but your bank will change how they are set up.

Most banks have an NRI desk or an online form. You usually need:

• Your passport, with your Swedish visa or residence permit page.
• Your Swedish residence permit card (UT-kort) or work contract.
• Proof of your address in Sweden, like a rental contract or a Swedish bank statement.
• Your PAN card (Indian tax number) and a new photo.

Some banks let you do this online, or let someone visit a branch in India for you with your written permission (a power of attorney). Others want a signed letter by post. If you can, ask your bank before you leave.

Official source: RBI: accounts in India by non-residents (FAQ)

Step 2: Keep online banking working from abroad

The most common problem for new NRIs is being locked out, because the one-time code (OTP) goes to a number they no longer use.

• Keep your Indian mobile number active, at least until your bank has your new details. A cheap prepaid plan that can get SMS abroad is usually enough.
• Give the bank your new email and your address in Sweden.
• Finish the NRI ID check (KYC). Banks check your documents again when you become an NRI. If the check is not finished, they can freeze your account.
• Ask about foreign mobile numbers. Some banks can send codes to a Swedish number, but not all.
• Check your debit card. Your bank may give you a new card for the NRO account.

UPI: works on NRE and NRO accounts with an Indian mobile number. Whether foreign numbers work depends on the bank and the country, so check before you give up your Indian SIM.

Step 3: Decide if you need an NRE account

An NRE account makes sense if you:

• Send part of your Swedish salary to India, for home loan payments, family or savings.
• Want to be able to move that money back to Sweden later without extra forms.

An NRO account is enough if you only have money you earn in India, like rent from a flat or interest on old deposits.

Not sure which one fits? Try our Which Indian bank account should I use? tool.

Moving money between them: you can move money from NRO to NRE, up to USD 1 million a year, after tax. Money you earn in India, like rent, can only go into an NRE account after tax and if your bank agrees. Most people keep it in NRO.

There is also the FCNR deposit. It is a fixed deposit kept in a foreign currency, like US dollars or euros. It protects your money if the rupee loses value, but it usually pays less interest. Few people need one in their first year.

Step 4: Update your investments

Changing your bank accounts is only part of it. Also update:

• Demat and trading accounts (the accounts that hold your shares). Your normal demat account must change to an NRI demat account, and you must buy and sell Indian shares the NRI way. Your broker can tell you which accounts you need.
• Mutual funds. Tell each fund company that you are now an NRI, and give them your new bank account. Some fund companies do not accept people from some countries, so check that yours accepts people living in Sweden.
• PPF. You can keep a PPF account you already have until it ends, but you cannot open a new one as an NRI. Ask your bank before you extend it.
• Insurance. Tell your insurance companies your new address and that you are now an NRI. See our NRI term insurance guide.

Step 5: Sort out tax in India and Sweden

In India

• NRE interest is tax-free in India while you are a non-resident.
• NRO interest is taxed. Banks keep back about 31%, and more if your income is very high.
• Under the India-Sweden tax treaty, India can take at most 10% of the interest from people who live in Sweden. To get the lower rate, give your bank proof from Skatteverket that you live in Sweden (hemvistintyg), and fill in Form 41 (once called Form 10F) on the Indian tax website.
• You usually need to file a tax return in India if your income in India is more than the tax-free amount, or if you want back tax that was kept back at a high rate. Our Do I need to file taxes in India? tool helps you check.
• Moving in the middle of the year? For Indian income tax, you may still count as living in India for that year if you spent 182 days or more there. This is separate from your NRI status for bank accounts.

From 1 April 2026, India has a new tax law: the Income-tax Act, 2025. Many form numbers changed, so older guides may use old names like 10F, 15CA and 15CB. NRE interest is still tax-free, and NRO interest is still taxed.

In Sweden

Once you are registered (folkbokförd) and living in Sweden, Sweden taxes your income from every country.

• Add interest from NRE and NRO accounts, and your other income from India, to your Swedish tax return. Sweden taxes interest at 30%.
• Sweden taxes NRE interest, even though India does not.
• Sweden takes off the Indian tax on NRO interest (avräkning), up to the 10% the treaty allows. Ask for this in your tax return, and keep proof of the tax the bank kept back. If the bank kept back more than 10%, you get the rest back from India.

Ask for help if you have rent, profits from selling, or large investments in India. A chartered accountant in India and an adviser who knows Swedish tax can help you avoid paying twice. Our India-Sweden tax treaty guide explains who taxes what.

Official sources: Skatteverket: declaring income from abroad (in Swedish), Skatteverket: credit for foreign tax (in Swedish), Skatteverket: certificate of tax residence (in Swedish), Income Tax Department: Form 41

Sending money from Sweden to India

• Compare the total cost, not just the fee. Banks and money transfer services also make money on the exchange rate.
• Send to your NRE account if you may want to move the money out of India later.
• Keep a record of every transfer: the amount, the date and the account. It helps with tax in both countries.

Common problems

• Account frozen because of the ID check (KYC). Send the documents your bank asks for as soon as you can. Many banks accept them by email or through the NRI desk.
• Codes (OTPs) going to an old number. Update your mobile number at a branch in India, or through the bank's NRI desk, before you lose the number.
• Rent paid into an NRE account. Your bank may not accept it there, or may ask for proof that tax was paid. The simple fix is to get rent paid into your NRO account.
• The bank keeps back too much tax on NRO interest. Give your bank the hemvistintyg and fill in Form 41. Get the extra tax back by filing a tax return in India.
• You forgot to change your accounts to NRO for years. Contact your bank and explain. It is better to fix it now than later.

Useful official links

• RBI: accounts in India by non-residents (FAQ)
• Income Tax Department of India
• Income Tax Department: Form 41 for treaty relief
• Skatteverket: certificate of tax residence (in Swedish)
• Skatteverket: declaring income from abroad (in Swedish)
• Our guide: how to open a bank account and get BankID in Sweden
• Our guide: how to get a personnummer in Sweden
• Our NRI tax tools

This guide is not official, legal or tax advice. It is a simple introduction, so you understand the basics and know what to look up next. Rules change, and every bank works a little differently. Check with your bank, the RBI, Skatteverket or a tax adviser before you move money.