NRIWallah team
Updated
November 2026
· 5 min read
When parents grow older in India and you live abroad, the hard part is often not money but distance. A hospital admission, a bank that will not talk to you, a pension that stops because a form was missed: each is simple to sort out in person and slow from another time zone. Most of it can be prepared in advance. This guide covers the money and paperwork side; it does not replace a conversation with your parents about what they want.
Health cover for your parents
A hospital stay in a private hospital in India can cost far more than most retired parents’ savings, so health cover usually comes first. Indian insurers sell policies for people living in India, including older people, and an NRI child can usually buy one for them and pay the premium from an NRE or NRO account or from abroad.
When you compare policies, look at what the policy wording says rather than the brochure:
- Pre-existing conditions. Rules introduced by IRDAI, the insurance regulator, in 2024 cap the waiting period for conditions your parents already have at 36 months of continuous cover, and many policies are shorter. Disclose every condition when you apply; a claim can be refused for something left out.
- Co-payment and room rent. Policies for older people often make the policyholder pay a share of each claim, or cap the room rate, which reduces every other charge in proportion.
- The hospital network. Cashless treatment works only at hospitals on the insurer’s list. Check the hospitals near your parents.
- Renewal. Cover that lapses for even a short gap usually restarts the waiting periods. Keep the renewal date in the renewals tracker.
Our health insurance guide explains the terms in more detail. NRIWallah does not rank insurers or show premiums.
A power of attorney
A power of attorney lets someone in India act for you, or lets you act for your parents, when signing in person is not possible. NRIs commonly give one to a sibling or relative to deal with property, banks or tax; parents may give one to a trusted person who lives nearby.
There are two kinds. A general power covers a wide range of acts; a specific one covers a named task, such as selling a particular flat. Banks and registrars are usually more comfortable with a specific power for a large transaction.
A power you sign abroad usually needs to be notarised and then attested by the Indian mission or apostilled, depending on the country, and stamped in India within three months of its arrival there. Stamp duty and any registration depend on the state and the purpose. A power ends when the person who gave it dies, so it is no substitute for a will.
Sending money to your parents
Sending money to parents is usually straightforward. Under Indian tax law, a gift from a relative, which includes a child, is exempt in the hands of the person receiving it, whatever the amount. Interest, rent or gains your parents later earn on that money are their income and taxed as theirs, at their own rates.
Your own country may care about large gifts. Some countries ask you to report gifts or transfers abroad above a threshold, and inheritance or gift tax rules there can reach gifts made in the years before death. Our inheritance and gift tax tool explains the position for the main countries NRIs live in.
How you send the money matters too. Compare the rate and fee before a regular transfer; our money transfer comparison shows what arrives for the same sum. Money from your NRE account can usually be paid to a parent’s account in India without tax forms.
Their savings, pension and paperwork
Help your parents keep their own records in order, while they can do it with you:
- Nominations on every bank account, deposit, demat account and insurance policy, matching their will. A nominee can usually collect the money quickly; without one, the family may need a succession certificate.
- A will for what they own in India. Our wills guide explains why a will in each country matters for NRIs too.
- The pension life certificate. Indian pensioners usually send a life certificate each November to keep the pension paid. It can be done online through the government’s Jeevan Pramaan service, with a phone and Aadhaar.
- A list of accounts, policies, property papers and contacts, kept somewhere both they and you can find it.
When there is an emergency
Agree in advance who in India will be the first person at the hospital, and make sure the hospital and insurer have that person’s number as well as yours. Keep copies of the health policy, ID and recent prescriptions where the family can reach them.
If you need to fly to India at short notice, check your own passport, visa or OCI and travel insurance before you need them. If a parent is treated for something serious, our guide to medical treatment in India covers costs and planning for NRIs and their families.
Sharing the load with siblings
Where brothers and sisters live in different countries, agree who pays what, and who in India holds which power. Write it down, even informally. Disputes over money spent on parents, or over the family home after they die, are among the most common NRI family problems, and a short note agreed early usually prevents them.
This guide explains the usual position. Insurance terms, stamp duty and family law depend on the state and on your family’s circumstances, so for a power of attorney, a will or a large gift, take advice from a lawyer in India.
