EU-NRI investing
EU-NRI investing:
what to keep, what to liquidate, and when
Germany, Netherlands, Ireland readers asked for their version after the US and UK posts — fair, the rules are completely different. The big advantage: most EU countries stop taxing your worldwide income the day you leave. The trap: the tax-advantaged pension you built up has its own exit treatment, and getting it wrong wipes out years of compounding.
I haven't lived in Europe myself — this is researched rather than lived. If you're in Berlin, Amsterdam, or Dublin and I've got something wrong, the comments on the original post are where I learn. Europe's messy and treaties vary by country.
The short version
The big simplification: unlike the US, most EU countries stop taxing you on worldwide income the day you stop being tax-resident. Once you've left, your investing decisions are made cleanly from India's side — a huge advantage over US-NRIs who carry the IRS for life.
What doesn't simplify: the tax-advantaged pension/savings wrappers you built up. Each country has its own exit treatment — German Riester/Rürup, Dutch pensioenfonds, French PEA all behave differently. Keep what's tax-advantaged where it is; don't liquidate just to repatriate.
Same framework as the US/UK posts
Three buckets
- India consumption money. What you'll actually spend in India — parents, kids' school, your own retirement if you're settling. INR exposure, growth assets not deposits (Indian inflation runs higher than the eurozone).
- Euro wealth. Long-term portfolio that might stay in EUR. Keep what's tax-advantaged where it is; don't liquidate just to repatriate.
- Transition cushion. Cash for the first 2–3 years post-return, held so it doesn't force a bad conversion at a bad rate.
The part that's actually different
Country by country — what to do with what you've built
| Country | What to do on exit |
|---|---|
| 🇩🇪 Germany | Riester: subsidies must be repaid if you leave — stop contributing once you know you're leaving, write it off. Rürup: locked till 62, can't cash out or move — leave it, it pays a German EUR pension later. Company pension: stays with employer, starts at retirement. Broker: Trade Republic + Scalable shut you down on move; IBKR + DEGIRO let you keep going with an Indian address. |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | 30% ruling stops the day you leave — but so does Box 3 wealth tax (usually a net positive). Workplace pensions stay in the fund and annuitise at retirement; pulling them as a lump sum gets crushed by taxes, so leave them. DEGIRO migrates cleanly to India. If you held Box 3 assets above the threshold, the year you leave is your best tax year in a while. |
| 🇫🇷 France | PEA is the one to watch: held >5 years, gains are tax-free in France, but the wrapper dies the day you become non-resident. Crossed the 5-year mark? Close it before you leave, take the tax-free gains, move the cash. Assurance-Vie can sometimes be kept but gets renegotiated under the France-India treaty — worth one meeting with a French private banker before you go. |
| 🇮🇪 Ireland | Easiest exit in Europe. No exit tax on most assets. Pension stays where it is. Irish UCITS (which you should already hold for global equity) keep working from India — no PFIC, no exit tax, normal Indian capital-gains treatment. |
| 🇸🇪🇳🇴 Nordics | Generally clean exits, but watch the exit tax. Sweden has a deemed-residency rule for 5 years after you leave. Norway brought in an actual exit tax on unrealised gains above a threshold. Sitting on large gains? Talk to a local advisor before booking the flight. |
| 🇧🇪🇪🇸🇮🇹🇵🇹🇦🇹 Others | Belgium, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Austria — same pattern: exit tax residency, pension stays put, brokerage may or may not migrate. The detail is in each country's treaty with India. |
Broadly the same across all EU-NRIs
India side, on arrival
- NRE fixed deposits — 6.5–7.5% at top private banks. Tax-free interest in India, fully repatriable. Once you're EU non-resident the interest is outside the EU tax net too. Cleanest INR cash holding (FX risk on principal at conversion).
- Direct Indian equity via NRE-PIS or NRO non-PIS. Delivery only. Zerodha + ICICI Direct handle NRI accounts properly.
- Indian mutual funds — big advantage over US-NRIs: no PFIC in EU tax law. Use any AMC that accepts non-US NRIs; direct schemes via Coin or MFCentral work fine.
- NPS Tier I — open to NRIs, 0.01% expense ratio, ₹50,000 deduction under 80CCD(1B) if you have Indian income. Locks until 60.
- Real estate — residential/commercial, not agricultural; proceeds repatriable up to $1M/FY via NRO with 15CA/CB.
- FCNR(B) in EUR — foreign-currency FD, tax-free interest, no FX risk on principal, 1–5yr tenor. Book before you move; runs to maturity after you become resident. For EU-NRIs sitting on euros, one of the only ways to earn anything meaningful on EUR without giving up the currency.
What to actively keep
EU side
- Irish UCITS — CSPX, VWRA, EIMI. The right default for global equity: better dividend withholding than US ETFs (15% vs 30% under the Ireland-US treaty), no US estate-tax problem, works fine from India after return.
- Interactive Brokers Europe — the most NRI-friendly broker on the continent. Indian address allowed, no forced closure on move, supports UCITS + US listings. Most country brokers (Trade Republic, Scalable, Comdirect) shut you down or restrict; DEGIRO is okay; IBKR is the right default.
- Workplace pensions — don't lump-sum these out; early-exit taxes wipe the gains. Let them annuitise at retirement for a EUR income stream that hedges your INR exposure.
US-domiciled ETFs (SPY, VTI, VOO): US estate tax above $60k of US assets, up to 40%, and no US-citizen exemption. Switch to Irish UCITS. ULIPs sold by Indian banks on home visits (5–8% front-loaded charges). 12% "NRI bonds" from unknown issuers — usually unrated developer NCDs; defaults happen.
India's Section 89A / Form 10EE lets you defer Indian tax on "specified foreign retirement accounts" until withdrawal — but the notified country list includes the US, UK, and Canada and does not currently include most EU countries. So 10EE doesn't apply cleanly to a German Rürup or Dutch pensioenfonds, meaning accrued income in those wrappers may get taxed in India even before you withdraw. This is the single biggest EU-NRI grey area — confirm with a cross-border CA before you assume deferral.
The playbook
The order I'd build it in, as an EU-NRI
- Max the local tax-advantaged pension wrapper while you're still resident.
- Use IBKR Europe for everything else — Irish UCITS for global equity, plus direct stocks.
- Book FCNR(B) in EUR before any return to India.
- NRE FD for INR cash needed in the first two years.
- Direct Indian equity or Indian MFs — unlike US-NRIs, both are open to you.
- File your country's exit forms cleanly the year you leave (mind Nordic exit taxes).
- File Form 10EE in India the year you become resident — but check whether your EU country is on the notified list first.
Common questions
EU-NRI investing FAQ
Do EU countries keep taxing NRIs after they leave?
What happens to my German Riester and Rürup pension?
Should I close my French PEA before moving to India?
Do EU-NRIs have a PFIC problem with Indian mutual funds?
Which broker should an EU-NRI use?
Does India's Form 10EE cover EU pensions?
Other corridors
Investing guides for other NRIs
Researched, not lived · No paid recommendations · Affiliate disclosures on every link · Methodology →