India Essentials
India Essentials · For assignees moving to India

Your move to India, handled.

Thirty-two practical, step-by-step guides, from the visa registration deadline to the rent-tax rule to the day you leave. The real “how do I actually do this?” for every task of your move, with your IKAN consultant beside you.

Find your guide The full pack (PDF)
  • 32guides, each with a PDF
  • 6stages of your move
  • 9deep dives with every form and fee
Inside Terminal 2 of Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru: rows of seats under a slatted wooden ceiling, the runway beyond the glass
Terminal 2, Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru. Photo: Yourusernamewillbepublic2, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Start here

  1. Your First Week in India

    The spine: what to do, in what order, from −72 hours to your first 90 days.

    PDF
    • 72h e-Arrival Card
    • 14 days to FRRO (most visas)

  2. Quick Reference Card

    Emergency numbers, the landing sequence, the deadlines, one keeper for your phone.

    PDF

Every guide, by stage of your move

Each guide opens with the answer. Deep dive marks the nine with every form, fee and timeline.

01

Before you fly

Papers, a phone that works on landing, and the e-Arrival Card.

  1. Quick Reference Card

    Emergency numbers, the landing sequence, the deadlines, one keeper for your phone.

    PDF

  2. Your Pre-Arrival Countdown

    T-30 to landing day: every pre-flight task on one calm clock, keyed to the 72-hour e-Arrival window.

    PDF
    • T-30 the countdown starts
    • 72h e-Arrival Card window

  3. Your Document Kit

    The papers & photos every task needs, and which document each one asks for.

    PDF
    • 1 folder, done once
    • 2 sets, paper + digital

  4. Staying Connected

    Get online the moment you land, and set up a local Indian number.

    PDF
    • ~5 min eSIM to land connected
    • ₹200-400 local plan / month

  5. Your Airport Transfer

    How your transfer works and exactly how to find your driver on arrival.

    PDF
    • 1 IKAN name board, your name on it

  6. India, A-Z

    Every acronym and everyday word in this pack, explained simply.

    PDF
    • A-Z plain English
    • 1 place for every term
02

First week

Registering your stay, your host's Form C, and getting around.

  1. Your First Week in India

    The spine: what to do, in what order, from −72 hours to your first 90 days.

    PDF
    • 72h e-Arrival Card
    • 14 days to FRRO (most visas)

  2. Registering Your Stay

    FRRO registration and its real deadline, simply explained. We file it for you.

    PDF
    • 72h e-Arrival Card
    • 14 days to FRRO (most visas)
  3. Deep dive

    FRRO Registration

    What triggers it, the real deadline, the documents, and the now-criminal penalties.

    PDF
    • 14 days on a long-stay visa
    • Before 180d on a short or capped visa
  4. Deep dive

    Form C · Host Filing Duty

    Your host's 24-hour duty to report your stay, and exactly what you must confirm.

    PDF
    • 24 hrs host files after check-in
    • Sec 8 duty under the 2025 Act

  5. Your Emergency Card

    112, 108, your cashless hospital and insurer on one wallet card. Fill in, print, lock screen.

    PDF
    • 112 all emergencies
    • 108 free government ambulance

  6. Driving & Your Licence

    Drive on your licence, get an Indian one step-by-step, or hire a driver.

    PDF
    • 1 year on your licence plus an IDP
    • 3 ways to get around
  7. Deep dive

    Aadhaar for Foreign Nationals

    Optional for you, who's eligible, the documents, and the realistic timeline.

    PDF
    • 182 days minimum stay to apply
    • Optional not mandatory for you

  8. Assignee Scenario Cards

    Five calm response cards for the moments that can make an India assignment feel stuck.

    PDF
    • 5 scenario cards
    • 1 shared response rule
03

Home

Finding a home, the lease, your landlord's papers, and running the house.

  1. Renting Your Home

    Your lease, registration, the deposit, rent-tax and your tenant duties.

    PDF
    • 30-45 days, start the search early
    • Over 12 mo → lease is registered
  2. Deep dive

    Your Lease · Process & Timelines

    From search to a signed, safe agreement, the checks before you pay a rupee.

    PDF
    • 45 days start the search early
    • 3 checks before you pay anything
  3. Deep dive

    Lease Registration & Stamp Duty

    When a lease must be registered, stamp duty, and the Sub-Registrar steps.

    PDF
    • Over 12 months must be registered
    • 0.25-2% stamp duty (varies by state)

  4. For Your Landlord

    Share it with your landlord: Form C, the KYC papers, TDS and the lease, in English and Hindi.

    PDF
    • 24h the Form C duty
    • हिंदी in every section

  5. Owner KYC Checklist

    The owner-side twin of the lease checklist: ownership, identity, authority, bank and building papers, with a safe handoff path.

    PDF
    • 5 core paper groups
    • 1 clean handoff
  6. Deep dive

    Tenancy Compliance & Responsibilities

    What you take on as occupier, what IKAN checks, and how the deposit comes back in full.

    PDF
    • Move-in record every defect, in writing
    • Deposit returns in full if the property does

  7. Setting Up Your Home

    Electricity, gas, water, fibre, your society and household help.

    PDF
    • 4 bins, by law (2026)
    • RO water, non-negotiable

  8. Hiring Household Help

    Cook, maid, driver: find, verify, agree fair terms, and be the employer people want to work for.

    PDF
    • 1st rule: police-verify everyone
    • 1 day paid weekly day off, the norm
04

Money

PAN, a bank account, UPI, and the tax rule on rent.

  1. Money & Banking

    Your PAN, a bank account, UPI payments, and the rent-tax rule.

    PDF
    • 1 PAN first
    • 2 then bank & UPI
  2. Deep dive

    PAN & Bank Account

    Form 95, the two-tier fee, KYC and the timeline, and the mistakes that cause rejections.

    PDF
    • Form 95 for foreign nationals
    • PAN → bank → UPI
  3. Deep dive

    Rent & the TDS Rule

    When you, the tenant, must deduct tax on rent, explained plainly.

    PDF
    • ₹50,000/mo the trigger
    • 2% on a resident landlord
05

Family

Schools, healthcare, your partner's first months, and the year in India.

  1. For Your Partner & Family

    The move is yours too: career options told honestly, the first 90 days, community, kids, and visiting parents.

    PDF
    • 1st factor in how assignments go: the family settling
    • 90d from landing to at-home, mapped honestly

  2. Schools & Admissions

    Curricula, waitlists, fees and the school search that decides your neighbourhood.

    PDF
    • 6-18 mo waitlists at top schools
    • Day 1 start the search

  3. My Move to India

    A gentle co-reading guide for children and grown-ups moving to India, with six small chapters for the journey.

    PDF
    • 6 little chapters
    • 1 honest grown-up plan

  4. Healthcare in India

    Insurance, the best hospitals, everyday care and emergencies.

    PDF
    • 112 all emergencies
    • 108 ambulance

  5. Festivals & Seasons

    Festival windows, closure planning, monsoon survival, and a calm winter air plan.

    PDF
    • Oct-Nov the festive season, India at its most festive
    • Jun-Sep the monsoon, easy with a plan
06

Leaving

A calm countdown to a clean, compliant exit.

  1. Leaving India Well

    A calm 90-day countdown to a clean, compliant departure.

    PDF
    • 90 day countdown
    • RP departure reported online
  2. Deep dive

    Leaving India Well · Repatriation

    A calm 60-30-14-7-day countdown to a clean, compliant exit.

    PDF
    • 90 days a calm countdown
    • Report your departure to the FRRO
Three companions, one move

There are three things that help you move to India well.

India Essentials is the third, and the most practical.

  1. 01

    The country guide

    Tells you about India, the place, the culture, the big picture of living here.

  2. 02

    Your city guide

    Tells you about where you’ll actually live, neighbourhoods, schools, getting around.

    Open the city guides
  3. 03

    India Essentials

    This pack, the practical “how do I actually do this?” for every task of your move, in the order you’ll need it.

You ’ re never doing this alone.

  • We handle the hard deadlines

    FRRO registration, your PAN, the paperwork with clocks on it, prepared and filed for you, on time.

  • One consultant, beside you

    A single point of contact who knows your visa, your city and your family’s situation.

  • The exact next step, always

    Every guide cross-links, so you always know what to do now and what comes next.

  • Settled, not just relocated

    From the airport to your first school run, we stay with you until India feels like home.

“Where expertise meets empathy, supporting your move to India, every step of the way.”

IKAN Relocations · Talent mobility, handled with care

Every guide in one PDF

Read it on the plane, or send it to your family. Each guide also has its own PDF, one tap from its page.

Download the full pack