Leaving India well is not about doing more, it is about doing things in the right order, early. The two things that take real time are your home hand-back (notice, inspection, deposit refund) and your immigration close-out (surrendering your Certificate of Registration so you walk through the exit gate clean). Everything else, utilities, school, bank, SIM, slots neatly around those. This guide turns the old flat checklist into a calm countdown: 60 days out, 30, 14, 7, and departure day. Your IKAN Relocation Coordinator runs the move-out inspection with you and your landlord, and coordinates the deposit back to your company. Start the clock early and your last week in India is quiet, not frantic.
60 days
When to start, notice & bookings
30 days
Bank, FEMA & tax close-out begins
Surrender
Certificate of Registration at exit
≤3 yr
Penalty if you overstay, avoid it
Do this first
Two clocks start the day you know your departure date: give your landlord written notice (your lease usually requires 30 to 60 days, so do it now to protect your deposit), and book the movers' pre-move survey. Then tell your IKAN coordinator the date, we line up the move-out inspection, the registration surrender and the bank closure so they run in parallel, not as one slow queue at the end.
The 90-day countdown
How to read this guide. Each block below is a phase counted back from your flight: 60 days, 30 days, 14 days, 7 days, and departure day. If you have less notice than that, don't panic, just start at the phase that matches the time you have and tell us, so we can compress the rest safely.
60 days out
Give notice & set the move in motion
This is the phase that protects your money, your deposit and your booked dates. Almost everything here is a notice or a booking, and each one has a built-in waiting period, which is exactly why it goes first.
1
Tell your IKAN coordinator your datesShare your confirmed departure date so we can schedule the move-out inspection, the registration surrender and the bank closure to overlap rather than stack up in your final week.
2
Give your landlord written noticeServe the notice period your lease requires (commonly 30 to 60 days) in writing. Late or verbal notice is the most common reason a security deposit is withheld, get it dated and acknowledged.
3
Book the movers' surveyContact the household-goods packing & moving company, schedule the pre-move survey, and lock a packing date. Early booking gets you the slot you want and an accurate shipment estimate.
4
Inform the school & request the Transfer CertificateTell the school, collect report cards and the Transfer Certificate (TC), and reclaim any caution/deposit held. If your next country needs it, request the TC be apostilled, that takes weeks, so start now.
5
Plan pet relocationIf pets travel with you, book the route early: you'll need an export health certificate and an animal-quarantine endorsement, plus your destination's import rules (vaccinations, microchip, titre tests) which can run on a multi-week to multi-month timeline.
6
Sort cars, club & membershipsIf you bought a car, arrange its sale; if hired, tell the rental firm your dates and clear dues. Cancel club memberships and reclaim any membership deposit.
30 days out
Close the money · bank, FEMA & tax
Financial close-out has the longest tail and a few advisor-only steps, so it gets a full month. Don't close your bank account first, it's the channel everything else (deposit refunds, final salary, FEMA repatriation) flows through, so keep it open until the end of this phase.
1
Repatriate funds before closing the account, see a FEMA advisorMoving your savings out of India is governed by FEMA, and the process differs for a resident account versus an NRO account. See a tax/FEMA advisor on the correct route, the bank forms (Form A2 and, where applicable, Forms 15CA/15CB), and limits before you close anything.
2
Get income-tax clearance squared away, see a tax advisorFile or plan your final-year return and confirm whether your situation needs a tax-clearance / no-objection step. See a tax advisor early, a clean tax position makes both fund repatriation and a future return to India far simpler.
3
Close the bank account, last, in writingOnce funds are repatriated and final salary is in, submit a written account-closure request, return the cheque book and debit card, and collect a closure confirmation. Closing too early strands your deposit refunds and last payments.
4
Surrender your PAN only on permanent departureIf you are leaving India for good, you can surrender your PAN in writing to your jurisdictional assessing officer after your final return and tax matters are settled. Keep the PAN active until then, you still need it for closures and refunds.
5
Start utility disconnections & deposit refundsBegin disconnecting internet, telephone, mobile broadband, gas and cable/dish TV, and request each deposit refund. If a utility is in the landlord's name, don't disconnect it, just clear dues and hand the last paid bills to your coordinator.
Bank, FEMA and tax are advisor territory. The right repatriation route, the forms, and any tax-clearance step depend on your account type, your residency status for the year, and how long you've been in India. Don't guess, have a tax/FEMA advisor confirm your specifics, and keep your account open until they tell you it's safe to close.
14 days out
Hand-back prep & immigration close-out
Now the home and the paperwork come together. Schedule the move-out inspection, line up any repairs, and, most importantly, handle your registration surrender so the exit gate is a formality, not a problem.
1
Schedule the move-out inspectionBook the inspection date with your landlord and IKAN Relocation Coordinator together, and check the inventory against the move-in list so there are no surprises on condition or fittings.
2
Confirm your visa & registration are valid for the exit dateYour visa must be valid when you leave. If your visa required you to register, your Residential Permit and Certificate of Registration must also be valid at departure under the Immigration & Foreigners Act, 2025.
3
Surrender your Certificate of RegistrationIf you are not returning, surrender your Certificate of Registration either to the Registration Officer (FRRO/FRO) of your place of registration, or to the Immigration Officer at your exit port. If you surrender it to the Registration Officer, you must keep the surrender receipt and produce it at exit.
4
Inform recurring vendors & keep proofNotify and settle milkman, newspaper/magazine, mineral water, maid/housekeeping, gardener, pest control, pool maintenance, security and AMC vendors, plus the apartment association (pay maintenance to the lease-end date). Keep each final receipt as proof of clearance.
5
Set up mail forwarding & arrange repairsSet up mail forwarding, and book any repair and deep-clean work the inspection will require, patching wall hooks, replacing fused bulbs, making good any damage.
Departure is simple only if you are fully compliant. With a valid visa and valid registration, the exit gate is routine. But an overstay or lapsed registration makes an Exit Permit (Exit Clearance) necessary, a case-specific FRRO/FRO document, not a routine step, and, under the Immigration & Foreigners Act, 2025, can carry criminal penalties of up to 3 years' imprisonment and/or ₹3 lakh. The 2025 Act also lets the authorities restrict departure in specific cases, so a clean record is what keeps your exit a formality. If anything has lapsed, tell your IKAN coordinator now, this is fixable with time, painful at the airport.
The exit-clearance routes at a glance
| Your situation | What you do | Carry at exit |
|---|---|---|
| Valid visa, registered, not returning | Surrender Certificate of Registration to the Registration Officer of your place of registration | Surrender receipt |
| Valid visa, registered, surrendering at the airport | Hand the Certificate of Registration to the Immigration Officer at the exit port | The certificate itself |
| Visa valid, registration not required | Nothing extra, exit on a valid visa | Passport & visa |
| Overstay / lapsed registration | Regularise first; an Exit Permit from the FRRO/FRO is required before you can leave | Exit Permit |
7 days out
Empty the home & pass inspection
The final week is hands-on: pack, clean, and walk the property so the deposit comes back in full. Keep the property hand-back items as a tick-box list, the printable version is at the end of this guide.
1
Complete society move-out formalitiesCheck move-out charges, and follow your society's exit process, often a form, returning all ID/access cards and car stickers, and a final maintenance settlement.
2
Clear, clean & make goodEmpty all cabinets and drawers, dispose of unwanted items, defrost and dry the fridge/freezer (doors open, power off), clean the oven/hob/hood, remove non-landlord plants, remove wall hooks and patch the walls, and replace fused bulbs and tubes.
3
Account for every key & manualGather all keys, remotes, car-park labels, access cards, plus handbooks, warranty cards and appliance manuals. Any missing item should be replaced before inspection, and confirm lease furniture & fixtures stay in the premises.
4
Cancel your SIM & sell/return furnitureCancel your Indian mobile SIM only once every OTP-based account is closed or migrated. Sell furniture, or if rented, cancel the hire agreement, return it and collect that deposit.
5
Hand the keys to your IKAN coordinatorAfter the inspection passes, hand the property keys to your IKAN Relocation Coordinator, who coordinates with the landlord to release your deposit to your company.
Electricity & water usually stay connected. You don't disconnect these, just hand the last paid bills to the landlord. If a final bill will land after you've left, arrange to pre-pay or settle it remotely so nothing bounces back to your deposit.
Departure day
Walk through the gate clean
1
Carry the right immigration papersHave your passport with valid visa and, if you registered, either your surrender receipt (if you surrendered to the Registration Officer) or your Certificate of Registration to hand to the Immigration Officer at the port.
2
Keep your closure proofs togetherCarry your bank closure confirmation, utility final receipts, school TC and the last paid electricity/water bills in one folder, occasionally asked for, and reassuring to have.
3
Surrender at the port if you chose that routeIf you didn't surrender earlier, hand your Certificate of Registration to the Immigration Officer at the exit port as you clear emigration. This is quick when your visa and registration are valid.
4
Travel light on worriesWith notice given, deposit in motion, accounts closed in order and registration surrendered, departure is a formality. Your IKAN coordinator stays reachable through the day if anything needs a quick answer.
Money owed back to you
Deposits · timeline & escalation
You'll have several deposits in flight, home, school, utilities, furniture, club. Track them so none slip after you've left the country.
Home deposit timeline
Most leases refund the security deposit within 30 to 60 days of a clean hand-back. Your written notice and a passed inspection are what keep it on schedule.
Get it in writing
Ask for the refund timeline and any deductions in writing at hand-back. A dated inspection report and the agreed deductions list are your evidence if it stalls.
Route it through IKAN
Because keys go through your IKAN coordinator, the deposit is coordinated back to your company, you don't have to chase a landlord from another country.
Escalation, if it stalls
If a deposit is unfairly withheld past the agreed window, escalate in writing; unresolved tenancy-deposit disputes can go to the local Rent Authority. Tell us early, we help document and push.
Official resources
FRRO / FRO e-ServicesRegistration, surrender & Exit Permit
Income Tax DepartmentFinal return, PAN surrender, clearance
Reserve Bank of India (FEMA)Fund repatriation rules & limits
Immigration & Foreigners Act, 2025Registration, surrender & exit obligations
Your support
How IKAN helps
We build your countdown calendar from your departure date so notice, inspection, surrender and closures all land on time
We run the move-out inspection with you and your landlord, check the inventory, and coordinate the deposit back to your company
We guide your Certificate of Registration surrender and make sure you carry the surrender receipt, or flag an Exit Permit need early
We point you to the right tax/FEMA advisor for fund repatriation, tax clearance and PAN surrender, so the financial close is clean
Property hand-back · printable checklist
Move-out inspection booked with landlord + IKAN coordinator; inventory checked
All cabinets & drawers emptied; unwanted articles disposed
Fridge/freezer defrosted, cleaned, dried, doors open, power off
Oven, cooker, hob & hood cleaned; non-landlord plants removed
Wall hooks removed and walls made good; fused bulbs & tubes replaced
All keys, remotes, car-park labels & access cards accounted for
Handbooks, warranty cards & manuals in order; missing items replaced
Lease furniture & fixtures left in place; last paid electricity/water bills handed over
Keys handed to IKAN coordinator; deposit refund in motion
Start the clock early and leaving India is calm: notice given, deposits recovered, accounts and registration closed in the right order. We'll walk every step of the countdown with you, right up to the gate.
Your IKAN Relocations team
Where expertise meets empathy, supporting your move from India, every step of the way. Reflects the Immigration & Foreigners Act, 2025 and 2026 FEMA/tax practice; rules, forms and timelines change, your consultant and a tax/FEMA advisor confirm the current specifics for your visa, account and situation.