Traveling to various parts of the world is a common phenomenon in the urban Indian household today. Whatever may be the reason of travel, some things remain the same – your ticket bookings, booking your lodging, planning your meals, packing up, carrying medicines, planning your itinerary, adjusting to varying time-zones, arranging forex…. Phew!
It’s all the same for each trip, isn’t it? Think again! Whilst most of the arrangements and plans may be as per your discretion, there is one place where you are bound by limits….Well, it’s your forex limits.
RBI specifies the maximum forex that you are permitted to carry with you when you head overseas. The limits depend on the purpose of your travel, as follows:
- Each person who travels abroad for tourism can carry forex up to USD 10,000.
- For business related travel, you are entitled USD 25,000
- On combining business and personal travel, both 1 and 2 above can be availed together.
- If you are a student enrolled in a foreign educational institution, you are allowed to carry USD 1,00,000 or an estimate received from your institution, whichever is higher. In addition to the above, you can also carry USD 10,000 for other personal expenses.
- In case you are traveling for a medical treatment, you are allowed USD 1,00,000 for the patient and USD 25,000 for any attendant. Additionally 1 above can also be availed.
There are sub-limits to the break-up of the above as well. In any case, you can only carry up USD 3000 in cash. The remaining amount must be carried via prepaid forex card, traveler’s cheques or banker’s drafts.
Lastly, do remember to carry receipts of your forex purchases with you for your record.
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