Saturday, July 28, 2012

Power of Attorney from NRIs

Updated on 14 Oct 2015:
A reader has pointed out in the comments section that the requirements have since changed. They can be found at - http://www.indianembassy.nl/eoi.php?id=poa

They key difference is that now witnesses from NL are required to appear with the applicant along with their ids to sign the PoA.

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As an NRI in the Netherlands, if you, as an Indian citizen, wish to give power of attorney (POA) to a resident in India, you need to do it at the Indian Consulate or the Embassy of India and would need the following documents:
  • Official POA text printed on normal paper: Please note that the format is usually provided by the bank in case of a housing loan or by a lawyer in case of property sale or registration and stamp paper is required only when the POA is executed in India
  • Passport and Residence card or visa
  • Form for consular services (usually found in the Indian embassy website)
  • Photocopies of all of the above
  • At least 2 passport size photos: You will need one for the consular services form and one for the POA
  • Fee
You are required to sign each page the POA in front of the consulate employee (who will then affix his signature and stamp), so do not sign anything at home. It is also prudent to carry additional documentation, for example, passport copy of the person who the POA is given to, marriage certificate especially if you are a woman etc since requirements may vary from one country to another.

NL specific (cannot comment about Indian consulates in other countries)
The website of the Indian embassy in NL hardly offers any information on POAs and neither do they answer phone calls. So you get the requirements only when you go there in person to Den Haag, so it’s better to be prepared especially if you want to avoid another trip. Please note that only passport and visa processes are outsourced (to VFS Global services) and POAs are directly dealt with by the Embassy. So neither the VFS hotline nor the VFS agents will be able to help you with this request.

Some tips and information:
First of all, any POA should only be given to a person you completely and implicitly trust like a parent or spouse. To avoid legal complications in the future, its better not to choose agents or other business associates.

Second of all, please exercise caution while giving someone general POA. It typically means the person can do ANYTHING with any of your investments and liabilities i.e. act like its his/her money and property. So if there is a specific purpose, for example sale of a particular property, then state only that in the POA. To be doubly sure, please also make sure you revoke the POA, once the job is done. Yes, it is good to have faith in people but there is no need to make it explicit with a legal document.

While drafting the POA, make sure the
  • format is right - I found some useful formats here
  • date and place of execution (in this case, Indian Embassy, The Hague) are correct
  • names and addresses are spelt according to the passport (or similar identification card)
  • space at the end of each page (easily done with custom margins in MS word) is enough for the signatures and stamp
Purchase of property
If you are availing a housing loan from a bank for purchase of property (Land or House) in India, please note that in this case, 2 POAs may be required. The first one is to be given to the bank, which will allow them to deal with a local representative. The second one, is for property registration i.e for the representative to appear in front of the Govt. Registrar to register the property in your name. Please note that the text is vastly different for the 2 POAs.

15 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This blog had all the necessary information which helped me to get the job done just in a day.. Thanks Soumya for the informative blog.. just for the sake of others, wanted to add another point that the Indian embassy will accept the documents only between 10am to 12pm and deliver the signed documents between 3:30pm to 5:00pm, so be ready to spend a day in Indian Embassy to get the PoA signed. (its good to check their website to get to know the working hours)

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  3. @Anonymous
    thanks, but I got my documents signed in 10 min, I was not asked to spend the day there. I hardly spent half an hour at the embassy.

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  4. Thanks for writing such a brilliant blog. The consulate here in UK would not answer any phone calls. It would have saved loads of my time on internet, if had the consulate provided it on their website.

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  5. I could only wish if the consulate had provided such wonderful information on their website, it would have been a lot more easier. I am sure that is not going to happen. Thanks for writing this blog.

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  6. Hi Sowmya,

    Thanks for writing the blog, It indeed gives a lot of details.

    I also live in the Netherlands and want to get the POA attested by Indian Embassy at Hague, However I have some queries and would be glad if you can help me(if you have encountered such a situation). My POA needs two witness signatures, should they also sign the POA in front of the consular officer?

    ReplyDelete
  7. @Anonymous
    The witnesses sign only in the country where the POA is executed. Is it being executed in India ? They they have to appear and sign infront of the notary in India and not here. If the POA is executed here, then you can also use a local (dutch)notary. I cannot really say much more without knowing more details about your POA

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Sowmya,

    Thanks for putting up such a nice blog, really helpful. I am also working on PoA for getting my flat registered in India, and my format also have 2 witnesses, I called up Indian Embassy in Den Haag to check if I need to bring along witnesses and they said no, as Embassy would also witness my PoA (sounds strange), do you have any feedback based on above situation.

    Furthermore, can you advise if I should get this PoA, only attested or also notarized.

    Thanks,
    Ankur.

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Ankur
    No witnesses are needed when you get it signed by the Indian embassy...the purpose is to just to see you and make sure you are indeed issuing the PoA. Witnesses will be used in India when the PoA is 'executed' and this 'execution' or 'registration' will be done in the registrar office, so no notarization is needed here in NL.

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  10. Is there any ID proof/photo/signature specimen required of the person to whom power of attorney is given ?

    ~Anshul

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  11. Hello Sowmya,

    Really helpful blog!

    I have one question? How much would it cost to get the GPA done at the Hague embassy since the website doesn't give any information.

    Thanks,
    Siddharth

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  12. @Siddharth
    I do not quite remember, but it wasn't expensive (I think it was less than 20 euro). I remember giving cash since there was no option to pay with cards.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi, My documents are attested by Gemente. You dont have to go to Embassy actually

    ReplyDelete
  14. @Anonymous
    I think that depends on the bank you are dealing with. All the banks I dealt with (Canara bank, HDFC) have a template that requires attestation by the Indian consulate.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks for this...I am going to get the POA done tomorrow and this is a very useful prep...

    ReplyDelete

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