How Ultra Rich Can Future-Proof Overseas Education For Their Children

Rising tuition fees, changing visa policies across countries call for strategic planning efforts

- ASHVINI CHOPRA

For ultra-high-net-worth families, sending children abroad for education is now a key milestone—part of a broader strategy for mobility, wealth planning, and legacy building. Most HNI families either have a child overseas or are preparing to go. This journey involves several financial decisions and regulatory steps. Here's a look at the RBI rules, tax implications, and planning strategies to help families pursue global education in a compliant, future-ready way. Rising costs and evolving rules make a structured approach more critical than ever.

The Indian regulatory framework For UHNI families with complex portfolios, family offices, or offshore assets, funding a child's education abroad can be intricate. It often involves managing multiple funding sources, international accounts, and offshore investments.

Students going abroad are treated as NRIs under FEMA, once they leave India with the intention to stay abroad for an uncertain period—even if the course duration is fixed. This is based on their potential financial independence through scholarships or part-time work. As NRIs, students can: (i) receive remittances from close relatives via self-declaration; (ii) get up to $1 million from sale proceeds or Indian account balances; (iii) continue Indian educational loans taken before departure; and (iv) access all NRI benefits under FEMA.