10 tips for students heading abroad

Congratulations! You've secured admission in an educational institute abroad and are all set to make the big move. Before you go, here are a few tips you must keep in mind:

How much fees the RBI allows you to remit

The RBI regulation states that 'for studies abroad the estimate received from the institution abroad or $100,000 per academic year, whichever is higher, may be availed of.' So you can freely remit an amount of up to $100,000 per annum from India towards the tuition fees. If your fees exceed $ 100,000 per annum, then you need to take a letter from the foreign college giving the estimate of fees. You can remit the amount mentioned in the letter without taking permission from the Reserve Bank or any other authority.

"All you need to do is to apply at the bank where you have an account. You would need to submit an application along with form A2 and if required the admission letter mentioning fees," explains Rajesh Dhruva, a chartered accountant and Chief Executive of Femaonline.com.

Best way to remit fees

If you have taken a bank loan, the bank remits the fees directly to the university as per documents submitted by you.

If you are paying the fees out of your own sources, you can either wire the funds while you are in India or you can carry a demand draft in the name of the university while you travel. While the difference in cost may not be significant, a demand draft can take 7-10 days to clear while a wire transfer can be done in a couple of days.

Best way to remit regular living expenses

As we saw in point 1 above, the higher of $100,000 or total study fees is allowed to be remitted each academic year.

In addition, a student may also carry with him while traveling, an amount of $10,000 for incidental expenses (that is, expenses other than fees) out of which $3,000 may be carried in the form of foreign currency.

Receiving money from India afterwards

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has accorded a special status for students going abroad to study. Students will now be considered Non Resident Indians under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) from the day he leaves India.

This means, as non-residents, students will be eligible to avail of several facilities which are not available to residents. Once students go abroad, they will be eligible to receive remittances from close relatives in India of up to $200,000 per financial year which can be used towards maintenance or for studies. This is in addition to the remittance limit for fees.

"The applicant parent may apply to his bank where he has an account for more than a year. An application in a specified form along with form A2 must be submitted. Many banks now do insist on form 15CA and 15 CB (Chartered Accountant certificate) as well. If the account is not held for at least a year, the bank may ask for copies of income tax returns of previous years," Dhruva adds.

In addition to the above, students will be able to open NRO and NRE bank accounts and remit balances from those accounts abroad. While NRE account balances are fully repatriable, NRO account balance can be repatriated to the extent of $1 million per financial year. However, the limits for fees and maintenance are quite generous, therefore a very small percentage of students will use the NRO or NRE account repatriation route. "But students must remember that as soon as they become NRIs, they are obligated to convert their existing Indian bank and financial accounts into Non Resident status to be in compliance with the law," Dhruva adds.

Opening a bank account abroad

Try to open a local bank account as soon as possible. You would need to submit certain documents such as your passport, visa as well as proof of your admission to the college.

If your parents are remitting funds to you, it would be best for them to wire it to your local bank account. Moreover, if you are carrying high value drafts and traveler's cheques, you don't want to worry about safe-keeping for long.

Travel insurance

Most universities provide a medical insurance cover for students. However, the date when the coverage begins might not coincide with the date your land in the foreign country. Experts advice that it is best to take travel insurance which covers any incidences that may occur at the time of travel (such as loss of passport, loss of luggage etc) as well as hospitalization expenses in the foreign country up till the date when the university coverage begins.

Cost: For the US, a coverage of USD 50,000 would cost around Rs 1,500-2,000 for a 30 day term. This would be slightly lower for other countries.

Remitting money back to India

A student can also remit money back to India at any point of time. You can either wire the proceeds to your bank account or parents' bank account in India or you can carry foreign exchange with you when you travel to India. While there is no limit on the amount you can carry with you, if the aggregate value (of cash, cheques, traveler's cheques) exceeds $10,000 and/or the value of foreign currency alone exceeds $5,000, it should be declared to the Customs Authorities at the Airport in the Currency Declaration Form (CDF), on arrival in India.

Tip pay education loan installments

While banks allow the option to start repayment after you complete your course, here is a tip that can help you keep interest costs low. Experts usually recommend students to keep paying the interest portion of the loan so that it does not compound into a large interest outflow.

For instance, let us say you have taken a loan of Rs 15 lakh at an interest rate of 12% per annum. Let us assume that you will start repaying the loan after 2 years. During these two years, the bank will calculate interest on simple interest basis and add it to your loan outstanding. So your interest amount for these two years in this example would work out to Rs 3.6 lakh. That pushes up your loan outstanding to Rs 18.6 lakh on which the EMI when you start repaying would work out to Rs 32,834 over a period of 7 years.

Now instead of letting the interest pile up in the two years, you can repay Rs 15,000 per month (Rs 3.6 lakh divided by 24) for two years. Your EMI would then be calculated on Rs 15 lakh only, that is Rs 26,479; a difference of Rs 6,355 per month.

The best way to schedule EMI payments would be to give a standing instruction to the bank.

Taxation of scholarships

Taxation in India: Vineet Agarwal, Director, KPMG India explains, "Scholarships are not taxed in India. So if you received a scholarship that would not be taxed in India." For taxation in the foreign country, you would need to look at the tax laws of that country. In the US for instance, if you received a scholarship or fellowship, all or part of it may be taxable. Generally, the entire amount is taxable if you are not a candidate for a degree.

If you are a candidate for a degree, the portion of scholarship used for tuition fees, books and supplies required for your course would not be taxable. Any portion used for other purposes such as accommodation and living expenses will be taxable.

Other income tax liabilities

Taxation in India: "It is important to look at residential status in India under the Indian Income Tax Act. Under the Income Tax Act, you are considered as a resident of India if you have been in India for 182 days or more during the financial year (April to March) or you have been in India for 60 days in the financial year and 365 days or more in the last 4 years. You are considered a NRI only if you do not meet these conditions," explains Agarwal. As a student leaving India in August or September of the financial year, it is most likely that you will be an NRI for income tax purposes. As an NRI, you do not have to pay tax on your foreign wages or a stipend in India. If you have any income in India, say in the form of interest from bank accounts, that will be taxed in India and you would have to file a tax return for the same.

Taxation in the foreign country would depend on the tax rules in that country. In the US for instance, as a student on an F1 visa, you are considered to be a non-resident of the US for the first 5 calendar years that you are on this visa. If you are on a J visa, this period is 2 years. "So as a non-resident of the US, you will have to pay taxes in the US only on your income from the US," says Roy Vargis, an Illinois based CPA and promoter of www.IndianCPA.com.

As a student, you may be working part time as a research or teaching assistant or doing any other part time job. Any income that you earn either as wages or as stipend is taxable in the US.

Vargis makes an important point, "In order to claim the status of non-resident in the US, the student must file Form 8843 by April 15th for each of the 5 tax years. If he fails to file this form, he will be treated as a resident and any global income that he may have will be taxed in the US."

Immigration Quebec-New Immigration Rules and Procedures effective August 1, 2013 in Quebec-Canada

Immigration Quebec

New immigration rules and procedures effective August 1, 2013

Effective August 1, 2013, several changes will be made to the immigration rules and procedures.

New rules have been adopted regarding procedures for the intake and processing of certain applications for a selection certificate submitted by permanent workers, investors, businesspeople and self-employed workers. These new rules will be in effect from August 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014.

The points in the selection grid granted to candidates for language knowledge have also changed.

Lastly, a new list of areas of training will enter into effect as of August 1, 2013.

Please consult the information below to determine if these new rules apply to your situation.1
Permanent workers

Maximum number of applications
The Ministère will accept a maximum of 20,000 new applications for a Certificat de séléction du Québec under the Program for skilled workers, beyond which the applications received will be returned.

This maximum number of applications does not apply to you if:

you submit an application under the Programme de l’expérience québécoise (Québec experience program);
you have a valid employment offer in hand;
Citizenship and Immigration Canada has informed you that it has agreed to process your application for permanent residence in Canada;
you are a temporary resident and eligible to submit an application for a Certificat de sélection du Québec.
Order of priority for processing applications
Effective August 1, 2013, applications will be processed in the following order:

applications from candidates submitted under the Programme de l’expérience québécoise (Québec experience program);
applications from candidates who submit a valid employment offer;
applications from candidates who obtain points under the factor Area of training;
any other application submitted by permanent workers.
Language knowledge
If you submit an application under the Program for skilled workers, be informed that:

the weighting in the selection grid for knowledge of French has changed. The level of knowledge required to obtain points for the factor Language knowledge will be increased;
the advanced intermediate level will become the minimum threshold from which points will be attributed for knowledge of French;
two points may be attributed to the principal applicant for knowledge of written French.

If you submit an application under the Programme de l’expérience québécoise (Québec experience program):
the level of knowledge of oral French will be increased:
If you choose de demonstrate your level of knowledge of French by means of a standardized test, the level required will now be advanced intermediate.
If you choose to demonstrate your level of knowledge of French by means of your education, you must have completed a minimum of three years of secondary or post-secondary studies in French.
Note that henceforth, for students, the application for a Certificat de séléction du Québec must be submitted in the 36 months following completion of the study program.
Areas of training
The 2013 List of areas of training reflects the Québec job market outlook for immigrants.

Cash bond only for 'high risk' visitors: UK

All Indians applying for visa to UK will not have to pay a £3000 cash bond from November this year, the UK home office said on Monday.

This comes following an uproar over Britain's plans to introduce a hefty cash bond for visitors from six nations including India in a fresh crackdown on immigration abuse. The Home Affairs Select Committee has called the move discriminatory and has now decided to question home secretary Theresa May on July 16.

Chairman of the committee Keith Vaz demanded a full explanation and said, "The home secretary's plans for bonds for visitors from certain countries are unfair and discriminatory. We will question the home secretary on the pilot when she appears before the Home Affairs Committee on the 16th July 2013."

According to Vaz, the move "flies in the face of Prime Minister David Cameron's intention to attract the brightest and best to Britain and sends out the wrong message to the countries concerned". "The plans could potentially alienate already settled communities in the UK," he said.

The home office said that the bond will only apply to "high risk individuals" who are "most liable to stay back" after the expiry of their visa. But they refused to divulge the profile of the typical "high risk individual". There will also be a limit to the number of such bonds issued to those applying for a visa from India and not a blanket order for all those visiting UK after November.

The pilot scheme will operate in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nigeria and Ghana.

May said, "We're planning a pilot that focuses on over-stayers and examines a couple of different ways of applying bonds. The pilot will apply to visitor visas, but if the scheme is successful we'd like to be able to apply it on an intelligence-led basis on any visa route and any country."

She added, "The pilot will be highly selective and focused on the highest risk applicants - we will not require all visitors from the selected pilot countries to pay a bond."

May said, "This is the next step in making sure our immigration system is more selective, bringing down net migration from the hundreds of thousands to the tens of thousands while still welcoming the brightest and the best to Britain. In the long run we're interested in a system of bonds that deters overstaying and recovers costs if a foreign national has used our public services."

UK Home Office added that they had "analyzed visitor profiles from India and identified types of people not likely to go back to India after the expiry of the visa".

The cash bond will be £3000 (Rs 2.7 lakh) for an adult and will not be applicable to those below the age of 18.

An official said, "This is a pilot scheme for 12 months starting from November. Under the pilot, we have included only high risk countries which include India from where people coming to UK are likely to overstay. The pilot will tell us the effectiveness of the scheme and if found to be sound, we may include such a bond for all countries as a rule."

The Home office said the bond payment will be returned if the visitor returns home after their visit visa has expired and within the time period specified by their visa.

To bring the scheme into force, May will lay a commencement order before Parliament to activate the power in the Immigration and Nationality Act 1999 for a bond from visitors, and make changes to the immigration rules.

The home office said Australia and New Zealand have similar schemes where financial bonds are applied to visitors in order to mitigate the risk of them overstaying. They apply similar amounts between 5,000 and 15,000 Australian dollars (£3k-£9k) and 5,000 and 10,000 NZ dollars (£2.5k - £5k), it added.

Vaz said, "there are a number of holes in the home secretary's pilot. If this is to be workable she must have a proper consultation. She said she wants to deter over-stayers, yet with the mess that is E-Borders there is currently no way to monitor if people actually leave the country. The bond level of £3000 is completely unrealistic. If somebody was determined to work here illegally this could be earned back in a matter of months."

A report by the Home Affairs Committee found that the already existing backlog of applications for visas will take 24 years to clear by the UK Border Agency.

France eases visa norms for Indian students while UK mulls hefty visa cash bond

At a time when the UK is mulling hefty visa cash bond raising concerns here, France on Thursday announced a slew of India-specific measures, including easing visa norms for those wanting to pursue higher education, a move that is expected to increase the inflow of Indian students to that country.

"There is no competition between the UK and us. We have our own visa policy, they (the UK) have their own visa policy," French ambassador to India Francois Richier said here.

France, he said, is not challenging anybody but has introduced a number of measures to enable Indian students to study in his country.

"It is about opening our arms and hearts for Indian students by facilitating their stay, not only in their visa area but other things like training, taking care of jobs when they are back in India. It is a package thing," Richier said.

The French envoy said that since France shares a genuine partnership with India, it has chosen to open its frontiers even wider to Indian students.

He said that following the visit of French President Francois Hollande in February this year, a number of measures have been taken to facilitate the issuance of visas for Indian students, the creation of a "France-India" network as well as an increased number of scholarships offered by the French embassy and its corporate partners.

In order to facilitate travel to France for all Indian citizens who have studied in France, Richier said that as of July 14, all Indian citizens who have graduated from a French higher education institution subsequently applying for a tourist or business visa for a trip to France, will be given a visa with a long period of validity - up to five years if the studies in France were at the Master or PhD levels.

Asked if it was a general policy applicable to all foreign students, he said the new visa measures have been taken at the embassy level and is applicable to only Indian students.

Last year, almost 2,600 Indian students opted for higher education in France, a jump of 50 per cent over the past five years.

"In 1998, there were only 100 Indian students in France. We have had a steady progress and that trend growing," the Ambassador said.

While earlier language was a barrier, over 700 courses are now taught in English.

Richier said the French embassy in India has simplified visa procedures for Indian students wishing to study in France.

In parallel, visa applications by Indian faculties and officials will be examined as a matter of priority.

Campus France (governmental agency promoting French higher education) will establish partnerships with various Indian higher education institutions in order to accelerate the procedures for exchanges with French institutions and for their alumni.

The French embassy is currently organizing a "France- India job opportunities" network that will bring together the HR heads of the major French companies in India and major Indian ones working in partnership with French companies, as well as international relations heads of the French and Indian higher education institutions.

The "France-India job opportunities" network aims to promote all the opportunities offered to Indian students who have pursued higher education in France.

Over 350 French companies are present in India with a total investment stock of almost 18 billion dollars. They alone account for the generation of 2,40,000 skilled jobs spread all over India, Richier said.

This year, the French Embassy, along with its corporate partners, will award scholarships totaling Rs 7.1 crore to 235 meritorious Indian students who wish to pursue their higher education in France.