Who the rules let in

The IFSCA fund rules list eligible investors directly rather than by exclusion.

  • A person resident outside India. Foreign nationals and foreign institutions.
  • A non-resident Indian. Including OCI cardholders resident abroad.
  • A non-individual resident in India that exchange-control rules allow to invest offshore.
  • An individual resident in India, to the extent the liberalised remittance scheme allows. That cap is US $250,000 a person a year.

Does residence change what you can buy?

Yes, in two directions.

An NRI investing as a non-resident is not subject to the US $250,000 remittance cap. A resident Indian is. So the same restricted scheme with a US $150,000 minimum is open to a resident only inside their annual allowance, and a second subscription in the same year may not fit.

In the other direction, a resident cannot use the inbound India-strategy funds built for NRIs. Those exist to bring overseas money into Indian strategies. A resident reaches Indian strategies onshore, and uses GIFT City for the outbound, global route.

Does being a US person change it?

Not under Indian law. Under US law it changes everything. Many GIFT funds are offered under a US securities exemption that requires the offering to stay outside the United States, so they decline US persons at onboarding. Those that accept US persons will ask for US tax documentation.

If you hold a US passport, green card or meet the substantial presence test, read the US tax pages before you look at any shelf. A pooled GIFT fund is usually a PFIC for you regardless of how India treats it.

Does SEBI accreditation carry across?

No. IFSCA runs its own accredited investor regime, separate from SEBI's. Being accredited under one does not make you accredited under the other. Where a fund offers a lower minimum to accredited investors, it means accreditation under the IFSCA rules.

What the fund adds on top

The rules set who may invest. Each fund then decides whom it will accept, and that is a commercial decision by the house. Country of residence drives it. Two funds with identical structures can give a UK resident two different answers.

Confirm the position for your own facts with a chartered accountant in India and, if you are taxed abroad, with a professional in that country. GIFT City rules are fund-specific and residence-specific.