The Most Common Problems Faced by Expats in India

If you are done with the texts and prints of books and magazines written on the subject of Hinduism and the nation's great history, Maybe being here in India could be one of the last resorts left for upholding this keen interest. Or maybe you just want to relocate, and in such a case, no destination could be better than India. With the IT sector in full bloom throughout the nation, any new resident with enough skills to write a resume can find a job. And if travelling is your purpose and you want to live out of your suitcase for a while, nothing would be better again than the slowly descending sun on Goa's horizon.

And if you want to witness the ingenuity of one of the oldest civilizations in the world, then also the age-old temples, mausoleums, and mosques will keep you occupied. But being an expat, it's only evident that you would be looking forward to spending considerable time in India. Keeping that in perspective, we have articulated a list of some of the most common problems expats face in India. So this guide would be helpful if you plan to travel to India for a long time or if you are already trying to understand how the Indian system works.

Recently, HSBC conducted a comprehensive survey of the people in around 100 nations, and as per that survey, people with considerable skills and job prospects rated India to be above Canada and Australia to expatriate to. India gained the position of being the 9 out of 34 nations, with Singapore, China, and Switzerland being the first three. The position that India gained also had to do with the fact that it has been able to hold its economy through COVID-19 and the recent recession that erupted due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Plus, being a developing country, new opportunities have appeared in the market. The investment atmosphere in the nation as of now is highly conducive to large-scale investments. If you are an Expat and may be looking for investment opportunities in the country, you would not be disappointed.

But still, India has a disposition of its own. A cultural shock is only evident for any person planning to move here but to ease the process down here, we have articulated some common problems you would face when you visit.

Finding the right place to settle

One of the biggest challenges you would face when in India. While your Air BnB would be able to support you for a trip lasting a few days, for a longer duration, you would need a house. Haggling for the price, as well as getting a good deal, would be a tricky deal to negotiate. We would recommend that you carry with yourself all your documents and passport and keep them secure in a bag with you always. If you are staying in a reputed hotel, you can also use the hotel vault to store your documents.

Further, while trying to get a house, try and communicate with some other expats who are already living here in India; they would be able to help you find a better deal and safe accommodation. If you are a female planning to travel alone, be extra cautious. I am not trying to scare you away, but being vigilant has its benefits.

Further, we would suggest that you stick to metropolitan cities, as there you would be able to adjust more easily. If you are not on a journey throughout the nation, stay away from remote areas or travel with expat groups. If you are looking for a job, try to find accommodation near Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Mumbai, or other metropolitan cities, as most job opportunities arise in these places. Further, try and find a place in a well-established society, even if you have to spend a large chunk of your budget. Stay safe and secure, and consider your safety to be your no. 1 priority.

Getting The Documents Ready for Renting

This would be one of the most complex tasks you would have to go through while trying to rent a house in India. So here are a few of the documents that you would have to showcase for getting the right rental property. Try and find out about locations where a few other expats are already living, as these places would be much more accommodating towards expat residents.

Here are a few of the documents that you should keep ready with you while trying to find accommodation in India. Always provide photocopies, and do not, in any condition, ever hand your original documents to anyone.

• Any property agent or a rental service provider would ask for a photocopy of your passport as well as the visa.
• In most cases, the rental service provider would sketch up a rental agreement that falls within the validity of the visa.
• If you end up liking the place and want to rent, and it's okay with the landlord as well, the landlord would have to bear the responsibility of filling in the details of the residing foreigner in Form C and submitting them to the registration. This has to be done within the 24 hours of the visit of the foreign party trying to rent the place.
• For a landlord to do this, the landlord would first have to register with Indianfrro.gov.in online. Once registered, the landlord would have to create a Form C for the individual trying to rent their premises. Although you would not have any control over such a situation, try to go as methodically as possible and get the approval of the documents and the Form C regulations fulfilled.
• Try to plan the whole process of getting a house over a period of time, as these registrations and regulations can take time to fulfil. Also, try to find a temporary accommodation option that you can easily provide while going through such checks and analyses.

Getting Around in India

If you are here for a couple of years, getting a brand new personal vehicle does not make much sense, so what you can do is hire cabs or pay a little more to hire autorickshaws privately for yourself. This would help you to travel much more safely. Further, if you are in Delhi or Noida, you can easily opt for the metro. The Metro is one of the safest public transport options you can opt for while trying to get around. With the ever-increasing matrix of Metro lines in Delhi, it would be easier for you as a traveller to travel around in Delhi. Any location in and around the NCR can be reached at with relative ease with the help of the metro.

Delhi has profound bus services as well, and you can also use them to get around; they are one of the cheapest ways to get around town easily. You can learn more about them from the official website of the Delhi Transport Corporation. And if that's too much for you, you can always get cabs and private vehicles to commandeer you around.

But over time, this would turn out to be an expensive habit, as cabs these days are not that cheap. This is where RenTrip can help you. RenTrip provides self-drive vehicles in all metropolitan cities at the most affordable prices. You can book through an app or our website and drive around as per your will without any hassles.

Food

This would be a big problem from the get-go. In a pilot exploratory study conducted, a novel number of about 46% of tourists who visited India reported diarrhea, and 36% reported abdominal pains. This is a huge aggregate and should not be taken lightly in any manner. The research took a sample that included tourists from China, the USA, the UK, Australia, and Italy.

Food would be one of the primary things you would have to adjust to, especially the spice. We would recommend that you carry or buy products such as oatmeal, porridge, yoghurt, and fruits as soon as you land here, as these would help you survive, and with a little patience, you can quickly build up your spice tolerance and move towards spicier Indian food. You can easily find steel-cut oats, and they would be a big help for you. It would be advised to join Expat social media groups or talk with someone who has already established themselves here for help.

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As per experts, you would need three fundamental resources to survive the first few weeks in India. A residence, good food that doesn't cause too much trouble, and further a dependable mode of transport. While we cannot help you much in the first two, other than inform you about the major pitfalls of the situation, we can help you in the third. We, RenTrip, can help you travel freely as per your plans and take trips to other cities with their simple renting procedure and schemes for monthly rentals. Just download our app, and a car of your choice would be in your driveway.