NRIs as a Co-applicant Requirements

If you are seeking an education loan to study abroad, it is very important to understand the education loan co-applicant requirements before applying for one. The previous article discussed whether the education loan co-applicant requirements allowed students to name individuals who did not have a fixed income source as a co-applicants. This article is a slight extension of the same. In this article, you will find out the education loan co-applicant requirements recommended for non-resident Indians or NRIs as they are more commonly addressed, could be named as an education loan co-applicant for both, secured education loan or an education loan without collateral.

The below video which is the fifth episode of the Loanflix Inshorts series will help you understand the same, better.

The education loan co-applicant requirements stated by the lenders of both secured education loans, as well as education loans without collateral seldom clarify anything about naming NRIs as co-applicants. Hence, a lot of students who had their parents working abroad would turn up to the WeMakeScholars team for help with their education loan application. Sometimes it would so happen that entire families that resided abroad would approach our team to apply for an education loan in India. However, as the education loan co-applicant requirements of the lenders did not have any provision to cater for an NRI co-applicant, getting such education loan applications sanctioned by the respective lenders would become a huge task.

After several discussions with our associate banks as well as NBFCs, it was concluded that NRIs could be named as education loan co-applicants for abroad education loans in India, provided they hand over their signatory rights to a power of attorney. Finally, lenders did make a provision in the education loan co-applicant requirements terms, thus making it possible for an NRI to become an education loan co-applicant. 

Once declared a power of attorney, the individual who has been given the responsibility is expected to provide all the necessary documents to the bank, as and when required. A power of attorney also has the power to sign on behalf of the education loan co-applicant. If the students themselves are NRIs, a power of attorney must sign on behalf of such students as well.

If you are looking to name an NRI as your education loan co-applicant, do get in touch with the WeMakeScholars team for a quicker education loan process.

Now that lenders had relaxed their terms regarding the education loan co-applicant requirements, students found it easier to get abroad education loans in India. However, while handing over the Power of Attorney, students are expected to follow a certain protocol. Now, there are two major situations in which students have approached our team for abroad education loans. The protocol to apply for a Power of Attorney is different for each of these scenarios.

Situation 1: Students, as well as the education loan co-applicant, are set to leave to go abroad and the abroad education loan is not getting sanctioned any time soon.

This is one of the most common scenarios faced by most education loan applicants. It is because a lot of students or their parents who are NRIs, often commit the mistake of underestimating the processing time of lenders in India. The education loan sanction process in India, especially that of government banks, sometimes takes over a month. NRI families who visit India for the purpose of applying for an abroad education loan, often come for a limited period of time and expect the process to be over by the time they are set to go. In such cases where it is too late to hand over the power of attorney, the wiser thing to do is to either postpone the trip and complete all the formalities or transfer the power of attorney to a friend or a family member at the earliest opportunity.

When you apply through WeMakeScholars, you can rest assured that the education loan sanction process will not go beyond a period of more than 12 days.

Situation 2: The student seeking an education loan or his/her co-applicant is already abroad and requires an education loan immediately.

In the above situation, when students or their education loan co-applicants are unable to physically visit India to complete the education loan formalities, it is possible to hand over the Power of Attorney through the Indian embassy.

It is necessary to remember that the format of the documentation to hand over the Power of attorney is different for each of the above-mentioned situations. In order to know further about the education loan co-applicant requirements for NRIs and to know the format of the documentation for a power of attorney, get in touch with the WeMakeScholars team.

When you seek an abroad education loan, it is always beneficial to be aware of the education loan co-applicant requirements as most bank officials tend to misguide students due to their ignorance about the abroad education loan products. The Loanflix Inshorts series has been developed by keeping in mind the various hurdles that students face in their abroad education loan process. The subject of the next article will give you complete information on the disbursement of living expenses by banks. So stay tuned for the same.

Note: WeMakeScholars is an organization funded and supported by the Government of India that focuses on International Education finance. We are associated with 14+ public/Pvt banks/ NBFCs in India and help you get the best abroad education loan matching your profile. As this initiative is under the Digital India campaign, it’s free of cost. The organization has vast experience dealing with students going to various abroad education destinations like the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Italy, China, France among others