# Residential Status of an Individual

## The framework — a 2-step test

An individual's residential status is determined by applying two sets of conditions:

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Step 1: Basic Conditions → Decides Resident vs Non-Resident

Step 2: Additional Conditions → If Resident, decides ROR vs R-NOR

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Resident if AT LEAST ONE Basic Condition is satisfied.
If Resident, check Additional Conditions:
Both Additional Conditions satisfied → ROR (Resident & Ordinarily Resident)
Not satisfied (or only one satisfied) → R-NOR (Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident)

## Basic Conditions (Sec 6(1))

Condition	Test
Basic Condition 1	Stay in India for 182 days or more in the relevant PY
Basic Condition 2	Stay in India for 60 days or more in the PY, AND 365 days or more in the last 4 PYs preceding

### Illustration of Condition 2

PY	Days in India
PY 25-26	≥ 60 days
Sum of PY 21-22, 22-23, 23-24, 24-25	≥ 365 days

## Additional Conditions (Sec 6(6))

Both must be satisfied for ROR:

Condition	Test
Additional Condition 1	Resident in India in at least 2 PYs out of the 10 PYs preceding the relevant PY
Additional Condition 2	Stay in India for 730 days or more in the last 7 PYs preceding

## Counting days

Important rule: The day of entering India AND the day of leaving India are BOTH counted as stay in India.

## Three special cases — only Basic Condition 1 applies

In these three cases, Basic Condition 2 (60+365) is NOT applicable — only the 182-day test applies:

### Case A: Indian citizen leaving India during PY for employment outside India

A citizen of India who leaves India during the PY for the purpose of employment outside India must satisfy the 182-day test only.

### Case B: Indian citizen — crew member of an Indian Ship leaving India during PY

Day count rule for crew member: Stay in India is calculated by excluding the period from:

Date on which Continuous Discharge Certificate (CDC) is signed on joining ship
TO Date on which CDC is signed on leaving ship

Eligible voyage definition: A voyage undertaken by a ship for carriage of passengers or freight in international traffic where the voyage either:

(i) Originates from any port in India and has its destination at any port outside India, OR
(ii) Originates from any port outside India and has its destination at any port in India.

### Case C: Indian citizen or Person of Indian Origin (PIO) visiting India during PY

An Indian citizen / PIO who, being outside India, visits India during the PY AND whose total income (other than foreign source income) is up to Rs. 15 lakhs:

Only the 182-day test applies.
He can be ROR only if he satisfies the 182-day test AND both Additional Conditions.

Worked example

### Example 1

Q. Mr. X (Indian citizen) was in India for 100 days in PY 2025-26. In the 4 preceding PYs, he stayed in India for 400 days in total. What is his residential status?

A. Basic Condition 1: 100 < 182 — NOT satisfied. Basic Condition 2: 100 ≥ 60 AND 400 ≥ 365 — SATISFIED. He is a Resident. Now check Additional Conditions to decide ROR vs R-NOR.

### Example 2

Q. Mr. Y, an Indian citizen, leaves India on 1 October 2025 for employment in Dubai. He was in India from 1 April to 30 September 2025 (183 days). Is he Resident?

A. Since he is leaving for employment outside India, ONLY Basic Condition 1 applies. Stay = 183 days ≥ 182. Hence he IS a Resident for PY 2025-26. (If he had stayed only 181 days, he would be NR even if Basic Condition 2 was satisfied — because for him only Basic Condition 1 applies.)

### Example 3

Q. Mr. Z, a US citizen of Indian origin, visits India for 100 days in PY 2025-26 and his Indian income is Rs. 8 lakhs. Stay in last 4 PYs is 400 days. What is his status?

A. Since he is a PIO visiting India with income ≤ Rs. 15 lakhs (other than foreign source), only Basic Condition 1 applies. 100 < 182 — NOT satisfied. He is Non-Resident.

⚠️ Common exam mistakes

Counting only days of presence and forgetting that both the arrival day AND the departure day are included in stay.
Applying Basic Condition 2 (60+365) to Indian citizens leaving for employment / crew members / visiting PIOs — only Basic Condition 1 applies for them.
Confusing the time frames: Basic Condition 2 looks at 4 preceding PYs; Additional Condition 1 looks at 10 preceding PYs (residency in 2 of them); Additional Condition 2 looks at 7 preceding PYs (730 days).
Forgetting that for a crew member, the days between CDC sign-on (joining ship) and CDC sign-off (leaving ship) are EXCLUDED from stay in India.
Treating 'either/or' for Additional Conditions — BOTH must be satisfied for ROR.

Bare-Act text Section 6(1), Section 6(6) · Income-Tax Act, 1961 · click to expand

Section 6(1) — An individual is said to be resident in India in any previous year, if he — (a) is in India for a period of 182 days or more in that year; or (c) having within the four years preceding that year been in India for a period of 365 days or more, is in India for 60 days or more in that year. Section 6(6) — A person is 'not ordinarily resident' in India in any previous year if such person is an individual who has been a non-resident in India in 9 out of 10 previous years preceding that year, or has during the 7 previous years preceding that year been in India for a period of 729 days or less.

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Residential Status of an Individual — Basic and Additional Conditions

Worked example

⚠️ Common exam mistakes