Wish we had known…

When Rinu and I started doing the research for moving back to India (Rinu more than me… J), we quickly realized that there was not much information available on the internet, at least about what one needs to do before moving back. One thing that we needed the most but did not have was TIME. We wish we had that luxury to better organize ourselves. Here are list of things that I recommend everyone to start working on as soon as you have made the decision to migrate back:

• Get an NRI Account (preferably at ICICI, HDFC or IDBI Bank)
  
• Acquire a PAN Card – This is a must for purchasing/acquiring lots of items in India
  
• School Leaving Certificate for your child – Make sure that this document in notarized
  
• Finalize school Admissions for your kids
  
• Identify or finalize a House (Rent/Buy)
  
• Get 30 copies of your photograph
  
• Create 20 copies of your passport – Make sure that these documents are notarized
  
• Get a Indian Driving License – If you do not have this then you better have a driver ready
  
• Get Indian Credit Cards – Must otherwise you will lose money in conversion
  
• Borrow/Purchase a Vehicle – Enroll in a driving school the day you land in India so that you get some practice before you can start driving a car
  
• Last but not the least acquire a Gas Cylinder (Ignore if you have Gas Connection in your house) – This is important if you are planning to move to a different city then your family as you have no ration card to get one in the new city.
  

If you have these basic items ready before to get on that plane you are in good shape. This will save you a lot of time and money!