Getting a PAN Card as a Foreigner in India: What Changed in 2026

If you've followed our earlier guides on registering a company or opening a bank account in India, you've probably already run into this question: what's a PAN card, and do you actually need one? Short answer: almost certainly yes. Longer answer, and some good news about a recent update — let's walk through it together. · · ·

What a PAN is, and why you'll need one

PAN stands for Permanent Account Number — it's basically India's tax ID system, issued by the Income Tax Department. And here's the part people don't always realize: it's not just for Indian citizens. Foreign nationals, NRIs, OCI holders, even foreign companies can get one, and often need to.

You'll bump into the PAN requirement in a lot of everyday business moments: opening that bank account we talked about, buying property, making certain high-value purchases, or just handling routine tax matters if your business has income in India. It's one of those quiet, unglamorous documents that turns out to matter a lot more than it sounds like it would.

The big change: PAN 2.0, and a form made just for you

Here's the timely part. As of April 1, 2026, India rolled out something called PAN Card 2.0 — a genuine overhaul of the system. The most relevant change for you: there's now a dedicated form for foreign citizens, Form 95, replacing the old Form 49AA that used to cover everyone who wasn't an Indian citizen or company.

A few things this new form asks for that are worth knowing about ahead of time:

• Your Taxpayer Identification Number (or your home country's equivalent — a National Insurance Number in the UK, an SSN in the US, and so on)
• Both parents' names, which wasn't required before
• A clear selection of your category — Foreigner, Person of Indian Origin, or OCI cardholder, since each is treated slightly differently

None of this is complicated, just new — worth having ready before you sit down to apply, rather than discovering mid-form.

Do you need Aadhaar? No — and that's actually good news

If you've heard Aadhaar mentioned alongside PAN and wondered if you need one too: you don't. Aadhaar isn't required for a foreign citizen's PAN application. It's a separate system, mostly built around Indian residents.

What documents you'll actually need

• Your passport
• Documents apostilled or attested by a consulate — unless you're an OCI cardholder, in which case this step is skipped
• Proof of address from your home country — a bank statement works well, as long as it's no older than about three months

How long it takes, and what it costs

Once your application is in, the physical card typically arrives in around 21 working days. Where it gets sent matters for the fee: dispatch to a foreign address runs a bit over ₹1,000, while sending it to an Indian address (say, a family member's home) is much cheaper, closer to ₹100. Worth factoring into your plan if speed matters more than cost, or the other way around.

Note: PAN 2.0 is genuinely new as of April 2026.