Invest in Global Markets from India: Stocks, Funds, ETFs

India is one of the world's fastest-growing large economies, yet its listed companies are worth only about 3% of the world's stock markets. The other 97% includes American technology giants, Japanese carmakers, Taiwan's chip foundries, European drugmakers, Brazil's oil and mining companies, and Vietnam's fast-growing banks. Investing abroad gives you a share of that growth and protects you against a weakening rupee. In the last ten years, the dollar has risen from about ₹66.6 to ₹95.8, roughly 3.7% a year, and that rise is added to whatever your dollar investments earn.

There are three ways to do it from India. You can buy an Indian mutual fund that invests abroad, an international ETF on NSE or BSE, or foreign shares and ETFs directly through an overseas brokerage account. This guide takes you through each one, step by step, and shows which route reaches which country.

The Three Routes at a Glance

Which Markets You Can Reach, and How

In MSCI's all-country world index, which counts the shares investors can actually buy, the US is 64% of the total, Japan 5.2%, Taiwan 3.5%, the UK 2.9%, South Korea 2.6%, and China 2.4% (October 2026). Here is how to reach the main markets from India. These are examples, not recommendations, and Indian funds open and close often.

Indian funds also cover themes such as mining, gold miners, and clean energy, and Asian regions, for example through Franklin Asian Equity and Edelweiss ASEAN Equity.

Rules That Apply When You Send Money Abroad

Indian mutual funds and ETFs invest abroad on your behalf, so you deal only in rupees. To buy foreign shares yourself, you send money out of India under the Reserve Bank of India's Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS):

• Limit. Each resident can send up to USD 250,000 in a financial year, from April to March. This covers all purposes together, so foreign travel, a child's fees, and gifts abroad use the same limit as your investments.
• Paperwork. Your bank needs your PAN and a Form A2 declaration with each remittance. Most banks let you do this online.
• What is not allowed. LRS money cannot be used for margin trading, futures and options, or currency trading abroad, or sent to countries the Financial Action Task Force lists as non-cooperative. You can buy and hold shares, ETFs, and mutual funds.
• Idle cash. Money sent abroad and left unused must come back within 180 days. Dividends and sale proceeds can be reinvested abroad. It is unclear whether uninvested cash in a brokerage account counts as unused, so invest what you send.

TCS. When your remittances for investment cross ₹10 lakh in a financial year, the bank collects 20% TCS on the amount above ₹10 lakh. Send ₹15 lakh in a year, and ₹1 lakh is collected on the last ₹5 lakh. Budget 2026 cut TCS on education and medical remittances to 2%, but left the 20% on investments unchanged. TCS is not an extra tax. It appears in your annual tax statement, is adjusted against your tax when you file your return, and any excess comes back as a refund. It does lock up money for months, so spreading large investments across two financial years can keep each year under ₹10 lakh.

The ₹10 lakh is counted for you, across every purpose and every bank, not for each bank separately. This calculator shows the TCS on your own transfer, what the exchange rate and GST add, and how much a split across two financial years saves.

Route 1: International Mutual Funds

Indian fund houses run funds that invest abroad, either directly in foreign shares or through a fund of funds (FoF) that holds a foreign fund. They cover single countries such as Japan, Taiwan, and Brazil; regions such as Greater China, Europe, and Asia; emerging markets; global themes; and US indexes.

• Step 1: Find a scheme that is open. This is the hard part. Under SEBI rules, the whole mutual fund industry can invest only USD 7 billion abroad, with USD 1 billion per fund house and a separate USD 1 billion for overseas ETFs. Both pools are full. At the end of September 2026, Value Research found only one of 60 international funds taking lump sums, and only 12 of 66 accepting new SIPs. Schemes reopen for a day or two as money comes back from redemptions: Invesco reopened three FoFs, including its Pan European fund, on September 28 and shut them the next day. Others cap investments, for example at ₹1 lakh per PAN a day.
• Step 2: Choose the direct plan. Like every mutual fund, international funds have a regular plan that pays a distributor's commission and a cheaper direct plan. If you already hold one, our Portfolio X-ray shows what the regular plan costs you a year.
• Step 3: Invest as you would in any fund, through the fund house's website, MF Central, or an investing app, by lump sum or SIP, whichever the scheme is accepting.
• Step 4: Check what the fund holds. Some FoFs own an Indian-listed international ETF. If that ETF trades at a premium, which the next section explains, the premium is inside the FoF's price too.

This route is the simplest. There is no LRS form, no TCS, no foreign account, and no US estate tax, because you own units of an Indian fund. Its limits are the closures and the shorter list of countries; there is no Indian fund for Vietnam, for example.

Route 2: International ETFs on NSE and BSE

Several ETFs listed in India track foreign indexes, mostly American ones such as the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500, plus Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Hang Seng TECH. You buy them through your normal demat account during Indian market hours.

The catch is the price. Each ETF unit is backed by a basket of foreign shares, and the value of that basket per unit is the ETF's net asset value (NAV). Normally, when demand rises, the fund house creates new units and buys more foreign shares, which keeps the market price within a percent or so of the NAV. Today, Indian fund houses cannot buy more foreign shares, because the overseas limit is used up, so no new units can be created. Buyers compete for the existing units and push the price above the NAV. The extra you pay over the NAV is called the premium.

A SEBI rule made this worse. From September 7, 2026, the daily price limit for these ETFs is set around the previous day's traded price instead of the NAV, so a premium can keep growing day after day. On September 10, 2026, according to Value Research, this is what buyers were paying for every ₹100 of foreign shares the ETF actually held:

Take the Motilal Oswal Nasdaq 100 ETF. At a 22.7% premium, ₹1 lakh buys only about ₹81,500 of US shares. If the premium disappears, for example when fund houses can buy abroad again, you lose about 18.5% even if the Nasdaq 100 does not move at all. SEBI will set the price limit around the NAV again from April 1, 2027, and BSE has warned investors against buying international ETFs at inflated prices.

• Step 1: Look up the ETF's indicative NAV (iNAV) on the fund house's website or the exchange page.
• Step 2: Compare it with the market price. A gap of a percent or two is normal. A double-digit gap is not.
• Step 3: Use a limit order, not a market order, because trading in many of these ETFs is thin.

Route 3: Invest Through an Overseas Brokerage Account

This route reaches almost any market. You open an account with a foreign broker, send money under LRS, and buy in dollars or the local currency.

• Step 1: Choose an app or broker. Investing apps such as INDmoney, Vested, and Upstox offer US-listed shares and ETFs. An international broker such as Interactive Brokers reaches dozens of exchanges, including Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Frankfurt, Paris, Toronto, and Sydney. The next section compares them.
• Step 2: Open the account. In the app, you complete KYC with your PAN, Aadhaar, and address proof. For US securities you also sign Form W-8BEN, which declares you a non-US person so tax is withheld at the treaty rate. It stays valid until the end of the third calendar year after you sign it. Add a nominee or beneficiary if the broker offers one.
• Step 3: Send the money. Most apps start the LRS transfer from your bank for you, with Form A2 filled in online. Banks typically add 50 paise to ₹1 per dollar above the interbank rate, so check the rate before you confirm.
• Step 4: Buy. Search for the share or ETF, and enter an amount in dollars or a number of shares. To reach a market outside the US, see the options after the comparison below.
• Step 5: Keep records. Save every contract note, remittance advice, and year-end statement for your tax return.

Investing Apps and Brokers Compared

The apps work in one of two ways. Older ones, such as Vested, send your money straight to a US broker under LRS. Since 2025, most new ones run through GIFT City, India's international financial center in Gujarat. There, your account is with the app's GIFT City unit, regulated by India's International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), and the trades are placed through a US broker such as Alpaca, DriveWealth, or ViewTrade. Either way, the money still goes out under LRS, TCS still applies above ₹10 lakh a year, and your shares sit with the US broker, where SIPC insurance covers up to USD 500,000 if that broker fails. GIFT City apps usually make deposits and withdrawals cheaper, because the money moves through a GIFT City bank instead of an international wire.

These were the published charges in October 2026:

A few things to know:

• Percentages add up. At 0.25%, a USD 1,000 purchase costs USD 2.50, and selling it later costs about the same again. For a few large trades, a per-share broker such as Interactive Brokers is usually cheaper; for small monthly amounts, the apps' fractional shares from USD 1 are more practical.
• Only Interactive Brokers goes beyond the US. The apps above offer US-listed shares and ETFs, which still reach other countries through country ETFs and ADRs, as the next section shows. To buy on the Tokyo or Hong Kong exchange itself, you need an international broker. ICICI Direct's Global Invest opens an Interactive Brokers account for you.
• More apps are arriving. Groww closed its US stocks service in 2024 and relaunched it through GIFT City in September 2026. Zerodha has its GIFT City approval and says a beta is coming soon. Angel One offers US stocks through Vested.
• NSE IX Global Access. Since February 2026, NSE's GIFT City exchange has offered US stocks, including fractional shares, through registered brokers such as Anand Rathi, HDFC Securities IFSC, and Kotak, without a demat account. It plans to add more markets.
• Small fees exist everywhere. US regulators charge a tiny fee on every sale, and GIFT City adds a turnover fee of 0.005%. Check the app's own pricing page for the full list before you sign up.

Reaching Markets Beyond the US

Country ETFs listed in the US. The simplest way into a single country is an ETF on a US exchange. Annual expense ratios in October 2026 were 0.66% for the VanEck Vietnam ETF (VNM), 0.59% for iShares MSCI Brazil (EWZ), 0.49% for iShares MSCI Japan (EWJ), 0.59% for iShares MSCI China (MCHI), 0.10% for iShares Core MSCI Europe (IEUR), and 0.09% for iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets (IEMG). Some markets also have European-listed UCITS ETFs, such as the Ireland-domiciled Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets (0.17%) and the Luxembourg-domiciled Xtrackers Vietnam Swap (0.85%), traded in London and Frankfurt.

Foreign companies listed in the US. Many large companies list American depositary receipts (ADRs) in New York, so you can buy them through a US account in dollars, during US hours. Examples include TSMC (TSM), Toyota (TM), Sony (SONY), Petrobras (PBR), and Vale (VALE).

The local exchange itself. For the full list of a country's companies, buy on its home exchange through an international broker. Access depends on the broker and your residence, so confirm it before you open an account. Interactive Brokers added Brazil's B3 exchange for international clients in December 2025, for example, but it does not offer Vietnam. Vietnam's stocks are bought through local brokers, which require a foreign investor trading code, and foreign ownership in some sectors is capped at 30% to 49%. For most individuals, a Vietnam ETF is the practical route.

How Foreign Investments Are Taxed

The ₹1.25 lakh yearly exemption on long-term gains applies only to Indian equity, so it does not cover any of these. Dividends are taxed in India at your slab rate, and most countries also withhold tax on them first:

You can claim the foreign tax as a credit on Form 44, which replaced Form 67 from the 2026-27 tax year. File it within 12 months of the end of the tax year, with a return you have filed. The credit is limited to the treaty rate, so anything withheld above it, as in Germany, has to be reclaimed from that country. It is also limited to the Indian tax on that income, and the rule does not say how to measure that. On a USD 100 US dividend, the US takes USD 25. For someone in the 20% slab, India's tax on it at the slab is about USD 21, so the credit stops there and USD 4 earns nothing. Measured at the average rate on a whole return, the credit is smaller still, and under the ₹12 lakh rebate there is no Indian tax, so no credit at all. Enter your own sales and dividends to see the tax and the credit both ways.

Report Foreign Assets in Your Return

If you hold shares, ETFs, or cash abroad, you must file ITR-2 or ITR-3, not ITR-1. You list each holding in Schedule FA, report foreign income in Schedule FSI, and claim the foreign tax credit in Schedule TR. Schedule FA has followed the calendar year, January to December, not the financial year, so check its period when the 2026-27 form is released. You must fill it in even in a year with no income from the holding.

Missing it can cost ₹10 lakh under the Black Money Act. Since October 1, 2024, that penalty does not apply where your foreign assets, other than property, total ₹20 lakh or less. The relief covers only the penalty, so reporting is still required. Indian international funds and ETFs are Indian assets, so they need no Schedule FA entry.

Watch Out for US Estate Tax

This risk applies to anything held through a US account, whatever country it invests in. If a non-US person dies holding more than USD 60,000 of US assets, which include shares of US companies and US-listed ETFs such as EWZ or VNM, the heirs must file a US estate tax return before they can claim them, and US estate tax can apply above that threshold. India has no estate tax treaty with the US. Units of an Indian international fund are Indian assets, so they are outside it. Some investors use Ireland-domiciled UCITS ETFs, which hold the same foreign shares through a non-US fund, for the same reason. If your US holdings are approaching USD 60,000, read up on this before adding more.

Which Route Fits Which Investor

• Small, regular amounts: an international mutual fund, if one covering your market is open for SIPs. It needs no new account and no foreign paperwork.
• No foreign account, but a specific index: an international ETF on NSE or BSE, only when it trades close to its NAV.
• A country no Indian fund covers, such as Vietnam, or specific foreign companies: an overseas brokerage account, accepting the LRS paperwork, TCS above ₹10 lakh a year, Schedule FA, and the US estate tax question.

Many investors combine them, for example a mutual fund SIP for a broad market and a brokerage account for a few chosen countries or companies.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Buying an international ETF at a large premium. Always check the iNAV first.
• Forgetting TCS when planning cash. 20% above ₹10 lakh is collected upfront, even though you get it back later.
• Skipping Schedule FA. Reporting is required even below the ₹20 lakh penalty relief.
• Ignoring the local currency. A Brazil or Vietnam investment rises and falls with the real or the dong as well as with the market. The rupee's long fall has helped foreign returns, but a stronger rupee will cut them.
• Losing dividends to excess withholding. Where a country withholds more than the treaty rate, file the refund claim, because India will not credit the excess.
• Trading options or using margin abroad. LRS does not allow it.

Sources and References

• RBI Master Direction: Liberalised Remittance Scheme
• Finance Bill 2026: Memorandum explaining the provisions
• Value Research: international funds open for investment (September 2026)
• Value Research: international ETF premiums and SEBI's price band (September 2026)
• iShares MSCI ACWI ETF: country weights
• VanEck Vietnam ETF: summary prospectus (2026)
• ICICI Prudential AMC: Tax Reckoner 2026-27
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Brazil withholding taxes
• Income Tax Department: guide to Schedules FA and FSI
• IRS: estate tax for nonresidents who are not US citizens

Rules and figures are as of October 2026. Dividend withholding rates are from PwC's Worldwide Tax Summaries and the IRS treaty tables; the USD-INR rate is from the US Federal Reserve (FRED). Fund names are examples, not recommendations, and fund openings change often. App and broker charges are from each provider's own pricing page in October 2026 and change often. App names are not endorsements.

This analysis is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.