It's a common assumption that NRE and NRO accounts are strictly an NRI-only affair, but RBI rules explicitly permit joint holding with a resident Indian relative, on what's called a "Former or Survivor" basis, across NRE, NRO, and FCNR account types. The catch is in the details: who qualifies as a "relative," what "Former or Survivor" actually allows day to day, and — the part that trips people up most — whose income the interest counts as for tax purposes.
Who qualifies, and what "Former or Survivor" means
The resident joint holder generally has to be a close relative of the NRI, using the definition in Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013 — broadly, spouse, parents (including step-parents), children (including a son's wife or daughter's husband), and siblings; a friend, cousin, or business partner doesn't qualify for this specific arrangement.
"Former or Survivor" means the NRI (the "Former") is the primary holder who operates the account during their lifetime; the resident relative (the "Survivor") only steps into full operating rights after the NRI's death. That's distinct from a Power of Attorney, a separate mechanism some banks also allow, which lets the resident relative operate the account day-to-day while the NRI is alive — joint-holder status alone, without a PoA, generally doesn't grant that same standing. Bank practice on exactly how the two combine can differ, so confirm the specific operating rights your bank's version grants before assuming either one covers what you need.
Whose income is it, for tax purposes
Banks generally tag TDS against the PAN of the first-named (NRI) holder by default, which leads to a common misunderstanding: that the entire interest must therefore be taxed in the NRI's hands. TDS reporting and actual tax liability are two different questions — interest is properly taxable based on beneficial ownership (whose money actually funded the deposit), not whose name the TDS certificate cites. If the resident relative deposited their own funds into a jointly-held NRO account, their proportionate share of the interest is arguably their income, taxable at their own rates, not the NRI's higher NRO withholding rate.
Where that mismatch exists, Rule 37BA of the Income-tax Rules is the mechanism for reallocating TDS credit to the person who actually owns the income — the deductee files a declaration with the bank naming the other person and their PAN, and the bank is meant to file its TDS return accordingly. This is commonly cited by its old-Act rule number; whether it has been renumbered or reissued under the Income-tax Act, 2025 isn't something confirmed here, so check the current citation and your bank's own process before relying on it.
A restriction specific to NRE/FCNR joint accounts
Because NRE and FCNR accounts exist specifically to hold foreign-sourced funds, a resident joint holder generally cannot credit their own cash, cheques, or India-sourced remittances into a jointly-held NRE/FCNR account — doing so would run against the account's entire purpose under FEMA. This restriction doesn't carry over the same way to a jointly-held NRO account, since NRO accounts are meant for India-sourced income to begin with; but the underlying principle holds either way — the joint facility exists to serve the NRI's account, not to hand the resident relative an independent banking relationship of their own.