Before you start

PAN, or at least a filed Form 49AA application
Passport with a valid long-term visa, and the e-FRRO registration certificate
Proof of an Ahmedabad address
An Indian mobile number, which UPI depends on

Step-by-step

1
File Form 49AA for PAN before you approach a bank
Foreign citizens cannot use the free Aadhaar-based instant e-PAN. Form 49AA through Protean or UTIITSL is the route, with the passport as identity proof. An e-PAN PDF usually lands before the physical card.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
2
Ask for a RESIDENT savings account, explicitly
Employment in India generally makes you a person resident in India under FEMA from the day you arrive with the intention of staying. That means an ordinary resident savings account. NRE and NRO products are for non-residents and carry repatriation and tax rules that will not fit your situation.
In personWho: You
3
Choose a branch that handles foreign nationals regularly
The large private banks along SG Highway, in Satellite and near GIFT City process foreign KYC routinely. A small neighbourhood branch may not have opened an account on a foreign passport in a year and will take considerably longer over it.
In personWho: You
4
Complete KYC in person with originals
Take passport, visa, FRRO registration, PAN, address proof and photographs. Indian KYC is thorough and address verification sometimes involves someone physically visiting. Expect days, not minutes.
In personWho: You
5
Set up UPI the moment the account is live
Link the account in Google Pay, PhonePe or Paytm using the Indian mobile number registered with the bank. UPI is how the country actually pays — autorickshaws, vegetable sellers, hospital counters, everything. It is the single biggest quality-of-life step of your first month.
Mobile appWho: YouWeek 2
6
Learn the outward remittance route before you need it
India operates capital controls. Sending salary or savings abroad has a defined process with documentation on source of funds and tax paid. Ask your bank how it works while you are calm, not when a deadline is on you.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

PAN card or e-PAN
Passport with valid visa
e-FRRO registration certificate
Proof of Ahmedabad address
Passport photographs and completed KYC forms

Things most newcomers don’t know

FEMA residence, tax residence and immigration status are three different tests and they disagree.

Your visa says what you may do; the Income Tax Act counts days in an April-to-March year; FEMA looks at whether you have come to India to take up employment or to stay for an uncertain period. You can be a tax non-resident and a FEMA resident in the same week. The bank cares only about the FEMA answer, so ask for the classification in writing at account opening.

Source: Reserve Bank of India — FEMA

The minimum average balance penalty is the fee nobody mentions at opening.

Most Indian savings accounts require an average monthly balance, commonly ₹10,000 or more at private banks in a metro branch, and charge a monthly penalty when you dip under. It is disclosed in the schedule of charges rather than in the conversation. Ask what yours is, and ask whether a salary account waives it — many do.

Source: Reserve Bank of India — customer service

UPI is the only piece of Indian infrastructure that is unambiguously ahead of what you left.

Instant, free, account-to-account transfers by QR code or phone number, accepted by street vendors and hospitals alike. It requires an Indian bank account and an Indian mobile number linked to it, which is why it lands in week two rather than week one — but from that point onward you will rarely handle cash, including at the Manek Chowk stalls at midnight.

Source: National Payments Corporation of India — UPI

Gujarat's GIFT City is a separate banking jurisdiction sitting half an hour away.

The International Financial Services Centre at GIFT City operates under its own regulator with foreign-currency accounts, distinct tax treatment and rules closer to Singapore's than to the rest of India's. If your employer is based there, some of what you assume about Indian banking and capital controls simply does not apply to your entity — ask the finance team rather than the retail branch.

Source: International Financial Services Centres Authority