If you are an Indian employee going abroad on an assignment to a country with which India has a social-security agreement (SSA), or a foreign national working in India, your provident fund treatment can be very different from that of a regular EPF member.
Such employees are classified as International Workers (IWs) by EPFO, and the rules governing their contributions, withdrawal and pension benefits are different.
Who qualifies?
Under EPFO rules, an IW can broadly be an Indian employee who has worked or is going to work in a foreign country with which India has an SSA. It also includes a foreign national holding a non-Indian passport and working for an establishment in India covered by the EPF law.
Nepalese and Bhutanese nationals are treated as Indian workers under EPF rules and therefore are not treated as IWs.
There is also no minimum period of stay prescribed for an eligible foreign national working in India. EPFO says such a worker has to be enrolled from the first day of employment.
“The IW status is not about how long someone stays, where they live, or what visa they hold. It is about the passport and the workplace,” said Kunal Kabra, co-founder, KustodianLife, a tech firm providing claims resolution across EPF, banking, wills, and trusts.
The big difference
For a regular EPF member, contributions are generally subject to the applicable statutory wage ceiling, currently ₹15,000. For IWs, there is no wage ceiling for PF contribution. EPFO says the contribution is calculated on the employee's total salary.
With the Labour Codes coming into effect on 21 November 2025 and the new PF schemes being notified on 29 June 2026, the rules for International Workers continue to require PF contributions without a wage ceiling. The contribution base is now linked to “wages” as defined under the Labour Codes.
Where does the SSA come in?
When an employee moves between countries, there can be a problem of double social-security contributions. The worker may otherwise have to contribute to the social-security systems of both the home and host countries.
An SSA is designed to provide continuity of social-security coverage and typically addresses three areas: detachment, totalization and exportability.
“SSA benefits include avoiding dual social-security contributions, so that an employee does not have to contribute to both countries' systems in applicable circumstances. They also provide for totalization of service, where periods of social-security coverage in India and the other country can be combined to determine eligibility for certain benefits, and export of benefits, allowing eligible pension benefits to be paid even when the beneficiary resides in the other country, subject to the terms of the agreement,” said Anurag Jain, co-founder and partner of ByTheBook Consulting LLP.
Why CoC matters
The Certificate of Coverage (CoC) is critical for an employee being deputed to an SSA country. EPFO issues the CoC to eligible Indian employees being sent to SSA countries. It certifies that the employee continues to be covered under India's social-security system and can help establish exemption from social-security contributions in the host country.
The same principle works in the other direction. A foreign employee coming to India can be treated as an excluded employee where the applicable SSA and certificate establish continued coverage under the home country's social-security system.
Countries with which India has SSA arrangements include Germany, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Japan, Canada, Australia, South Korea, Sweden and Brazil, among others.
More recently, the India-UK social-security agreement came into effect on 15 July 2026. Under it, Indian employees temporarily posted to the UK by their Indian employer can remain covered by India's social-security system for assignments of up to 60 months, subject to the applicable conditions and a valid CoC issued by EPFO. The same principle applies to UK nationals temporarily posted to India, subject to the agreement's conditions.
If an Indian employee is sent to a non-SSA country, EPFO says that employee is not an International Worker under the EPF definition and continues as a regular EPF member. For a foreign national working in India, however, the person is an IW even if their home country does not have an SSA with India.
Countries such as the US, UAE, Singapore and China do not have SSAs with India.
Withdrawal rules
An IW covered by an SSA can withdraw the full EPF amount after leaving the job in line with a regular EPF member.
For an IW not covered by an SSA, withdrawal is allowed only on retirement at age 58, in case of permanent and total incapacity, or on suffering from a prescribed disease such as tuberculosis or cancer.
The EPS component has separate rules. An SSA-covered IW can use the totalisation provisions of the applicable agreement to combine eligible periods of service. If it is less than 10 years, withdrawal will be allowed three years after leaving the job, as per EPS 2026; otherwise, the employee will be eligible for pension after attaining the age of 58 years.
For an IW from a non-SSA country, EPFO says withdrawal benefit under EPS is not available. Only pension can be availed.
Don't leave money behind
What happens if an International Worker leaves a job and does not withdraw the funds?
“In such cases after three years the account becomes inoperative and stops earning interest,” Jain said.
An IW from an SSA country can receive the amount in a foreign bank account. Those from non-SSA countries, however, should ensure that EPFO records remain updated and that there is a valid Indian bank account for receiving the eventual payment.
“An IW worker from a non-SSA country who closes every Indian bank account on departure may find, years later, no valid account to receive the money and no easy way to update records from abroad. Keeping the Indian bank account and EPFO login details active can make the eventual claim process much easier,” said Kabra.
For an Indian employee moving abroad, the first step is to check whether the destination country has an applicable SSA with India, whether you qualify under that agreement and whether you need a CoC.
The answer can materially change how much you contribute to social security, where you contribute and when you can access your EPF and pension benefits.