PAN (Permanent Account Number) is a mandatory requirement for many financial transactions. I did not have a PAN card when I moved and this resulted in a few inconveniences. To open a bank account, one has to submit the PAN. The employer who pays you taxable salary needs the PAN. If a PAN is not provided, there might be a penalty where the TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) is calculated at a higher rate than normal.
NRIs can apply for a PAN and I highly recommend getting this done before you move. You can apply for and check the status of the application online at https://tin.tin.nsdl.com/pan/index.html.
It is said that the typical time to process the application is 2 weeks. I have not yet received my PAN card (it has only been a week) and I will update the blog once I have it.
