Whether a journey home lasts four hours or twenty, the unease remains constant. A fresh report highlights the non-financial toll on NRI families providing care for parents back in India.
Every NRI child carries the same fear. What if something happens, and I'm not there? What they need isn’t sympathy but a system they can rely on. One that's quick and outpaces their rising worry.”— Asheesh Gupta, Founder and CEO, Samarth Elder Care NEW DELHI, DELHI, INDIA, July 25, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Looking after ageing parents while living overseas involves a price that cannot be calculated in dollars. Samarth Elder Care pulled together existing studies to quantify what that separation truly costs.
The anxieties of NRIs shift based on their country of residence. In the United States, an H-1B visa is tied to a single employer, and returning home does not guarantee re-entry will be smooth. According to the Back to India NRI Community Survey, 68 out of every 100 H-1B holders and 43 out of every 100 NRIs overall reported that visa instability hinders their ability to provide care.
In Gulf nations, residency depends on employment. Taking extended leave can result in losing both the job and housing. In the UK, Australia, and Singapore, the primary worries revolve around full-time jobs, young children, and a parent living far away.
74 out of every 100 NRIs stated that being nearer to their ageing parents was the dominant reason for considering a move back to India.
Another concern centres on where the parents reside. The India Ageing Report published by UNFPA shows that nearly one in three senior citizens in India live with a chronic health condition. Samarth’s own data indicates that in the past year alone, they received roughly one emergency handling request per day. India’s National Health Mission sets a goal of a 20-minute ambulance response time in urban areas. In practice, on-the-ground assistance does not move that quickly. That delay can determine the outcome of a stroke or a heart attack.
Compounding the worry, the care that exists may not be located where the parents live. Organised senior care is still concentrated in a small number of major cities, while Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities—where demand is growing fastest—are underserved, according to industry estimates from the Association of Senior Living India.
An anxiety also stems from a fundamental lack of trust. Finding a reliable provider for day-to-day elder care has become a separate challenge for NRI families—one that The Economic Times and The Times of India have recently covered, exploring what genuine, dependable elder care looks like and how families abroad can recognise it.
“I built Samarth because I couldn’t find the type of care my parents needed in Dehradun. I know what it feels like to lose sleep at night and peace of mind during the day over their well-being. These families deserve rigour, not just reassurance,” Asheesh Gupta added. “Our job is to be the trusted professional and reliable bridge between the families, parents and care.”
About Samarth Elder Care
Samarth Elder Care is India’s premier professional eldercare company, enabling older adults to live with dignity and independence while providing their families—no matter where they are in the world—the confidence of high-quality care. Founded in 2016 by alumni of IIT, IIM, Cambridge, Yale and McKinsey, Samarth operates across more than 350 cities in India, serves families in over 33 countries, and is backed by Social Alpha. Its offerings include in-home care with a dedicated Care Manager, community and wellbeing programmes, and specialist clinical care through the Samarth Clinic for Healthy Ageing.
When a family cannot be there, Samarth is.
Sources
Back to India NRI Community Survey. NRI Community Survey Report. BackToIndia.com. Sourced from: https://backtoindia.com/survey/
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) India. (2023). Caring for Our Elders: Institutional Responses – India Ageing Report 2023. Sourced from: https://india.unfpa.org/en/publications/caring-our-elders-institutional-responses-india-ageing-report-2023
Association of Senior Living India (ASLI). Industry estimates on senior care demand in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, as reported in Outlook Money, “India’s Elderly Care Market Is Set to Boom in Tier 2 and Tier 3 Cities, Say Experts.” Sourced from: https://www.outlookmoney.com/retirement/spend/senior-living/indias-elderly-care-market-is-set-to-boom-in-tier-2-and-tier-3-cities-say-experts
Chitralekha Samaddar Sen
Samarth Elder Care
+91 87006 90186
media@samarth.community
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