Let's say you want to convert as much of a tIRA to a Roth IRA as you can in a given year. In order to do that is it required that you be eligible to contribute to the Roth in the first place?
Specific case: A person is not eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA (or a to a tIRA) because all income is excluded from federal income tax under the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. Does that preclude establishing a Roth and converting part of the tIRA to Roth?
Absent the FEIE the person would otherwise be Roth-eligible.