OCI Card
Overseas Citizen of India
The Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Scheme provides for registration as Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) of all Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) who were citizens of India on 26.01.1950 or thereafter or were eligible to become citizens of India on 26.01.1950 except who is or had been a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh or such other country as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify.
Eligibility
As per Section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955), following categories of foreign nationals are eligible for registration as Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder: -
- Any person of full age and capacity:-
- who is a citizen of another country, but was a citizen of India at the time of, or at any time after the commencement of the Constitution i.e. 26.01.1950; or
- who is a citizen of another country, but was eligible to become a citizen of India at the time of the commencement of the Constitution i.e. on 26.01.1950; ог
- who is a citizen of another country, but belonged to a territory that became part of India after 15.08.1947; ог
- who is a child or a grandchild or a great grandchild of such a citizen; or
- a person, who is a minor child of a person mentioned in (a) above; or
- a person, who is a minor child, and whose both parents are citizens of India or one of the parents is a citizen of India; or
- spouse of foreign origin of a citizen of India or spouse of foreign origin of an Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder registered under section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and whose marriage has been registered and subsisted for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of the application.
SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION
Application for registration as OCI can be made online through the OCI portal https://ociservices.gov.in/onlineOCI/. Applicants are required to upload all the requisite documents (self-attested), photograph and signature along with the application. Original documents need to be submitted for verification.
NOTE
- No person, who or either of whose parents or grandparents or great grandparents is or had been a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh or such other country as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify, shall be eligible for registration as an Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder.
- Apostilled birth certificate of foreign spouse, spouse's parents/grandparent's/great grand parent's needs to be submitted in order to ensure that they are not of Pakistan/Bangladesh origin or any other country as notified by the Government of India.
- Foreign nationals cannot apply for OCI in India while on Tourist Visa, Missionary Visa and Mountaineering Visa. Moreover, the foreigner has to be ordinarily resident to be eligible to apply for OCI registration in India. Ordinarily resident will mean a person staying in a particular country for a continuous period of 06 months. The definition of ordinarily resident as above will apply only in cases where foreign nationals are applying for an OCI card from a third country other than their own. The provision of a minimum stay of 06 months shall not be applicable for children of Indian nationals or OCI cardholders up to the age of 12 years applying for an OCI card.
For complete information on OCI applications, please see the link below-
https://ociservices.gov.in/onlineOCI/.
On acquiring a foreign nationality, a person ceases to be a citizen of India as per section 9 of the Indian citizenship Act 1955. Further more, the provision of renunciation of Indian citizenship under section 8 of Citizenship Act 1955 are applicable only to a citizen of India. However, it is mandatory for Indians acquiring Foreign Nationality to Surrender their Indian Passport.
.
