Overseas Citizenship of India


The Overseas Citizenship of India is an immigration status permitting a foreign citizen of Indian origin to live and work in the Republic of India indefinitely. The OCI was introduced in response to demands for dual citizenship by the Indian diaspora, particularly in developed countries. It was introduced by The Citizenship Act, 2005 in August 2005. It was launched during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention held in Hyderabad in late 2005.
The Constitution of India prevents Indian citizens from holding dual citizenship. As such the OCI is not actual citizenship of India according to Indian law as it has many limitations such as no right to vote, no right to hold constitutional offices, and no right to buy agricultural properties. The United Kingdom's government argues differently, however, and it considers OCI as dual nationality.
To apply for and use an OCI document, a holder must be a citizen of and hold a passport of another country, except that of Pakistan or Bangladesh. Furthermore, the holder must not have parents from either of those two nations. In May 2019 the Indian Home Ministry contemplated permitting Bangladesh citizens to apply for the OCI registration. Bangladesh will likely be eligible in the future, but tensions with Pakistan as a nation still remain.

History

The Constitution of India does not permit dual citizenship for citizens of India. Indian authorities have interpreted the law to mean a person cannot have a second country's passport simultaneously with an Indian one — even in the case of a child who is claimed by another country as a citizen of that country, and who may be required by the laws of the other country to use one of its passports for foreign travel, and the Indian courts have given the executive branch wide discretion over this matter.
On the recommendations of a High-Level Committee on Indian Diaspora, the Government of India decided to register Persons of Indian Origin of a certain category, as has been specified in the Section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, as Overseas Citizenship of India cardholders.
Before 29 January 2015, travellers holding OCI card were required to carry the passport which contained the lifetime visa while traveling to India. This requirement was done away with that day and OCI card holders no longer require the visa sticker passport. The OCI card in conjunction with a current valid foreign passport is sufficient to travel to and from India.
Previously, the government could cancel OCI status of people who obtained it by fraud, showed acts of unpatriotism, or broke a law punishable with at least two years in jail before five years of having issued OCI. The Citizenship Act, 2019 gives the government additional power to strip people of their Overseas Citizen of India status if they violate any local law, whether it is a petty offense or a serious felony. The new act makes the rules much more strict for OCI card holders in a justified attempt to preserve the status’s dignity. However, it also has a proviso which gives the person whose OCI status is at stake the power of being heard by the government before they come to a verdict.
In March 2020 visa-free travel granted to OCI holders were put on hold till 15 April due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Eligibility

The Government of India, on application, may register any person as an Overseas Citizen of India, if the person:
No person, who or either of whose parents or grandparents or great grandparents is or had been a citizen of Pakistan & Bangladesh, is eligible for registration as an Overseas Citizen of India. Persons who served as a member of any foreign military are also ineligible to receive an OCI card.

Application

Applications for OCI can only be made online at . A person making an application is required to submit a photograph and several identification documents to prove they meet the eligibility criteria, and also must pay an application fee. Applications made from outside India are charged a fee of US$275. Applications submitted in India are charged a fee of.
The applicant must provide proof of their current citizenship by presenting a copy of their current passport that has a minimum validity of at least 6 months. If the applicant is making their application while within Indian jurisdiction, they must submit a copy of any type of Indian visa, or a residential permit with at least 3 months' validity. Applicants must provide evidence that either they or their parents or grandparents or great grandparents meet the eligibility criteria described above. This can be done by presenting a copy of an Indian passport, a copy of the Domicile Certificate issued by the competent authority, a copy of Nativity Certificate from the competent authority, or an OCI Card/PIO Card of parents or spouse along with the base papers/documents upon which the OCI/PIO card was issued. Applicants may also submit any other evidence that may substantiate their claim. Usually, applicants are able to submit a certificate of residence or place of birth of self/parents/grandparents from First Class Magistrate/District Magistrate of the concerned place.
If the applicant cites their Indian origin as basis for registration as OCI Cardholder, they must provide evidence of their relationship with the person cited as parent/grandparent/great grandparent. The document of relationship could be a birth certificate issued from competent authority mentioning both parents' names. In case the birth certificate is issued by a foreign authority, it must be apostilled or endorsed by the concerned Indian diplomatic mission abroad. In the case of a minor child whose parents are both Indian citizens or who has at least one parent holding Indian citizenship, evidence may comprise a copy of the child's birth certificate that mentions its parents, a copy of Indian passport of at least one of the parents or copy of the Domicile Certificate or Nativity Certificate issued by a Competent Authority supporting the Indian origin of at least one parent or any other proof substantiating the status of at least one parent as being either an Indian citizen or being of Indian origin. If the parents are divorced, a court order of dissolution of marriage which specifically mentions that the legal custody of the child is with the parent who is applying for the OCI card must be submitted.
Evidence as spouse of foreign origin of a citizen of India or spouse of foreign origin of an OCI Cardholder may be provided in the form of a registered marriage certificate. In the case of spouse of an Indian citizen, a copy of the Indian Passport of the spouse or copy of the Domicile Certificate or Nativity Certificate issued by the Competent Authority in respect of the Indian spouse or any other proof substantiating the status of the spouse as being an Indian citizen. In the case of spouse of an OCI Cardholder, a copy of the present valid Passport of the spouse and copy of the OCI Card of the spouse and copies of the documents upon which the OCI Card was issued to the spouse.

OCI Travel Advisory – Re-issue of OCI Card (On getting a New Passport)

• For an applicant who is 19 years of age or younger, OCI documents must be re-issued each time a new passport is issued.
• For an applicant who is 50 years of age or older, OCI documents must be re-issued once after the issuance of a new passport. If the OCI card is issued for the first time after the age of 50 years, then there is no need for re-issue of OCI.
• For an applicant who is 20 to 49 years of age, there is no need to re-issue OCI documents each time a new passport is issued. However, if the applicant desires, he/she can request that the OCI documents be re-issued so that the OCI documents reflect the correct passport number.

Privileges and restrictions

Overseas Citizenship of India allows a holder:
Multiple entry, multi-purpose life long visa free to visit India. Life long denotes to 100 years from the date of birth
Exemption from reporting to Police authorities for any length of stay in India
Parity with NRIs in financial, economic and educational fields except in the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties.
  1. Multiple-entry, multi-purpose lifelong visa to visit India;
  2. Exemption from foreigner registration requirements for any length of stay in India; and
  3. Parity with non-resident Indians in financial, economic and educational fields except in the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties.
Overseas citizens of India are not citizens of India from a constitutional point of view and will not enjoy the following rights even if resident in India:
  1. they do not have the right to vote,
  2. they do not have the right to hold the offices of Prime Minister, President, Vice-President, Judge of Supreme Court and High Court, member of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Legislative Assembly, or Council.
  3. they do not have the right to any public services.
  4. they do not have the right to invest in farmland. However, they can still inherit farmland.
Though not actual dual citizenship, the privileges afforded by acquiring an OCI card is that now multi-national companies are finding it simpler to hire the OCI cardholders, who enjoy a multiple entry, multi-purpose lifelong visa to visit India. The card provides a lifelong visa to the holder, sparing them the need for permits. OCI holders are treated on par with NRIs for economic, financial and educational matters and only don't have political rights and rights to buy agricultural and plantation properties or hold public office.
Since the launch of Overseas Citizenship in 2005, the Indian government has announced some ‘additional benefits’ during its annual diaspora conference, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. In 2007, OCI card holders were given parity with Indian citizens abroad in the matter of inter-country adoption of Indian children, for domestic airfares and for admittance into national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. In 2009, the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs granted OCI card holders parity with NRIs for working as doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, advocates, architects, and chartered accountants. And the parity with NRIs was extended to entry fees for national monuments, historical sites, and museums. Further, in 2012, the privilege was added that Indian State governments should ensure that OCI registration booklets are treated as overseas citizens’ identification and included a facilitated rule for providing proof of residence.
They are also exempt from registration with the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer on their arrival in the country and can stay or live in India for as long as they wish. OCI cardholders can travel at very short notice and take up assignments in India, while others could get caught up in bureaucratic delays over their employment visa. Many companies are following an active policy of moving PIOs to India for business expansion. Indian missions overseas are witnessing a deluge in OCI applications, the number of OCI cards issued by diplomatic missions around the world have been steadily rising with several Indian diplomatic missions grappling with a huge backlog of applications.
Research on the effects of Overseas Citizenship of India shows three effects. It enables overseas citizens by granting special privileges; it affects expectations about privileges; and it eases the transaction process and reducing costs and risks. Regarding the latter, a special status like OCI reduces the actual and expected cost of operation through exemptions from formal requirements and by serving as official proof of being entitled.
Privileges of OCI holders depends on the government policy of the day, and there are instances where they are denied additional rights and conveniences afforded to full Indian citizens including citizen NRIs:
Most overseas countries such as United States of America do not recognise the OCI as citizenship of another country. There are however some exceptions.

Statelessness

A stateless person cannot apply for an OCI, however there is an open question if an OCI holder can be considered stateless, so in countries where citizenship to dual citizens can be revoked, such as Australia an OCI holder may be disadvantaged, however, the lack of precedents in this area means that the issue is uncertain.

United Kingdom

In specific circumstances, acquiring Overseas Citizenship of India prevents British National and British Overseas citizens from registering as full British citizens under Section 4B of the British Nationality Act 1981. It does not prevent them from acquiring full British citizenship by a different method and it does not revoke their British citizenship if they have already registered under Section 4B. The UK government considers that, for purposes of the British Nationality Act 1981, "OCI is considered to be citizenship of another State". The circumstance where a person in this provision is rare, as it means they hold a secondary form of British citizenship such as a British Overseas citizen and passport. they do not hold any other citizenship. They have been issued an OCI nevertheless.
The British Home Office has confirmed that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's perspective on OCI status is that it is not a
form of citizenship. As such, people with OCI are still eligible for
consular assistance from the FCO whilst in India.

OCI and PIO documents merge

The predecessor to the OCI was the Persons of Indian Origin Card. The PIO card was less effective than OCIs, and there was some criticism that holders of the more expensive PIO card were disadvantaged when the OCI scheme launched, that there was confusion of the differences between the two, and administration of the two independent schemes caused complexity and confusion.
Prime minister Narendra Modi announced in 2014 that PIO and OCI cards would be merged. Ultimately this was implemented as:
  1. A gazetted order published on 30 September 2014 stated a PIO card issued to an applicant shall be valid for their lifetime, provided such applicant has a valid Passport.
  2. A gazetted order published on 9 January 2015, converted all PIO holders on that date to OCI,
  3. That second order stopped further applications of the PIO card, and
  4. Free conversion of PIOs to OCIs was permitted until the extended deadline of 31 December 2017.
PIO cardholders must apply to convert their existing cards into OCI cards. The Bureau of Immigration stated that it would continue to accept the old PIO cards as valid travel documents until 30 September 2020.

Physical appearance

The OCI document is a passport-like document. It has a blue cover with golden colored printing. The Emblem of India is emblazoned in the centre of the front cover. The words 'Overseas Citizen of India Card' are inscribed above the Emblem, and 'भारत गणराज्य' and 'Republic of India' are inscribed below the emblem.
OCI Cards were formerly printed with a separate lifelong “U” Visa Sticker. The proof of lifelong visa is now just the OCI Card which has a “Life Time Visa” printed on it. The OCI Card is valid for travel but must be carried with a valid overseas passport. Airlines will, generally, ask to see both when traveling to and from India, as will Indian customs and police at Airport counters.

OCI contents

First page (identity) contents

Second page contents

The OCI certificate contains a note:
The note bearing page is typically stamped and signed by the issuing authority.

Final page contents

Persons of Indian Origin Card

Persons of Indian Origin Card was a form of identification issued to a Person of Indian Origin who held a passport in a country other than Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Accordingly, the Citizenship Act, 2003,
made provision for acquisition of Overseas Citizenship of India by the Person of Indian Origin of 16 specified countries. It also omitted all provision recognizing, or relating to the commonwealth citizenship from the principle Act.
Later, the Citizenship Act, 2005, expanded the scope of grant of OCI for PIOs of all countries except Pakistan as long as their home country allows dual citizenship under their local law in case it recognizes OCI as a second citizenship of India. The OCI is not actually a dual citizenship as the Indian constitution forbids dual nationality.
On 9 January 2015, the Person of Indian Origin card scheme was withdrawn by the Government of India and was merged with the Overseas Citizen of India card scheme. All currently held PIO cards are treated as OCI cards. PIO card holders will get a special stamp in their existing PIO card, saying "lifelong validity" and "registration not required", thus making them equal to existing OCI cards. An extended deadline was given where the card could be converted for free to an OCI until 31 December 2017.
PIO card holders can use their PIO card to travel to India until 30 September 2020. Effective 1 October 2020, PIO card holders' entry to India will be refused.

Conditions

The conditions for issuing a PIO card to a person were:
  1. Any person who has ever held an Indian passport, or
  2. The person's parents, grandparents or great grandparents were born in and were permanent residents of India and never moved to Bangladesh and Pakistan, or
  3. The person is the spouse of a citizen of India or of a PIO and has been so for two years or more, and
  4. The person and his/her parents, grandparents or great grandparents must not have been a national of Bangladesh or Pakistan at any point of time.
The PIO Card programme came into effect on 15 September 2002.

Uses

The various benefits available to a PIO cardholders were:
Persons with a PIO were not:
Earlier, PIO card holders needed to register with the appropriate FRRO if they were planning to stay in India for more than 180 days. This requirement was not applicable for minors. However, on 30 September 2014, this requirement was removed.
The FRRO used to issue a "Residential Permit For PIO" which was typically valid till the expiry of the PIO card holder's passport. On 28 September 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at Madison Square Garden that PIO card holders would be granted lifelong visas.
It is important to note that while an Indian citizen can enjoy unlimited visa free visits to Nepal and Bhutan, this is not possible for a PIO/OCI card holders.

OCI related Incidents

A total of 1,372,624 people held OCI cards as on 31 July 2013.
NameProfessionNationalityReferences
Akshay KumarActorCanadian
Akhil AkkineniActorAmerican
Sunny LeoneActorCanadian/American
Soni RazdanActorBritish
Alia BhattActorBritish
Imran KhanActorAmerican
Tony FernandesBusinesspersonMalaysian
C. MohanComputer ScientistAmerican
Shaun TaitCricketerAustralian
Muttiah MuralitharanCricketerSri Lankan
António CostaPoliticianPortuguese
Salma AghaActorBritish
Stephen AlterWriterAmerican