Client Payment Portal

India: Renewal of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards

Feb 13, 2020 | Global

Summary of the Issue: In recent times, there has been much confusion with respect to the renewal of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards. Airlines have on many occasions not allowed passengers to board flights to India if their OCI cards were not renewed when their passports were renewed. The OCI, which is given to persons of Indian origin who have the citizenship of another country (other than Pakistan and Bangladesh), allows the card holder to live and work in India indefinitely. The OCI also exempts from reporting to police authorities for any length of stay in India. The OCI also provides parity with Non-Resident Indians in financial, economic, and educational fields, except in the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties. A person registered as an OCI is eligible to apply for grant of Indian citizenship under section 5(1)(g) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, if he or she is registered as OCI for five years and has been residing in India for one year out of the five years before making the application.

Guidelines: According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the following guidelines have been in force since 2005 with respect to OCI renewals:

    • The OCI card must be reissued each time a new passport is acquired by the cardholder up to the age of 20 years.

    • The OCI card must be reissued once upon acquiring a new passport after completing 50 years of age.

    • Reissuance of the OCI card is not required each time a passport is issued to a cardholder between the ages of 21 and 50.

However, these guidelines were relaxed in recent years. Even if the OCI was not renewed in the event of obtaining of a new passport, the OCI was accepted as a valid lifelong document with no expiration date especially after the Indian government stopped issuing the U visa sticker in the person’s passport. It seems that the Indian government began to enforce its 2005 guidelines more strictly in late 2019, resulting in many instances of people having difficulty boarding flights if the OCI was not renewed in accordance with these guidelines.

Age-based Relaxation of Guidelines: The MEA, as a result, has issued the following relaxation of its guidelines until June 30, 2020, in the following cases:

    • In case an OCI card holder below the age of 20 years has not gotten the OCI card re-issued on change of passport, he or she may travel on the strength of his or her existing OCI card bearing the old passport number, subject to the condition that along with the new passport, the OCI cardholder carries the old passport mentioned in the OCI card.

    • In case an OCI card holder who has attained the age of 50 years and has gotten his or her passport renewed subsequently but has not gotten his or her OCI card reissued on renewal of his or her passport, he or she may travel on the strength of the existing OCI card along with the old and new passports.

Notwithstanding the relaxation in guidelines, the MEA advises OCI cardholders to renew their cards per the 2005 guidelines. Anecdotal evidence suggests that airlines are following the relaxed guidelines unevenly.

More Information:

Related Posts:

Global Travel Advisory: Where Can Americans Travel

Last Updated: November 30, 2020 As the number of coronavirus cases around the world spikes, Americans may find their international travel plans impeded by closed borders, cancelled flights, quarantines and testing. Many countries are still barring all U.S. citizens from entering their borders, or have entry restrictions. Also, The Center for Disease Control advises all Americans returning from travel to avoid contact with others for at least 14 days upon arrival. LEGAL DISCLAIMER WR maintains a Global Travel Advisory for American travelers on our COVID-19 Resource page.  Due to the evolving and unpredictable nature of the global pandemic, please be advised that COVID-19 related travel restrictions and procedures change frequently.  The following information does not constitute legal advice and is subject to change at the local and national level at any time.  For global immigration advice, please schedule a consultation with WR’s Global Immigration Director, Vivian Zhu. Albania No test results required, but expect a health screening – you will be tested if any symptoms present. No quarantine required. Movement restrictions from 10:00pm – 6:00am Face masks are required in public. Restaurants and cafes are open, but are prohibited from operating between 10:00pm and 6:00am (delivery services are allowed at all […]

Read More

CANADA: Changes to the Québec Experience Class (PEQ) Program

The government has made changes to the Québec Experience Class (PEQ) program. For the past 10 years, workers and students in Québec had the choice between two permanent residence streams: the expedited ” Québec Experience Class” (Programme de l’Expérience Québecoise, or PEQ) and the regular Québec skilled worker program. While the former had simple eligibility criteria based on knowledge of French and either 1 year of qualifying work in Québec or completion of certain Québec diplomas, as well as 1-month processing times, the latter is based on a points system with heavier documentation requirements and processing times of anywhere between 1 and 4 years. In both cases, applicants were granted the “Québec Selection Certificate” (Certificat de Sélection du Québec, or CSQ) and then needed to apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to undergo background and medical checks and ultimately were granted permanent residence (PR). Historically, this second step took between 13 and 24 months. To put it in a nutshell, at its fastest, applicants to the PEQ were able to be granted PR within 14 months. Comparatively, this is still longer than federal programs under Express Entry where PR can be granted within 6 months, but the PEQ […]

Read More