The constitution of India does not allow holding Indian citizenship and citizenship of a foreign country simultaneously.  However, based on the recommendation of the High Level Committee on Indian Diaspora, the Government of India has decided to grant Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) commonly known as ‘Dual Citizenship’.  The Parliament of India approved the relevant bill in this connection in August, 2005.  Persons of Indian origin(PIOs) of certain category who migrated from India and acquired citizenship of a foreign country other than Pakistan and Bangladesh, are eligible for grant of OCI as long as their home countries allow dual citizenship in some form or the other under their local laws.

2. Persons registered as Overseas Citizen of India will not have the right of voting, election to Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha/Legislative Assembly/Council, constitutional posts such as President, Vice-President, and Judge of Supreme Court/High Court etc. Registered OCI shall be entitled to the following benefits:

1. Multiple entry, multi-purpose lifelong visa to visit India;

2. Exemption from reporting to police authorities for any length of stay in India; and

3. Parity with NRIs in financial, economic and educational fields except in the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties.

4. A person registered as OCI is eligible to apply for grant of Indian citizenship under Section 5(1)(g) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 if he/she has been registered as OCI for five years and has been residing in India for one year, out of the five years before making the application.

5. For getting one registered under the OCI Scheme, one has to apply to the Indian Mission/Post in the country of citizenship of the applicant, on a form prescribed for the purpose.

6. Applications/queries for OCI services can be made with the Embassy between 0900 hrs to 1230 hrs on all working days. Applicants are advised to ensure that no column of the application is left unattended.  

Fee for OCI services will be as under:

For more information on OCI and to apply online and download application, please visit https://ociservices.gov.in 

INTRODUCTION TO e-OCI REGISTRATION SYSTEM

The Govt of India has launched Electronic Overseas Citizen of India (e-OCI) card for the new applicants and existing OCI card holders (physical booklets). The new e-OCI card incorporates enhanced security features and has been integrated with all the ICPs and other modules of the IVFRT. The holder of e-OCI will not need to carry the physical copy of the OCI card at the time of Immigration clearance and for availing other services. The e-OCI card can be downloaded by the applicants through login into OCI portal https://ociservices.gov.in and through the official Indian Visa Su-Swagatam mobile applications. However, the physical booklet shall continue to remain valid and shall be accepted for Immigration and other associated services. Procedure for applicants as follows:-

1. Applicants shall access the OCI Service Portal www.ociservices.gov.in and log in using valid credentials or complete new user registration to establish a secure session.

2. Upon successful login, the applicant shall select the option “Apply for New OCI Application”, which shall open the prescribed online application form.

3. The applicant shall complete all mandatory fields in the application form, upload the prescribed documents and review the entered information before final submission.

4. Upon submission, an email would be sent to the applicant allotting date and time for bring the originals supporting documents.

5. After verification of the documents and confirming that the application along with all the documents submitted are in order, the system performs basic validation checks and the application is acknowledged on the system. The system displays a confirmation message indicating that the OCI application has been submitted online successfully and an auto email will be sent to the applicant informing about the acknowledgment of his application.

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