OVERSEAS CITIZEN OF INDIA (OCI)

About:

• Timeline:
  • An Overseas Citizen of India, or OCI, is a category introduced by the government in 2005.
    
    
  • Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) of certain categories as specified in the Citizenship Act, 1955 are eligible for being OCI cardholders.
    
    
  • Some of the benefits for PIO and OCI cardholders were different until 2015, when the government merged these two categories.
    
    
  
  
  
• Eligibility:
  • The Ministry of Home Affairs defines an OCI as a person who was a citizen of India on or after January 26, 1950; or was eligible to become a citizen of India on that date; or who is a child or grandchild of such a person, among other eligibility criteria.
    
    
  • According to Section 7A of the OCI card rules, an applicant is not eligible for the OCI card if he, his parents or grandparents have ever been a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh.
    
    
  
  
  
• Benefits:
  • OCI cardholders can enter India multiple times, get a multipurpose lifelong visa to visit India, and are exempt from registering with Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) no matter how long their stay.
    
    
  • If an individual is registered as an OCI for a period of five years, he/she are eligible to apply for Indian citizenship.
    
    
  • OCI cardholders can open special bank accounts in India, they can buy non-farm property and exercise ownership rights and can also apply for a driver’s license and PAN card.
    
    
  
  
  
• Limitations on their rights:
  • However, OCI cardholders do not get voting rights, cannot hold a government job and purchase agricultural or farm land.
    
    
  • They cannot run for public office either, nor can they travel to restricted areas without government permission.