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Recently, the Government of India has notified that the People of Indian Origin (PIO) and the Indian diaspora having Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards are not required to carry their old, expired passports for travel to India, as required earlier.
About OCI Card
- It is issued to people of Indian origin globally which gives them almost all the privileges of an Indian national except for the right to vote, government service and buying agricultural land.
- Benefits
- It gives lifetime multiple entry visa to India. Also, one never needs to register with the Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) irrespective of the duration of the stay.
- If one remains an OCI for 5 years, the person can attain Indian citizenship and then live in India for a period of one year including short breaks.
- Special immigration counters are provided at all international airports in India for OCI card holders.
- They can open special bank accounts in India just like the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and make investments and can also buy non-farm property and exercise ownership rights.
- An OCI card allows for applications for driver’s license, PAN card and gets the same economic, financial and educational benefits like NRIs and also allows for adoption of children.
- Limitations
- An OCI card holder cannot vote, hold a government job or purchase agricultural or farm land.
- The person can also not run for public office or travel to restricted areas without permission.
- Under its provisions, those below 20 years and above 50 years need to renew their OCI card every time they have their passport renewed.
Recent Changes
- To ease the travel of OCI card holders, it has been decided that the timeline for re-issuance of OCI cards has been extended till 31st December, 2021.
- Earlier, the government relaxed few provisions in 2020 as well due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the timeline has been extended multiple times so far.
- Requirement of carrying old/expired and new passports along with the OCI card has been done away with. Henceforth, the OCI card holders travelling on the strength of their existing OCI card bearing old passport number are not required to carry their old passport. However, carrying a new passport is mandatory.
- Guidelines to carry old expired foreign passports had been in place since 2005 but till 2019, it was not being thoroughly checked or applied.
- In May 2020, the government allowed certain categories of OCI card holders (stranded abroad) to come to the country and visas of foreign nationals and OCI cards were suspended as part of the new international travel restrictions following the pandemic.
Reactions
- Globally, it has been welcomed by members of the community, PIO and the Indian diaspora having OCI cards who have expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs and the Government of India.
- The announcement has come as a relief for the OCI card holders as sometimes they were not allowed to board flights and were sent back from airports just for not carrying their old foreign passports, which was required as per government rules.
Suggestions by Social Activists
- Indian authorities should initiate measures such as granting emergency visas on departure to help Indian-origin families travel to their homeland for health or other emergencies amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Holders of Indian passport/PIO/OCI card should be allowed to travel with their US-born minor children under the age of 14 with any unexpired visa obtained anytime without applying for an emergency visa at consulates.
- In case it is difficult to carry out these measures, authorities can either grant an Emergency Visa on Departure (E-VoD) or restore the immediate e-Visa process for approval online.
- There are hopes that the issue of tourist visas will also be resolved soon. In October 2020, the Indian government decided to restore with immediate effect the validity of all existing visas, except electronic, tourist and medical category visas.
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Categories of Indian Citizens
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Source: TH
