All About the OCI Card Rules and Regulations in India

The Indian Government released a circular in March 2021 stating the perks of OCI cardholders in India. In addition, it replaces the previous circulars. In these, significant changes were made in OCI card rules and regulations. The changes involve the reporting duties of OCI card holders in India. Also a few years ago another notable reform was introduced. Under this, the OCI card holders need permission to take part in Tabligh activities. Well, there are many changes that applicants need to know before applying for the card. Want to know what these are? Read the blog and get answers to all your queries.

Changes in the OCI Card Rules and Regulations at a Glance

Following are the changes at a glance in the OCI card rules and regulations. The guidelines were released on 4th March 2021 by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) India. Moving ahead, let's know them:

• Now overseas citizens of India do not need to reissue their OCI cards whenever they apply for a new passport.
• However, applicants who are 20 or below years of age need to get a new OCI card after they turn 21. In addition, they need to upload a copy of their passport and recent photo on the OCI portal to keep the OCI data up to date.
• Under the current law, a foreign spouse of an Indian citizen, a foreigner of Indian heritage, or a foreign spouse of OCI can register for the card. However, these applicants need to upload a copy of their new passport on the OCI website. In addition, the documents include a declaration of marriage that is still valid, a recent photo of them, and a passport holder's photo. They can do this within three months after receiving the passport.
• Apart from that, after reaching 50 years of age applicants need to once upload their new passport and photo.

These are the new requirements that OCI card holders need to fulfill while applying for the card. Implementing this process, the government has also eased the re-issuance needs of OCI cards. Also, these changes have shown the flexible attitude of the government toward OCI holders. Furthermore, all the uploading services of documents on the OCI site are free of cost. Moving ahead, let's learn more about the overseas citizens of India.

Who Are Overseas Citizens of India (OCI)?

OCI is a permanent residence status for people of Indian origin who are living abroad. In addition, it allows them and their spouses to work permanently in India. However, the OCI status is not an Indian citizenship. Also, it does not allow to hold public office or voting rights in the country.

Apart from that as stated above the OCI holders get multiple purposes, entry, and lifelong visas for coming to India. However, they are exempted from registration with the Foreign Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) to stay in India. In addition, they are also entitled to general parity with Non-Resident Indians. It includes all available facilities like finance, education, and economics. Considering this, it accepts the plantation of properties, farmhouses, and agricultural land.

Further, till 31 January 2022, 40.68 lakh OCI registration cards are done by the people of OCI status in India. In response to dual citizenship demand The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2005 (CZ Act), launched the OCI scheme. Through this, overseas citizens get many privileges like the local people of India. However, anyone who has been a Bangladeshi or Pakistani or any of his/her family is not eligible for OCI.

Apart from that OCI are those people who have permission to live, work, and travel in India permanently. In addition, for this, they need to maintain their foreign citizenship which comes under the 1955 Section 7A CZ Act.

It was all about the overseas citizenship of India (OCI). Moving ahead, let's know the eligibility criteria for the card.

Eligibility for OCI Card

In general, individuals who are qualified for the OCI card registration are as follows:

An individual who has an Indian passport by his/her side,

• A person whose parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents were born in India or lived there. However, none of them should be citizens of Bangladesh and Pakistan.
• A minor whose both parents are Indians or one of them is Indian.
• A foreign national is also eligible to get the OCI card if he/she is married to an Indian citizen or OCI cardholder. However, for this registration of their marriage and sustaining it for two years is compulsory.

These are the following eligibility criteria that a person needs to fulfill to get the OCI card. Moving further, let's know about the application for an OCI card and its perks.

Application for OCI Card

As mentioned above, people who moved from India and earned foreign citizenship are eligible for OCI. With this, the following are the perks that come along with the OCI status:

• With an OCI card by your side, you can visit India multiple times as you want for multiple purposes.
• In addition, during your stay in India, you do not need to report to the police.
• Get the economic, financial, and education parity with NRIs. However, you are not allowed to do agriculture or plantation activities.
• If you have registered yourself as an OCI for five years and lived in India for one year, you can apply for Indian citizenship. For this, you can apply through section 5 (1) (g) 1955 Citizenship Act.

It is how the application for an OCI card works. In addition, these are the perks it provides to people who apply for it. However, the processing time for OCI applications has not changed. Further, do you know apart from these, there are more OCI benefits? Read below to know more.

Benefits of Having an OCI Card

These are the additional benefits you get when you have an OCI card by your side:

• Exemption to report the police authorities during your stay in India.
• In the case of flight prices in internal sectors of India, as a registered overseas citizen of India, you will be treated equally to the Indian residents.
• The prices of the Wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in India will remain the same for you like the domestic Indian visitors.
• In terms of inter-country adoption, Indian children, registered OCI will be equally known to NRIs.
• The visiting fees for historical sites, monuments, and museums in India will remain the same for both NRIs and OCIs. In addition, you are also allowed to pursue the following professionals: doctors, CA, and more.
• The NRI rights in India are the same to appear for the pre-medical tests or other exams in India. However, they need to follow the relevant acts for admission.

These are the perks that you get as an OCI cardholder in India. Well, with benefits the drawbacks of it also surface the OCI cardholders. Moving further, let's know some of the disadvantages of OCI cards.

Disadvantages of OCI Card

The following services not allowed to OCI cardholders are as follows:

• An individual who has an OCI card is not allowed to vote in the Indian elections. In addition, he/she cannot be part of Parliament, Legislative Council, or Assembly. Also, he/she cannot hold constitutional positions like a judge in the high or supreme court, president, or work for the government.
• The OCI card holders are not entitled to get benefits from government subsidies.
• Apart from that, they are not eligible to get the repatriation perks from the government of India.
• For public services, OCI card holders need to pay the same fees as foreigners. It includes wildlife sanctuaries and national parks.
• Another disadvantage of the OCI card is the cardholder may need to pay income tax on the income they earned in India.

These are the drawbacks that an OCI card holder gets along with the OCI status. Moving ahead, now let's move to the key topic- changes in OCI card rules and regulations and gather some information.

Key Changes in OCI Card Rules and Regulations in India

The central government of India has decided to ease the re-issuing of the process of OCI cards. This decision was made on the orders of Shri Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister of India. Apart from this, there are many more OCI card rules and regulations changed in India for OCI cardholders. To know, read the section below.

No More Registration for Living in India

One of the perks that OCI cardholders receive from the OCI card rules and regulations changes in India is registration. The individuals do not need to register for their living in India. Now, a defined competent authority FRRO or Indian mission provides them a special permit to live in the nation.

Lifelong Visa with Multiple Entry

It is well-known to everyone that OCI card holders have permission for multiple entries in India for several purposes. However, now for some specific activities, they do not get special permission. These are as follows:

• Tabligh/ Missionary/ Journalistic/ Mountaineering activities
• Research activities
• Visit to places or areas notified as prohibited/ protected/ restricted space by the Indian Government.
• Employment or Internship with any foreign government organization or India-based foreign diplomatic missions.
• For this applicants need to grant special permission from FRRO or Indian mission.

At Par with Non-Resident Indians (NRIs)

The following rights are the same for OCI cardholders like NRIs:

• Sale or purchase of immovable properties, except farmhouses, agriculture land, or plantations.
• Inter-country adoption of children born in India. However, do need to follow the rules and procedure of adoption under applicable laws.
• Pursuing specific professions like dentist, lawyer, or CA in India. Considering this, the applicants need to follow the applicable laws for OCIs.
• Taking part in the all-India entrance exams like NEET, JEE, or other tests makes them eligible for admission to the NRI seat. However, OCI cardholders are not eligible to get admission to the seats that are reserved for Indian citizens.

At Par with Indian Nationals

The following rights are the same for OCI cardholders like Indian Nationals:

• Airfares inside India
• Entry fees for national parks, monuments, historical sites, wildlife sanctuaries, and museums in India

At Par with Foreign Nationals

The following rights are the same for OCI cardholders like Foreign Nationals:

• Aspects of financial fields not listed in the OCI Notification 2021
• Under the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (FEMA) privileges and rights are not stated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in any notification.

These are some of the OCI card rules and regulations changes taken place for OCI cardholders in India. Also, it is vital to know that the 2021 notification OCI issued by MHA standards has replaced all the previous ones. It includes 11 April 2005, 5 January 2027, and 5 January 2009 notifications. Apart from that more things need to be considered by the cardholders. Read on to learn about them.

Aadhar/PAN Card Linking for OCI/NRI

According to the Income Tax Department of India, it is mandatory for OCI/NRI to link their PAN with an Aadhar card. If an applicant fails to do so, the government will inactivate his/her PAN card. In addition, he/she will also have to pay Rs. 1000 as a penalty as per the 2021 Finance Bill. Well, with this recent Aadhar-PAN connecting deadline both NRI and OCI were frightened.

However, as per Section 139AA of the 1961 Income Tax Act, the following thing does not apply to people who do not have Aadhar or Enrolment ID. Also, who belongs to the following categories:

• Individuals who live in the states of Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, and Meghalaya.
• Non-Indian citizens.
• As stated by the 1961 Income Tax Act, Non-resident Indians.
• People aged above or equal to any time during the last year.

Well, the linking of the Aadhar card with the PAN card depends on whether the OCI card holders have Aadhar cards on their site. Apart from that, it also relies on the fact that OCI cardholders have earned any income from India or not. With this, moving ahead, let's know the other OCI card rules and regulations change for the overseas citizens in India.

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Reporting and Registration Requirements for OCI

For whatever duration you stay as an OCI cardholder in India you now do not need to inform the FRRO. However, in case you change your residential address or make changes in your occupation you need to inform them. This information you can provide them either through email or going in-person.

Changes in it provide the OCI cardholders the perk to live in India without any restrictions. In addition, will save them from the hassle of reporting and registration. Moving ahead, let's know about the restrictions of dual citizenship for OCI.

Dual Citizenship Restrictions

The OCI initiative was the answer of the Indian government for Indian-origin persons who were asking for dual citizenship. This initiative was introduced in August 2005. It provides the cardholders equal opportunity like the NRIs. However, it restricted them to political rights such as holding public office or voting rights. In addition, with the adoption of the 2021 notification the right of OCIs further restricted.

While the cardholders still live and leave India, there are new limits on their educational and work options. The launch of new OCI card rules and regulations is a step back for the country from the progress of dual citizenship. Further, it also includes the OCI cardholder's placing in the category of NRI.

It was all about the dual citizenship restrictions of the country for OCIs. With this, moving ahead let's know the other travel rule change for OCIs.

Old Passport is Not Required for India Travel

As per the announcement of the Indian government, Indian-origin people with OCI cards do not need to carry their old or expired passports while coming to India. The card which is given to Indian heritage people all over the world allows them to enjoy their travelling in the nation. In addition, it offers them the same perks as an Indian national. However, restricts them from voting rights, farming, and government services. Considering this, provide them visa-free travel and lifelong India visa with multiple entries.

This is another OCI rule and regulation change announced by the Indian government for OCI. Well, it provides both perks and drawbacks to them. However, save them from the process of visa application. Moving further, let us know the impact of changes in rules on employment options.

Impact on Employment Options

As per the OCI notification 2021, OCI cardholders need to have the permits to be a part of any university and organization. However, this rule is for specific professionals and courses only. It includes journalists, research scholars, employees, or interns in foreign government firms. In case the company or individual fails to do so strict legal actions will be taken against them. This is because the breaking of this rule cannot be discounted. Apart from that, the OCI cardholder also provides the guarantee that the addresses of their employees are updated with FRRO. It may be wrong from an administrative sense for both employees and employers.

Apart from that, it is vital to know that prior the notifications were the same for the OCI and NRIs. With this, the OCI cardholders now have equal opportunity like any foreign nationals in any commercial field. Further, it may boost the employment chances of OCIs in India. Moving ahead, let's talk about POI and its provisions for people.

Provision for People Registered as POI

On 9 January 2015, the Indian government stated that Persons of Indian Origin (POI) and OCI schemes would be one. All the existing cardholders of PIO registered under the new PIO program in 2002 need to apply for an OCI card. Since the merger of both schemes, the PIO card conversion deadline has been extended several times. It provided the PIO cardholders more time to apply for registration of OCI cards.

Well, the merger of both schemes provides perks to both the cardholders. In addition, it offers them several perks like employment options in India, visa-free living, and more.

Conclusion

As an OCI cardholder, you need to remain updated with the OCI card rules and regulations. It assists you in making the most of your status in India. However, when it comes to managing all these processes, people often face issues. Considering this, having a reliable partner by your side in this situation is vital. With Visament, we provide you with all the services that you are looking for. Be it an OCI card application, passport reissue, or any services related to passports, visas, or OCI. Plus, we offer you the best services with the utmost competitive prices. So, do contact us now if you need to renew your OCI card in the USA, UK, or anything else related to these services.