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By Vipul Jain | 26 Jun, 2025
I am an Overseas Citizen of India currently living in New Zealand. Last year, I planned to visit India, and for this, I applied for a 180-day Indian e-visa. It is a convenient and quick way to travel to India. Here I want to share my experience with all of you on how I entered Indian on an e-visa, and became an OCI cardholder. Confused, well not to be. I will tell you everything about how I plan to apply for an OCI card in India, including the OCI card timeline and the process for Indian e-visa extension. So, let's start with my entry journey in India.
The experience of going to your home country is exceptional. I applied for an e-visa 1 week before my planned journey. I enjoyed living there and wanted to extend my e-visa. However, I cannot do so as e-visas are non-convertible and non-extendable. Considering this, I applied again for a 180-day tourist visa before the expiry of my current visa. It provided me with more time to connect with my Indian roots and explore the country.
While I was staying in India, despite having a generous stay, I got to know about the limits of having temporary visas and the restrictions that come with them. Also, I soon realized that no matter how much I wanted to stay in my home country, I could not extend my visa after its expiry, and had to return. Well, I do not want to cut short my connection with India due to visa expiry and paperwork.
When thinking of another option to stay longer in India, I learned about the OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) card. Although I heard about the card from my relatives and friends, I do not know what it was. Well, for me it was like a jackpot as it allows visa-free travel to India without any restriction on days. Also, it offers several privileges similar to citizens of India. For me, it was a perfect solution for my long-term stay in the country. So, I decided to apply for an OCI card in India.
However, for this, I need to fulfill the eligibility criteria, provide the requested documents, and follow a lengthy procedure. Handling this alone without a proper understanding of the process was both difficult and stressful for me. To ease this down, I took help from Visament, an expert service provider who helps foreign Indian citizens with their immigration and visa needs.
This is how, from entering India on an e-visa, I came across applying for an OCI card. Moving further, let's know how Visament simplified my OCI card application in India.
As I mentioned above, I did not know about the OCI card and always heard about it from my relatives and friends. So, applying for the OCI card alone without proper understanding was quite a challenging thing for me. Although I gathered all the information about the OCI card timeline with Indian e-visa extension online however I did not take the risk of facing the application rejection. This is how I came across Visament when I was searching for a reliable service provider who could help with my OCI application. Connecting with them was a good decision for me, as the process was hectic, and surely if I had handled it alone, I might have given up during the process or faced rejection. Here is how they helped in applying for an OCI card:
This is how my OCI journey in India gets simplified with Visament. The guidance and assistance of the experts took my stress and confusion away and made my OCI application process easy. Also, when my OCI card was in process, the experts helped me to check on my current visa status. In addition, assisted me in staying compliant with the immigration laws of India and not overstaying. They even helped me in navigating the conversion process of a tourist visa to an X visa and following the FRRO rules.
Want to know about the OCI card application timeline in India? Read the next section and get your answers.
After reading the application instructions about applying for an OCI card from India, and getting connected with Visament, I applied for both my e-visa extension and OCI card on day 150. It was 1 month before the expiry of my 180-day tourist visa. Moving further, let's know the OCI card timeline with the Indian e-visa extension:
When I applied for my e-visa extension, I preferred a metro state like Delhi. Well, there are two key reasons for it. The higher authorities are found. Secondly, the process is quite faster in comparison to other states. To provide you with an idea, here I am sharing my e-visa extension timeline from Delhi and another state, i.e., Kolkata:
| Step | Description | Delhi | Kolkata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Apply for another 180-day e-tourist visa before the expiry of the current visa | From Delhi | Same thing you can do so in Kolkata |
| Day 120-135 | After knowing about the OCI card started gathering the required documents for the visa extension and OCI card | Start gathering digital and original documents | Same process |
| Day 150 | Using the FRRO portal, applied for e-visa extension | Upload the required documents, such as a passport, a visa, a passport-size photo, and the visa extension reason | Submit the same document on the FRRO website online in Kolkata |
| Day 151-165 | Waited for FRRO to process my visa application | Through email or the FRRO portal, I waited for my visa approval or follow-up | You can do the same in Kolkata |
| Day 166-180 | My application for an Indian e-visa extension got approved. | Received the digital extension letter. | Will get you an extension letter via email or on the FRRO portal |
For the OCI card, by day 150, I applied for my e-visa extension so that my visa would not expire before my OCI Application approval. Here is what my OCI card timeline looks like:
| Step | Description | Delhi | Kolkata |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 90-135 | I check whether I am eligible to apply for the OCI card. For this, I gathered the requested documents such as a passport, a surrender certificate, or more | Gather the required documents essential for the process | Collect all the necessary documents vital for the OCI application |
| By Day 150 | Using the OCI portal, fill out the OCI application form | Visament on my behalf, fill out my OCI application and upload the required documents on the site | You can do the process alone or, like me, can take help from a reliable immigration provider |
| Day 151-160 | Schedule an appointment at FRRO for biometrics and physical submission of the application | At FRRO Delhi | At FRRO Kolkata |
| Day 161-180+ | After the appointment, the government processing begins, i.e., OCI application review by FRRO and MHA officials | Took around 6-8 weeks post-application submission | 8-10 weeks after the submission of the application |
| Day 240-260 | Within the given processing time received my OCI card at the mentioned address. | I chose the courier option to receive the OCI card, and it got delivered to my Indian address. | You can choose either the courier or the pickup option to receive your OCI card |
This is what my OCI card timeline with Indian e-visa extension looked like. With this, when applying for your OCI card application in India, I apply for both my visa extension and OCI card 1 month before my visa expiry. You can also apply for your OCI card in India when you have an X1 Visa Extension. This card lets you live in India for an indefinite time without any visa requirement and stay restrictions. Also, when applying for the application, ensure all your documents are legible, clear, and complete, as any mistake or error in this can lead to OCI application rejection.
Now that I have an OCI card, I can freely travel in India without any stay restriction in the country. Apart from this, I can also buy property in India and enjoy several benefits like a local citizen of the country. This was my experience with the OCI card timeline with Indian e-visa extension. If you are also an overseas citizen of India and want to make your stay in the country permanent without any restrictions, applying for an OCI card is the best option. And to guide you, Visament is always there to assist you. Also, I could not handle the OCI application process alone without the support of Visament. So, for your OCI Application & India X1 visa, do consider them for your assistance and get your OCI card without any issue.
Generally, a new OCI card application in India takes 5-6 weeks to process from the date of application registration. However, the given timeframe may vary because of several factors such as individual circumstances, the requirement of additional documents, and increased volume of OCI applications.
Yes, you can enter India on an e-visa, but to apply for the OCI card while in India, you first need to apply for an X visa, follow the given guidelines, such as a 180-day stay, and more. Only then can you get an OCI card in India.
The limitations of staying in India on an e-visa or other temporary visa types they offer limited stay duration in the country. In addition, they are not convertible either. Additionally, for extending your stay in the country, you need to apply for another visa before the expiry of your current one, and you need to inform the FRRO for staying more in the country.
Generally, it is not advised to apply for an OCI card while staying in India on an e-visa, as the process becomes quite complicated for the applicant. In addition, he/she need to apply for another visa, i.e., X visa, to apply for the OCI card in India.
To apply for an OCI card in India as an e-visa holder, you first need to apply for an X1 visa. After that, you need an OCI application form, proof of your Indian origin, such as your surrender certificate, cancelled Indian passport, date of birth proof, passport size photographs, address proof in India and the country you are currently resident in, OCI payment receipt, and a foreign passport.
The process of applying for an OCI card in India on a temporary visa is quite complicated, especially when applying from the country you are currently living in. For your OCI application in India, first, you need to apply for an X visa. For this, you need to submit several documents. Once you get this visa, you can apply for an OCI card in India. Also, apart from the mentioned documents, you need to submit some additional papers as well during your OCI application. The document requirement may vary as per individual circumstances. Apart from this, the application process might be lengthy for you, and any error or mistake may result in application rejection. So, better prepare yourself if you are thinking of applying for an OCI card in India while on a temporary visa.
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