India

Reissuing Of OCI Cards – Process Simplified By The Indian Government

Good news for OCI (Overseas Citizens of India) cardholders. The Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to simplify the entire process of reissuing OCI Cards. This will be a great relief to the OCI cardholders and to those who are planning to apply for this card in the future. The Government of India has come to this decision under the directions given by Mr. Amit Shah, the Home Minister of India.

The new decision taken by the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) requires the OCI cardholders to get this document reissued only once after attaining the age of 20. Until now the OCI cardholders had to undergo the process of getting their card re-issued multiple times.

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What Is OCI Card?

The OCI card gives the cardholders the right to hassle-free entry in India and permits them to stay in the country for an unlimited period. The OCI card is considered to be a life-long visa and it has several attached benefits that are not available to other foreign nationals.

According to the extant law, the following people can get themselves registered for an OCI card.

Foreign nationals of Indian origin
The spouses of Indian citizens who are of foreign origin
The spouses of holders of OCI Card

The Indian government has issued around 37.72 OCI cards until recently.

Read: OCI Card For Infants – How To Apply For An Child’s OCI Card

The Reissuing Of OCI Card – The New Ruling

The MHA has put forth the following decisions on the 15^th of April 2021 regarding the re-issue of OCI cards.

An OCI cardholder who got herself/himself registered before the age of 20 will have to get this card re-issued only once.
This must be done when she/he gets a new passport after attaining 20 years of age
This is to capture her/his facial features after reaching adulthood.
If the individual has got an OCI card registration after the age of 20 she/he is not required to get this document re-issued.

The following requirements are expected of the OCI cardholder based on the new ruling.

She/he must upload a copy of the new passport each time it is issued until she/he attains 20 years of age.
A copy of the passport along with the latest photograph of the OCI cardholder must be uploaded on the online portal of OCI (Every time a new passport is issued until 20 years of age)
The passport must also be uploaded along with a recent photograph of the individual after she/he attains 50 years of age
These documents must be uploaded within 3 months of receiving the new passport
The Spouse of foreign origin of an Indian citizen and the Spouse of an OCI Cardholder have to upload all the above-mentioned documents on the online portal of OCI each time a new passport is issued.
Besides, they are also required to attach a declaration stating that they remain married to each other each time a new passport is issued until 20 years of age and once after 50 years of age.
The uploaded information will get updated on the system
The OCI holder will receive an acknowledgement through email considering the updation of the details provided
The OCI cardholder may travel to and from India without any restrictions during the period when the new passport was issued and the date of receiving acknowledgement regarding the updation of the documents submitted on the online portal of OCI.
The OCI cardholders do not have to pay any charges for uploading these documents

Until now the OCI card had to be re-issued each time the cardholder was issued a new passport until she/he completed 20 years of age and once after reaching the age of 50 years. This was done to capture the facial changes in the OCI cardholder.