{"id":15169,"date":"2025-05-20T08:49:30","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T03:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=15169"},"modified":"2026-02-09T13:31:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T08:01:52","slug":"oci","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/oci\/","title":{"rendered":"Overseas Citizen of India (OCI)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Overseas Citizen of India Latest News<\/h2>\n<p>The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation launched the new Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Portal in New Delhi recently.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: inherit; font-size: 35px; font-style: inherit;\">About Overseas Citizen of India<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Overseas Citizenship of India\u00a0<strong>(OCI) Scheme<\/strong>\u00a0was\u00a0<strong>introduced\u00a0<\/strong>by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955,\u00a0<strong>in August 2005.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Who can be an Overseas Citizenship of India?\u00a0<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Central Government may, subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be prescribed, on an application made in this behalf, register as an OCI a foreign national\n<ul>\n<li>who was a<strong>\u00a0citizen of India at the time of,<\/strong>\u00a0or at\u00a0<strong>any time after, 26th January, 1950;\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>who\u00a0<strong>was eligible to become a citizen of India<\/strong>\u00a0on 26th January, 1950;\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>who\u00a0<strong>belonged to a territory that became part of India after 15th August, 1947<\/strong>;<\/li>\n<li>who is a\u00a0<strong>child or a grandchild or a great grandchild of such a citizen;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>who is a\u00a0<strong>minor child\u00a0<\/strong>of such persons mentioned above;\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>who is a\u00a0<strong>minor child<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>whose both parents are citizens\u00a0<\/strong>of India\u00a0<strong>or one of the parents is a citizen\u00a0<\/strong>of India- is eligible for registration as an OCI cardholder.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Besides, a\u00a0<strong>spouse of foreign origin of a citizen of India<\/strong>\u00a0or a spouse of foreign origin\u00a0<strong>of an OCI Cardholder<\/strong>\u00a0and whose\u00a0<strong>marriage\u00a0<\/strong>has been\u00a0<strong>registered and subsisted for\u00a0<\/strong>a continuous period of\u00a0<strong>not less than two years\u00a0<\/strong>immediately preceding the presentation of the application is also eligible for registration as an OCI cardholder.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>However,\u00a0<strong>no person who or either of whose parents or grandparents or great-grandparents<\/strong>\u00a0is or had been a\u00a0<strong>citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh,\u00a0<\/strong>or such other country as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify,\u00a0<strong>shall be eligible for registration as an<\/strong>\u00a0OCI Cardholder.<\/li>\n<li>The foreigner has to be ordinarily resident of India to be eligible to apply for OCI registration in India.\n<ul>\n<li>&#8216;<strong>Ordinarily resident&#8217;<\/strong>\u00a0will mean a person\u00a0<strong>staying\u00a0<\/strong>in a particular country or in India\u00a0<strong>for a continuous period of 6 months.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Overseas Citizenship of India Benefits<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Multi-purpose, multiple entries,\u00a0<\/strong>and a<strong>\u00a0lifelong visa\u00a0<\/strong>for visiting India.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Exemption from foreigner registration obligation<\/strong>\u00a0for any length of stay in India.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Equivalence to NRIs in respect of economic, financial, educational fields<\/strong>. An\u00a0<strong>exception in<\/strong>\u00a0the matter of\u00a0<strong>acquisition of agricultural and plantation properties.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Equality with NRIs for intercountry adoption.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Offer similar domestic airfare charges to OCI cardholders as of a resident Indian national.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Equality with an Indian national for entry fees to national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The OCI cardholder professionals have the opportunity to\u00a0<strong>pursue the profession\u00a0<\/strong>in pursuance of the provisions contained in the relevant act,\u00a0<strong>such as Doctors, Dentists, Nurses, Pharmacists, Advocates, Architects\u00a0<\/strong>and Chartered Accountants.\u00a0\n<ul>\n<li>However, these professionals are\u00a0<strong>required to appear for the All India Pre-Medical test or any such other relevant test<\/strong>\u00a0for eligibility towards admission in fulfilment of the provisions contained in the applicable act.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What Are All Overseas Citizenship of India Cardholders Not Entitled to?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>OCI is\u00a0<strong>not\u00a0<\/strong>to be misconstrued\u00a0<strong>as &#8216;dual citizenship&#8217;<\/strong>. OCI does\u00a0<strong>not confer political rights to vote;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>to be a\u00a0<strong>member of a Legislative Assembly\u00a0<\/strong>or of a\u00a0<strong>Legislative Council<\/strong>\u00a0or of the\u00a0<strong>Parliament\u00a0<\/strong>of India;<\/li>\n<li>to\u00a0<strong>hold Indian constitutional posts\u00a0<\/strong>such as that of the President, Vice President, Judge of the Supreme Court or High Court etc.;<\/li>\n<li>He\/she<strong>\u00a0cannot normally hold employment in the Government;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>to\u00a0<strong>undertake any Missionary work, Mountaineering and Journalism<\/strong>\u00a0work\u00a0<strong>without prior permission\u00a0<\/strong>of the Govt. of India;<\/li>\n<li>OCI card holders shall also\u00a0<strong>require Protected Area Permit (PAP)\/Restricted Area Permit (RAP)\u00a0<\/strong>to visit any place which falls within the Protected\/Restricted Area notified by the Government as in the case of any other foreigner.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Renunciation of Overseas Citizenship of India<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>If any overseas citizen of India of full age and capacity makes in the prescribed manner a declaration renouncing his overseas citizenship of India, the declaration shall be registered by the Central Government, and; upon such registration, that person shall cease to be an OCI.<\/li>\n<li>Where a person ceases to be an overseas citizen of India under subsection (1),\u00a0<strong>every minor child of that person<\/strong>\u00a0registered as an OCI, shall thereupon\u00a0<strong>cease to be an OCI.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Cancellation of Registration as Overseas Citizenship of India<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>T<\/strong>he Central Government may, by order, cancel the registration granted under sub-section(1) of section 7A if it is satisfied that\n<ul>\n<li>The\u00a0<strong>registration\u00a0<\/strong>as an OCI was\u00a0<strong>obtained by means of fraud, false representation,\u00a0<\/strong>or the\u00a0<strong>concealment of any material fact.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>The OCI has<strong>\u00a0shown disaffection towards the Constitution<\/strong>\u00a0of India as by law established.<\/li>\n<li>The OCI has,\u00a0<strong>during any war<\/strong>\u00a0in which India may be engaged,\u00a0<strong>unlawfully traded or communicated with an enemy<\/strong>\u00a0or been engaged in, or associated with, any business or commercial activity that was to his knowledge carried on in such a manner as to assist an enemy in that war.<\/li>\n<li>The OCI has,\u00a0<strong>within five years after registration<\/strong>, been\u00a0<strong>sentenced to imprisonment for\u00a0<\/strong>a term of\u00a0<strong>not less than two years.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>It is necessary to do so i<strong>n the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India,<\/strong>\u00a0the\u00a0<strong>security\u00a0<\/strong>of India,<strong>\u00a0friendly relations\u00a0<\/strong>of India\u00a0<strong>with any foreign country,\u00a0<\/strong>or in the\u00a0<strong>interests of the general public.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Overseas Citizen of India FAQs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1:<\/strong>\u00a0Can OCI live in India permanently?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans:<\/strong>\u00a0Yes, OCI cardholders can reside in India permanently.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2:<\/strong>\u00a0Can OCI apply for Aadhaar?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans:<\/strong>\u00a0OCI cardholders who have stayed in India for more than 182 days in twelve months can get an Aadhaar.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3:<\/strong>\u00a0Does OCI pay tax in India?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans:<\/strong>\u00a0OCI cardholders have to pay income tax in India on the income generated in the country.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source<\/strong>:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pib.gov.in\/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=2129691\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">PIB<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) Scheme was launched in August 2005 by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955, to offer overseas Indians limited dual rights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":48338,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[594,21,23],"class_list":{"0":"post-15169","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","8":"tag-overseas-citizen-of-india","9":"tag-prelims-pointers","10":"tag-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","11":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15169"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86909,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15169\/revisions\/86909"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}