OCI Scheme is operational from 02.12.2005
The Constitution of India does not allow holding Indian citizenship and citizenship of a foreign country simultaneously. Based on the recommendation of the High Level committee on Indian Diaspora, the Government of India decided to grant Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) commonly known as "dual citizenship". Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) of certain category as has been specified in the Brochure who migrated from India and acquired citizenship of a foreign country other than Pakistan and Bangladesh, are eligible for grant of OCI as long as their home countries allow dual citizenship in some form or the other under their local laws.
2. Persons registered as OCI have not been given any voting rights, election to Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha/Legislative Assembly/Council, holding Constitutional posts such as President, Vice President, Judge of Supreme Court/High Court etc. Registered OCIs shall be entitled to following benefits:
- Multiple entry, multi-purpose life long visa to visit India;
- Exemption from reporting to Police authorities for any length of stay in India; and
- Parity with NRIs in financial, economic and educational fields except in the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties.
3. Any further benefits to OCIs will be notified by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) under section 7B(1) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
4. A person registered as OCI is eligible to apply for grant of Indian citizenship under section 5(1)(g) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 if he/she is registered as OCI for five years and has been residing in India for one year out of the five years before making the application.
Registration
Click here to register online at Ministry of Home Affairs of India
OR you can download the Registration form here
Application Fee
For applications to be filed in India, an amount of Rs. 12,650 has to be paid for each applicant by Demand Draft in favour of 'Pay and Accounts Officer (Secretariat), Ministry of Home Affairs' payable at New Delhi. In case of PIO Card holders, an amount of Rs. 1,150 has to be paid.
In case of applications to be filed outside India, for the amount of fee to be paid in local currency, please visit the web site of the respective Indian Mission / Post.
