Who is Eligible to Apply for OCI Card?

The individual who meets these criteria is eligible for an OCI card:

• A foreign national who was eligible to become a native of India on 26.01.1950
• The one who belonged to a territory that became part of India after 15.08.1947
• The one who is the grandchildren of aforesaid individuals is eligible for an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card
• The citizens whose parents or grandparents were Indian under the Government of India Act, 1935, even if they were ordinarily residing in any foreign country on 26.01.1950
• A citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh is not eligible for it.

Natives or NRI’s Documents to Enclose as Proof

1. Citizenship proof
2. Evidence of self or parents or grandparents (consider the aforesaid eligibility) such as:

• Copy of the passport
• (ii)Photocopy of the domicile certificate issued by the competent authority like birth or educational certificate
• Any other proof like a certificate of residence or place of birth of self/parents/grandparents from First Class Magistrate/District Magistrate (DM) of your area
• Miscellaneous documents can also be considered as proof of your identity, such as school certificate, Agricultural land ownership certificate, birth certificate, etc

3. Application fee via a Demand Draft worth INR 15,000 for each general applicant or equivalent in local currency and INR 8,000
4. If a PIO card holder, submit a copy of his/her PIO card.

Where to Apply for?

Mostly, non-residents apply for it. For them, the Indian embassy or the Indian Mission/Post of the country where he is ordinarily residing can be the office to apply for an OCI card.

If he or she is in India, the FRRO office in Amritsar, Bangalore, Kozhikode, Chennai, Kochi, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkota, and Thiruvanathapuram can be visited for OCI card application.

Is there any fee for OCI?

Certainly, it’s a service that requires you to pay out a certain amount as it is a fee. If you fill it in India, INR 15,000 will be charged. However, it’s already shared above. This amount is fixed for general cases.

And, the PIO card holders shall have to pay INR 1,400. If you have any minor for this category, INR 8,000 would be payable. The mode of payment would be a Demand Draft (DD).

How many days does it take to have your OCI card?

The application for OCI card registration hardly takes a month or 30 days. This is the case of getting no errors or having valid information in the application.

Any erroneous information can be a reason for the delay in its processing. It may take as long as 120 days to complete its processing.

Refund Available if Your Application is Refused

If your application for OCI card registration is not approved or the card is not granted, you can apply for a refund. It can be an amount equivalent to USD 250 in your local currency. This happens when your registration is refused.

If you’ve applied from India, INR 1400 will not be refunded. It is just because the amount will be treated as a processing fee.

How Do You Know that You’re Registered as OCI?

To discover if you are registered for OCI, find a registration certificate. It is available in the form of a booklet. It is authenticated by multiple entries. Also, there is a multi-purpose OCI ‘U’ visa sticker is put on the passport of the applicant.

This is not easy because the applicant has to verify it with an original passport to the Indian embassy or mission/ post/ FRRO. After this receipt, you get a letter/ verification letter to prove it. You can show the receipt of the acceptance letter for verifying the status of your application online.

Benefits of an OCI

There are multiple benefits of an OCI card, especially for non-residents. Let’s discover them.

• It ensures multiple entries, which means that you can have a multi-purpose lifelong visa to visit India.
• You don’t need to report to a police authority for explaining any length of stay in India.
• Equality with NRIs in financial, economic, and educational domains, except that you cannot acquire agricultural or plantation properties.
• The already registered Overseas Citizen of India shall be treated at par if compared with NRIs if it comes to inter-country adoption of Indian children.
• Like (iv) point, the registered Overseas Citizens of India shall be treated at par with resident Indian nationals if it comes to tariffs on air fares in domestic sectors in India.
• The registered Overseas Citizens of India shall have to pay the same entry fee as domestic Indian visitors do to visit national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in India
• If it’s a matter of paying fees for visiting national monuments, historical places, or museums here in India, they will have parity with Non-Resident Indians.
• There will be equality if they pursue the following professions in India

1. doctors, dentists, nurses, and pharmacists
2. Advocates
3. Architects
4. chartered accountants

(ix) They will be treated equally with Non-Resident Indian if it comes to appearing in the All India Pre-medical Test. It can be such other tests that make them eligible for admission in pursuance of the provisions mentioned in the relevant Acts.

(x)  State Governments treat the OCI registration booklets as proof of their identity for any services rendered to them. If such people require proof of residence, they may share an affidavit. It should be attested by a notary public, which should state that a specific address may be treated as their place of residence in India. They can also share overseas residential addresses together with their email ID in the affidavit.