Government of India Extends Timeline by a Year for Re-Issuance of Overseas Citizenship of India Card
- This is the latest relaxation in requirements in addition to the one announced earlier.
The Government of India has extended the timeline for re-issuance of Overseas Citizenship of India or OCI card by a year – from Dec. 31, 2021, to Dec.31, 2022. The extension has been made to avoid inconvenience to OCI cardholders who are required to get their OCI cards reissued on account of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to a press release issued by the Consulate General of India in New York.
An OCI is given to Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) who immigrated from India and subsequently acquired citizenship in a foreign country.
This is the latest relaxation in requirements issued by the Indian government in addition to the one announced earlier. The mandatory requirement of re-issuance of an OCI card each time a new passport is issued to a foreigner up to 20 years of age and once after completing 50 years of age has also been dispensed with.
An OCI cardholder is required to get the card re-issued only once when a new passport is issued after completing 20 years of age. The fee for this service is $25 plus $3 for the Indian Community Welfare Fund, the release said. Additionally, the applicant needs to pay $15.90 to the Outsourcing Agency, VFS Global, as a service charge, and a fee for any optional services used like shipping labels, etc.
However, a foreign spouse of an Indian Citizen or spouse of foreign origin of an OCI cardholder is required to upload a copy of the new passport and a recent photo online each time a new passport is issued, along with a declaration on subsisting of marriage, copy of the Indian passport of the Indian spouse/passport and OCI card of the OCI cardholder spouse.
Additionally, the requirement of carrying old and new passports, along with the OCI card, has been done away with. Henceforth, an OCI cardholder traveling on the strength of an existing OCI card bearing an old passport number is not required to carry the old passport. However, carrying the new (current) passport is mandatory.
(Top photo, ociservices.gov.in)