|
Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI)
The Government of India on December 2, 2005 has launched the OCI scheme for the benefits of Persons of Indian Origin residing in various countries. 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). Persons of Indian Origin(PIOs) of certain category 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. Persons registered as OCI have not been given any voting rights, elections to Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha/Legislative Assembly/Council, holding constitutional posts such as President, Vice President, Judge of Supreme Count/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;
- Parity with NRIs in financial, economic and education fields except in acquisitions of agricultural or plantation properties.
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. 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. Application form, procedure, brochure and FAQs for acquiring OCI have been hosted on Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India website: www.mha.nic.in
|
