Overseas Citizenship of India Services

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Extension of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) scheme to Indian Origin persons of upto sixth generation in French overseas territory of Guadeloupe and Martinique.

The Embassy of India, Paris is happy to announce that the Government of India has accepted the long pending demand of Persons of Indian Origin in French overseas territory of Guadeloupe and Martinique, for registration as OCI Cardholders for descendants of upto the sixth generation of the original Indian immigrant who arrived in the Guadeloupe and Martinique from the Indian territories.

The applications for OCI card will be accepted and granted based on merit of each case. Some of the acceptable documents as proof of Indian origin are Family Book (Livret de Familie) that traces ancestry, birth / death / marriage certificates of ancestors issued by local authorities and establishing their Indian origin together with family tree or certificate issued by local authority confirming Indian Origin (of upto sixth generation). All documents are required to be apostilled before final submission.

It is further requested that, the applicants may first send by email the scanned copies of their documents (before apostille) for necessary checks to Indian Embassy, Paris at oci[dot]paris[at]mea[dot]gov[dot]in with copy to cons[dot]paris[at]mea[dot]gov[dot]in and mincons[dot]paris[at]mea[dot]gov[dot]in. This will facilitate smooth processing of the applications. All other and general rules, regulations and procedure as stated below for OCI applications remain same.

General Information

Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) services have been outsourced to M/s VF Services (UK) Ltd, with effect from 15 January 2015. All applications need to be submitted through M/s VF Services website. All relevant procedural and document requirements have been listed therein : https://services.vfsglobal.com/fra/en/ind/

For application and detailed information, click here : https://ociservices.gov.in/

For document checklist, click here : OCI checklist & Information booklet for OCI

The OCI Card is a multiple entry life-long visa which enables the holder to have unlimited travel and stay in India.

It has been decided to compulsorily capture the biometrics of overseas citizens of India (OCI) applicants during registration as OCI cardholders. All applicants are therefore advised to kindly give their biometrics at the time of submission of their applications at M/s VF Services.

All applicants who are applying for OCI card on spouse basis under section 7A(1)(d) of Citizenship Act, 1955 need to come to the Embassy for personal interview. Such applications will be accepted by VFS only after personal interviews and recommendation of the Embassy. Timing for personal interview is between 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM on all working days.

New Guidelines w.r.t. renewal of OCI cards

As per the extant law, a foreigner of Indian origin or a foreign spouse of an Indian citizen or foreign spouse of an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholder, can be registered as an OCI cardholder. OCI card is a life-long visa for entry into and stay in India with a number of other major benefits attached to it which are not available to other foreigners.

Hitherto, the OCI card was required to be re-issued each time a new passport was issued up to 20 years of age and once after completing 50 years of age, in view of biological changes in the face of the applicant. With a view to ease the regulations for OCI cardholders, it has now been decided by the Government of India to simplify the process. Therefore, now a person who is reregistered as an OCI cardholder prior to attaining the age of 20 years will have to get the OCI card re-issued only once i.e. immediately after being issued with new passport following his/her completing 20 years of age. If a person has obtained registration as OCI cardholder after attaining the age of 20 years, there will be no requirement of re-issue of OCI card.

With a view to update the data regarding new passports obtained by the OCI cardholder, he/she shall upload a copy of the new passport containing his/her photo and also a latest photo on the online OCI portal, each time a new passport is issued up to 20 years of age and once after completing 50 years of age. These documents may be uploaded by the OCI cardholder within 3 months of receipt of the new passport.

In the case of those who have been registered as OCI cardholder as spouse of foreign origin of a citizen of India or an OCI cardholder, the person concerned will be required to upload on the system, a copy of the new passport containing the photo of the passport holder and also a latest photo along with a declaration that their marriage is still subsisting. This is required to be done each time a new passport is issued. These documents may be uploaded within three months of receipt of his/ her new passport.

On updation of details on the system, an auto acknowledgement through e-mail will be sent to the OCI cardholder informing that the updated details have been taken on record. There will be no restriction on the OCI cardholder to travel to/ from India during the period from the date of issue of new passport till the date of final acknowledgement of his/ her documents in the web-based system.

All the above services of uploading documents will be provided on gratis basis to the OCI cardholders. Please refer to the below link for more information in this regard:

https://ociservices.gov.in/MiscNew.pdf

Fee Structure for OCI Services :-

(a) Registration as OCI cardholder under section 7A :- 252 Euros

(b) Issuance of duplicate OCI card in case of loss/damage :- 92 Euros

(d) Miscellaneous OCI Services fees :- 23 Euros

Eligibility Conditions

A foreign national is eligible to apply for an OCI card if he/she:

Was a citizen of India on or at any time after the commencement of the Constitution; or
Was eligible to become a citizen of India at the time of the commencement of the Constitution; or
Belonged to a territory that became part of India after 15.08.1947; or
Who is a child or a grandchild or a great grandchild of such a citizen mentioned above; or
A person who is a minor child of a person mentioned above; or
A person who is a minor child and whose both parents are citizens of India or one of the parents is a citizen of India; or
A spouse of foreign origin of a citizen of India or spouse of foreign origin of an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder registered under section 7A and whose marriage has been registered and subsisted for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of the application under this section:

You are not eligible to apply for an OCI card in the following cases:

The applicant will not be eligible for OCI, if the applicant/their parents had ever been a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh
Foreign Defence/Military/Police/ex-Defence personnel and the persons working with security agencies are not eligible for OCI card

Re-Issue of OCI Card

OCI Card Re-Issue is for applicants currently holding an OCI Card, which needs to be renewed for the following reasons:

Change in the passport number
Change in personal particulars
Loss or damage of OCI Card

Conversion of PIO into OCI Card

Merger of PIO Card and OCI Card: Clarifications for the PIO Card holders.

Advantage of obtaining an OCI card in lieu of the PIO Card. OCI card is a smart card, which will facilitate quicker immigration and consular services.
PIO card holders can now submit OCI card application at their place of normal residence. This is in modification of the earlier instructions that they should apply only at the location where the PIO card was issued.
Foreign national spouse of an Indian national who is no more will be eligible for OCI card provided he/she has not married again.
Foreign national children of an Indian national who is no more will also be eligible for OCI card.
Foreign national spouse of a PIO/OCI cardholder whose parents/grandparents are/were of Indian origin will also be eligible for OCI card.
Holders of handwritten PIO cards can travel to India till 31.12.2024. However, this is subject to ICAO not notifying handwritten travel documents (i.e. PIO cards) invalid for travel. Nonetheless all PIO card holders are requested to convert it to OCI as early as possible"