The Indian government has handed a breather to the holders of Overseas Citizen of India card, temporarily relaxing a rule that requires the OCI holders aged under 20 and over 50 to renew the document.
According to a new notification issued by India’s Ministry of Home, OCI holders up to the age of twenty and those over fifty who have renewed their passport but haven’t got their OCI reissued will be able to travel to India until 30th June 2020. Such travelers are required to carry their old passport along with the current one and the OCI card.
The Indian government says the relaxation has been given in view of "inconvenience or difficulty" faced by OCI holders in travelling to India.
The OCI card, which is a ‘lifetime visa’ for people of Indian origin, has been a cause of much confusion and consternation for the past few months, especially since October, when several India-bound passengers were denied boarding by multiple airlines, citing issues with their OCI.
SBS Punjabi has reported on various aspects of the issues, including families bearing loss of thousands of dollars after being denied boarding because many travellers did not have re-issed OCI cards after they got new passports; and a lack of clarity on the rules when they were suddenly enforced. According to the Indian government, these rules have been in existence since 2005.
According to the Government of India rules, OCI cardholders up to the age of twenty must have their OCI renewed every time they change their passport. For those aged 50 and over, the OCI card is required to be re-issued only once on acquiring a new passport and OCI holders between the age of 21 and 50 don’t have to renew it.
The new notification, temporarily relaxing the OCI rule has been circulated to Indian missions abroad.
“In case an OCI car holder below the age of 20 years has not got the OCI card re-issued on change of passport, [they[ may travel on the strength of [their] existing OCI card bearing old passport number subject to the condition that along with the new passport, the OCI cardholder carries old passport mentioned in the OCI card,” the Consulate General of India Melbourne said in a statement.
“In case an OCI card holder who has attained the age of 50 years and has got [their] passport renewed subsequently but has not got [their] OCI card re-issued on renewal of the passport, they may travel on the strength of the existing OCI card along with the old and new passports.”
The CGI, however, advised that OCI holders should take steps now to comply with the OCI guidelines that require people up to the age of twenty to renew their OCI each time they obtain a new passport and people over the age of 50 to have the OCI renewed only once on getting a new passport.
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