On 26 March, the Government of India announced a relaxation in its guidelines for Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders, a lifelong visa given to people of Indian origin living overseas.
The requirement of carrying old, expired passports along with OCI cards while travelling to India has now been done away with.
Highlights:
- OCI holders are no longer required to carry old passports for travel to India.
- Those aged under 20 and over 50 get more time to get OCI cards re-issued.
- Raj Kumar, Consul General of India in Melbourne, confirmed the new guidelines are now in effect.
A press release issued by the Indian government states, ‘OCI holders travelling on the strength of existing OCI card bearing old passport number is not required to carry the old passport. However, carrying the new (current) passport is mandatory.'
In addition, the government has also given a breather to some OCI cardholders. Those aged under 20 and over 50 will be given more time till 31 December to renew the travel document.
This provision was first introduced in 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The timeline has been extended many times.
However, this is the first time that the rule around carrying old passports has been relaxed.
Raj Kumar, Consul General of India (CGI) in Melbourne, told SBS Punjabi that the new guidelines have been circulated amongst Indian missions overseas.
“The new guidelines are now in effect as per the notification we have received from the Indian government. People of Indian origin who hold an OCI card and wish to travel home, will now only have to carry their current passport with it. There is no need to carry your old or expired passports,” Mr Kumar confirmed.
The OCI card has been a cause of much confusion and consternation, especially since October 2019, when several India-bound passengers were denied boarding by airlines, citing issues with their OCI card.
SBS Punjabi reported on various aspects of the issues, including families bearing losses of thousands of dollars after being denied boarding because many travellers did not have re-issued 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.
Addressing the continuing ambiguity, Mr Kumar said, “the reason that the confusion still exists is that sometimes airlines do not have the latest information on fresh guidelines.”
“When this issue emerged in late 2019, the Indian government provided clarification to all the private airlines. I hope that this time too, the airlines have received the new rules,” he added.
On 4 March, the Indian government had announced a raft of new guidelines for OCI holders, which stated that they can apply for a multiple entry lifelong visa to visit India for any purpose.
However, they will be required to hold a special permit for some activities, including missionary, journalistic activities or to visit any place within the 'protected or restricted or prohibited areas', as stipulated by the government.
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