Explainer: Who is an Overseas Citizen of India? How can one apply?
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 2, 2019
Recently, author & writer Aatish Tasser’s OCI card was cancelled by
the Government on allegations that he concealed that his late father was of
Pakistani origin while submitting the PIO application. But who exactly is an
Overseas Citizen of India (OCI)? How does one apply for the OCI card? Here is
an explainer.
Indiandiaspora is the largest in the world. Migration due to trade, colonial rule, employment etc. at variousintervals of time in the history has led to the spread of India diaspora inmore than 200 +
countries as per the latest data from the Ministry of ExternalAffairs (MEA).
Afterthe formation of India as an Independent Republic, relevant legislation wasmade to define who is eligible to be Indian Citizen. The
Citizenship Act, 1955 lays down the provisionswhich determine a Citizen in India. One of the key aspects about Indiancitizenship is that it does not allow for dual citizenship i.e. an individualholding citizenship of another country cannot be a citizen of India.
Fora long time, there have been calls to review this, especially regarding peopleof Indian origin living elsewhere in the world. It was demanded that thegovernment provide recognition and extend certain privileges to persons ofIndian origin who are citizens of other countries.
Overthe years, the number of Indians working abroad or migrating to other countrieshas increased. In-fact the latest UNO data states that India
has the largest share of International migrantstock.
Efforts
towards recognizing people of Indian origin.
Personsof Indian Origin (PIO Card) came into effect on 30 March 1999. This was meantfor overseas Indians who or whose forefathers have migrated to another countryprior to Indian Independence and was valid for a period of 15 years. After alukewarm response to the scheme, a High-Level committee on Indian Diaspora madecertain recommendations.
Basedon these recommendations, the Government of India launched the ‘OverseasCitizenship of India (OCI) Scheme’ by making amendments to Citizenship Act, 1955 in 2005.
This scheme
was launched during Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, held in Hyderabad in2006.
On 09 January 2015, the Government of Indiadiscontinued the PIO card and merged  it withOCI card. In other words, those who held a PIO card by that time were deemed tohave OCI card.
What
is OCI Card?
OCIcard was introduced as a response to the multiple calls for granting dualcitizenship for overseas Indians. However, since the constitution of India doesnot allow for dual citizenship, OCI card was introduced with certainrestrictions. However, there are many benefits for persons of Indian origin whoare issued an OCI Card.
Governmentof India allows the following categories of foreign nationals to apply for OCICard.
Anyonewho is applying for OCI card should hold a valid Passport of another country.Individuals who do not have citizenship of any other country are not eligibleto gain an OCI status. Furthermore, individuals whose parents or grandparentshold citizenship of Pakistan and Bangladesh are not eligible to apply. This mayextend to other countries as notified by Government of India.
Lifelong
visa with Multiple entry, any length of stay among the benefits for OCI Card
Holders
Theexperience of the Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card scheme provided important learningsfor Government of India in terms of the benefits to that can be extended to theoverseas citizens, which can encourage them to be part of any such scheme.
Keepingthese in mind, multiple benefits have been extended to OCI Card holders likethe following.
AsOCI Card is not citizenship of India, there are certain restrictions placed on OCIcard holders like the following.
Application for OCI card can only be done online
Applying for registration as OCI Cardholder can only be done online viathe dedicated
portal.
The Fresh application requires submission of the following details.
(a) Applicant’s Information
(b) Passport details
( c) Family Details
The applicant can save the application and come back later to continuethe application process. A temporary application ID is provided during theinitial application that can used to retrieve the saved the application.
Thefollowing documents are required to be submitted along with the application.
The application along with the supporting documents needs to besubmitted online. Post the online application, the originals of the supportingdocuments need to be submitted Indian Mission or FRRO for prior verification.
In case the applicant is applying from outside India, the documents areto be submitted at the following places.
If the application is done from India, there are 13 FRROs based on the jurisdiction where these documents have to be submitted physically.
The applicants are required to pay an application fee as described below.However , currently there is no provision for online payment. Applicants can getfurther details on the relevant embassy’s website.
Cancellation of OCI Card
The Government of India can cancel
the registration of OCI card in case any of thefollowing criteria is met.
Author & writer Aatish Tasser’s OCI card was
cancelled recently on allegations that heconcealed that his late father was of Pakistani origin while submitting the PIOapplication.
USA & Malaysia have the highest number of Persons of India Origin
As per the data
provided by Ministry of External Affairs, as ofDecember 2018, there are a total of 3.09 crore (3,09,95,799) overseas Indians.
Of these, 1.31 crores ( 1,31,13,360) are NRIs , while the rest i.e. 1.78crores ( 1,78,82,369) are People of Indian Origin.  Approximately 170 countries across the globehave People of Indian Origin.  USA hasthe highest with 31.8 lakhs, followed by Malaysia who have 27.6 lakh people ofIndian Origin.
As per the data shared by the government in Lok Sabha in August 2018, more than 16 lakh OCI cards were issued in the 4-year period between 2014 & 2017.
Featured Image: OCI Card