Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI)

[basis]

some good news for IOC and that too with simplified process. Hope they stick with their words this time.

Promulgation of Citizenship (Amendment) Ordinance, 2005

http://mha.nic.in/oci/oci-main.htm

[John]

So Basis, is this now your understanding?

You have recently become naturalised as British and therefore lost your Indian citizenship automatically. After you have got your British passport you will surrender your Indian passport.

However now you will be able to apply for Overseas Indian Citizenship ("OIC") in the near future. OK OIC is not quite the same as full Indian citizenship but nevertheless cuts out the need to obtain a visa every time you want to visit the country of your birth.

Does that sum it up?

[basis]

John,

It is not only visits but all economical rights as equivalent to a Non-resident Indian for life time.

You can work, buy / own properties, do business and have other rights etc. The only exceptions are - no voting rights, you can't contest in political elections, no government sector jobs etc - which for an ordinary Indian (Foreign Citizen) dont matter much.

so practically you are as good as Indian citizen and there is a good chance that some of the above exceptions may be withdrawn in next 5 or may be more years.

The main difference between this and the PIO card (currently given - which is valid max for 15 years) is that IOC is for lifetime and you dont have to register whatever your stay of lenght is in India. And psychologically you are better of than now as you are still Indian Citizen as well.

I can also apply for naturalisation now with peace of mind. This was one thing that held me back till now.

In fact if you read my earlier post - IND information on Indian Citizenship Law - para 7.3 states -

7.3 For the purposes of British nationality law, IOC is considered to be citizenship of another State. This will be relevant where British law requires the person to be stateless (as, for example, in Schedule 2 to the British Nationality Act 1981 or to have no citizenship or nationality apart from a qualifying form of British nationality (as, for example, in s.4B to the 1981 Act). In these cases, confirmation of non-acquisition of IOC should be sought where the applicant appears to satisfy the criteria in paragraph 7.2 above.

[John]

That is very good news.

Given the importance of this subject I have made this topic into a Sticky.

[basis]

http://www.immigrationportal.com/showth ... ge=1&pp=15

A good detailed 'mega' discussion on OIC (Overseas Indian Citizenship).

The IOC imbroglio continues.....

[rogerroger]

i have a few, actually quite a few questions on PIO cards and Indian nationality

How easy is it to get a PIO card. does it still take 3-4 week, or is that for postal applications, and if you go in person,
could it take less

i am from the state of Jammu & Kashmir, last time when i applied for a fresh Indian passport, the High Commmission in london
did an enquiry and after 3 months i ended up with a passport with a validity of one year.
Is the obtaining of a PIO card a hassle free experience

how easy is it to get a visa to India? what are the documents you require to get the visa?

what is the status on Overseas Indian Citizenship, can a person apply for it now

when one loses his indian nationality, what happens to the property he/she owns in India?
upon acquiring PIO status, can one own property in India, if there is an issue with losing the right to own property in India because of obtaining a second nationality, isit an issue if you acuiqre PIO status soon after?
or is that a grey area and the PIO makes your property rights legal again?

can a PIO card holder work in an Multinational coroporation in India?

i went through the posts on the immigrationportal and i was wondering what the "citizenship certificate" was which was being referred to, is that the OIC passport?

would the fact that the original indian passport has expired result in a negative decision on the PIO?

[basis]

I wish there was someone who knew certain answers to it. This is when we realise how mature and useful is this message board. I try to give below answers based n my understanding - may not be necessarily true.

1. PIO card takes 15 working days. It does not make any difference if you apply in person.

2. Is the obtaining of a PIO card a hassle free experience - dont know for J&K apecific but generally yes.

3. Very easy to get a visa to India - same day if the documents are ok. Visit hcilondon.net for further info.

4. what is the status on Overseas Indian Citizenship, can a person apply for it now - Don't know

5. when one loses his indian nationality, what happens to the property he/she owns in India - nothing except it is agricultural / plantation related. Then you need specifc permission from RBI

6 upon acquiring PIO status, can one own property in India, if there is an issue with losing the right to own property in India because of obtaining a second nationality, isit an issue if you acuiqre PIO status soon after?
or is that a grey area and the PIO makes your property rights legal again? - It does not matter - PIO holders have the same economic rights as those of Non Resident Indians.

7. can a PIO card holder work in an Multinational coroporation in India? - PIO holders can work in any establishment except public sector ones.

8.i went through the posts on the immigrationportal and i was wondering what the "citizenship certificate" was which was being referred to, is that the OIC passport - There is no OIC passport. Your UK passport will have a
sticker for OIC. OIC cert is similar to the Naturalisation cert you get in UK.

9.would the fact that the original indian passport has expired result in a negative decision on the PIO? - No. Again visit hcilondon.net for further details or call them up they are not that bad.

[basis]

Please look at following links -

Main site - http://www.mha.nic.in/oci-main.htm

FAQ - http://www.mha.nic.in/oci-faq.pdf

Application Form - http://www.mha.nic.in/oci-form-XIX.pdf

Brochure - http://www.mha.nic.in/oci-brouch.pdf

The above are old links - updated links are -

New links -

Main - http://mha.nic.in/oci/oci-main.htm
Intro - http://mha.nic.in/oci/intro.pdf
Application form - http://mha.nic.in/oci/OCIForm.pdf

There are features like online registration, online status enquiry
http://ociindia.nic.in/ociindia/OnlineO ... ationG.jsp
http://ociindia.nic.in/ociindia/OnlineOCIenquiry.jsp

[rogerroger]

thanks for the reply basis

what i meant was that say i got british nationality on the 1st of january 2006 and i applied for PIO on the 231st of January 2006, for the period of 30 days i would not be an NRI or a PIO ,correct

what happens to the property one owns during this period?

so with an OIC, i will be carrying only one passport, the british one, and a certificate(something like the IULR sticker) in my british passport stating that i am british

[PB]

Has anyone applied for OIC? Does anyone know whether the HCI in London are accepting applications? I am not clear about the fees. The form says £275 per applicant. So if a family of 3 (Husband, wife, child)apply - is the fee £275 or £275 X 3?

Thanks,
PB

[rogerroger]

275 pounds for OIC!!!!

is the OIC a life OIC, or does it need to be renewed after a certain set period?

[rogerroger]

just came across this article on the indian press


OCI scheme: PIO entry without visa


Hyderabad, Oct. 26: The Centre will launch the overseas citizenship of India (OCI) scheme which provides for visa-free entry into India for NRIs on November 14. It will allow persons of Indian origin (PIOs), barring those from Pakistan and Bangladesh, holding foreign passports to visit India at will. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced the scheme during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in January following a request from a large number of the 25 million NRIs living abroad.

Union minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chauhan said the government has to see how many Indians living abroad would apply OCI cards. “It will be launched in mid-November, most probably from November 14. The issue and acceptance of applications will begin from that day. It may take one or two months for processing of applications and issue of cards,” Mr Chauhan said. Asked why Indians in Pakistan and Bangladesh were left out, he said it was decided by the Centre.

Mr Chauhan visited the newly constructed International Convention Centre located in the premises of Hitex in Madhapur near here, the proposed venue for the fourth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to be held for the first time in Hyderabad from January 7 to 9, 2006. Mr Chauhan met Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy and discussed arrangements for the convention.

About 2,000 NRIs and about 1,000 from India would attend the annual convention, which is being organised by the ministry of overseas Indian affairs in partnership with the State of Andhra Pradesh and Ficci.

The website, www.pbd.gov.in provides details of the event and accepts online registration of delegates. It will also give details about flight connectivity to Hyderabad, description of the sites of tourist interest and tourism packages. Dr Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the conference on January 7, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam will address the valedictory session and honour 15 eminent overseas Indians with Pravasi Bharatiya Samman.

An industrial exhibition, cultural shows, panel discussions and showcasing the cultural heritage of Andhra Pradesh and India are among the highlights. A special feature will be the 4th edition of the internship programme for diaspora youth, a 3-week programme taking the participants through through Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Online registration for participation in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention will begin from November 1. Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated every year to mark the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa on January 9, 1915.

[yorkking]

hi
it is 275 dollars per applicant. not pounds.
yk

[PB]

oops! My mistake! It is $275 + $25 or some such.. but is that per application (form) or per applicant?

[basis]

http://www.hicomind.org.nz/index.htm

http://www.hicomind.org.nz/OCI.htm

Hope it it is true.

http://www.immigrationportal.com/showth ... e=31&pp=15

[basis]

http://indiagov.org/

Indian embassy in Washington D.C put up a one sentence alert saying that the OIC registration will begin from November 14, 2005. I guess we just have to wait and see...

[basis]

The OIC though intended by the government to start on the 14th is not yet implemented by the Indian HC in London. In fact, I told the guys at the HC that they should check out the websites of the HC in Wellington and Washington It was the first they had heard of it - not unusual for the Indian Civil Service I guess ! Remember I actually went to apply for the PIO card on the date the OIC scheme is meant to start !

I applied for the PIO card because I need to travel to India frequently on work and it suits me. Secondly it only costs about £15 to upgrade from the PIO to OCI. I don't intend to stay in India beyond 6 months in the near future so it is good enough for now. When the OCI scheme is launched I just need to pay a nominal amount to upgrade. The OCI scheme is no less costly all things considered.

In terms of documents, the Indian HC needed the forms ( in duplicate) , 4 photographs ( no need to certify) and they took a photocopy of my British passport and returned it to me. They also took a copy of my Indian passport and handed it back after marking it as cancelled. As part of the package, I had given them a letter addressed to the passport officer asking them to cancel my Indian passport and return it to me as I had now acquired british citizenship- this they did without any problems.

The whole process was very quick - I recommend going in person to the HC - this way you get to keep all your documents and passports with you.
Go straight to counter 7 in London and tell them you're applying for a PIO card. People applying for PIO cards are taken aside ( often inside the inner sanctum !) and this way you get to escape the crush of the visa applicants who seem to crowd the place. Also , make sure you go after 9:30am in the morning as although they say that they accept applications from 8:30, the PIO guys don't kick in till 9:30. The best way would be to roll in about 10am - no appointments necessary.


Hope all this is helpful.

Very useful info on PIO / OIC so I reproduced it here from the original message.

[basis]

In the US - Washington DC Embassy of India has also started accepting the applications for Overseas Indian Citizenship. Let's see when UK Consulate wakes up.

http://www.indianembassy.org

"Initially, applications already received in December 2004 - January 2005 would be processed. Meanwhile, applicants eligible for registration under the OCI scheme and wish to avail of this new facility should send their brief particulars including their name, passport details by e-mail on the following address: ***. The mail would be acknowledged and the date for a personal appointment at the Special Counter in the Consular Wing at the timings mentioned below will be communicated to them. Applications received by mail, which would be in accordance with the current procedure for visa applications, would be received from December 15, 2005. Accptance of mail applications will be from Dec 15th.If you book a date by e-mailing them you can submit your application in person earlier."

[lemess]

As an update I received my PIO card today. Applied for at the Indian HC in London on the 15th. Arrived in the pre-paid special delivery envelope I had enclosed today ( 26th). Not too bad.

[basis]

Great ! Congrats. I have been there on the 18th to apply so I hope I should receive it next week sometime. I need to go and collect as the guy there asked me to come in person on 28th but I would not be able to until 30th since I am travelling.

Please let's know how your experience is in changing the bank accounts status etc.

[lemess]

Unless you live in London, there is no need to go in person to collect your card. It is cheaper and more convenient to simply enclose a pre-paid special delivery envelope with the documents and forms when you apply. You can get one for about £4.50 from any post office. This way your card also arrives sooner - the date they gave me for collection was 1st December but my card arrived on the 26th of November.

I have been down both routes ( for a child as well as myself) and the pre-paid envelope is less expensive, faster and more convenient. The best combination is going there in person to apply so you get to keep your documents and then choosing to receive the card by special delivery.

[basis]

PM to launch dual citizenship scheme in Jan

[basis]

Good to see some progress on that front. A lot of NRIs are waiting to take this option when it comes up.

[basis]

I'll believe it when I see it I'm afraid. They have created this hype before - there were all sorts of press releases about it being launched on the 14th of November which came and went. This has been dragging on for years and I have no confidence that this will actually happen. I spoke to the guys at te Indian High Commission in London and they had absolutely no clue what this scheme was and when it would be available. These press statements have to be taken fairly lightly

[basis]

Hi,

There is a sticky on this topic - could we stick to that please ? I am copying and pasting all the messages from here to there. Moderators request to delete this post as otherwise it will duplicate the topic and more importantly we would not have all the information at one place which is very important.

Thanks in advance for the understanding. And olisun and others thanks for the vital information.