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OCI Cardholders Travelling to or from India
While your passport is the primary travel document, Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) is like a lifelong visa. Since OCI cardholders are not considered Indian citizens, they must have a valid passport during their stay in the country. Please note the following rules that apply to OCI cardholders:
- The government of India has done away with the 'U' visa sticker on passports of OCI cardholders. Immigration authorities shall not insist on producing foreign passports containing the 'U' visa sticker from OCI cardholders entering or exiting India. They will be given immigration clearance based on their valid foreign passport and OCI Registration Certificate (OCI booklet, also known as OCI card).
- In cases where the applicant appears different than on the OCI card owing to age, cardholders aged 20 years or younger will need to renew their card each time a new passport is issued and once after completing 50 years of age.
- For an OCI card holder who is 21 to 49 years of age, reissuance of OCI card registration is optional each time a new passport is issued. If the applicant wishes to use this service, they can apply online under the OCI miscellaneous services.
- In case of a change in nationality of OCI cardholders, they can enter or exit India on the strength of their OCI card and a valid passport of the new nationality. This rule does not apply to Pakistani and Bangladeshi passports. In these cases, the OCI cardholder must update the new nationality through miscellaneous services.
For the most recent updates, please refer to the following links (including brochures and Frequently Asked Questions):
https://boi.gov.in/content/overseas-citizen-india-oci-cardholder
https://www.mha.gov.in/en/divisionofmha/foreigners-division/overseas-citizen-of-india-cardholder