Government of India has granted certain Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) guidelines to reissue the passport for those who is under 20 and over the age of 50. The “temporary relaxation” has been given till 30 June 2020. After this time every traveler need to update their OCI cards to match the information and photographs of their new passports.
Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) is granted to Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) who have immigrated from India and subsequently obtained a foreign country’s citizenship. In a welcome relief for vacation travelers, the government has released a memorandum enabling travelers to India to travel with their existing OCI cards who may have recently renewed their passports.
What if OCI Card Has Not Been Renewed?
Travelers(under the age of 20 and over 50) who travel to India must be prepared to renew their Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards if they have recently renewed their U.S. passports. If there is failure to match any information on passport numbers and OCI card can result in refusal to board international flights or even return mid-flight without being allowed to enter India.
OCI Card Guidelines
To avoid this inconvenience, OCI cardholders need to make a note of following guidelines regarding the re-issuance of OCI Card:
- Below the age of 20- OCI cards need to be renewed each time a new passport is acquired.
- Age Between 21-50- OCI cards is not required each time a passport is issued.
- Age above 50- OCI cards is required to be reissued once on acquiring a new passport.
