Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Portal

Current Context : Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah launched the new Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Portal in New Delhi, aiming to streamline services for over 5 million OCI cardholders and new applicants .

About the OCI Scheme & Portal

• Scheme Origin: Introduced via amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955 in August 2005 to allow lifelong visa and related privileges to eligible foreign nationals of Indian origin.
• Eligibility Criteria:
  • Citizens of India on or after 26 January 1950, or eligible under that date.
  • Descendants up to great-grandchild of such citizens.
  • Minor children of eligible persons.
  • Spouse of Indian citizen/OCI cardholder with 2-year continuous marriage.
  • Exclusions: Those with parental links to Pakistan, Bangladesh, or notified countries.
  • Must be ordinarily resident in India or abroad (continuous 6 months’ residence).
• Portal Features:
  • User-friendly interface with auto-fill of profile details and dashboard for application status.
  • Integrated payment gateway, in-built image cropping
  • Segregated menus for fresh applications and existing cardholder services.
  • Enhanced security and improved functionality for seamless registration and service delivery .