Consular Services
Overseas Citizen of India Card (OCI Card)
Revised guidelines for re-issuance of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Card
Government of India has revised instructions/guidelines on ‘Re-issuance of OCI cards due to Issuance of new foreign passports to OCI cardholders.’
(i) Mandatory requirement of re-issuance of an OCI card each time a new passport is issued to a foreigner up to 20 years of age and once after completing 50 years of age has been dispensed with.
(ii) OCI cardholder is required to get the OCI card re-issued only once when a new passport is issued after completing 20 years of age so as to capture his/her facial features.
(iii) OCI cardholder is required to upload ONLINE a copy of the new passport and a latest photo each time a new passport is issued up to 20 years of age and once after completing 50 years of age. The uploading of these documents may be done within three months of receipt of the new passport. The service will be provided on Gratis (no cost/free) basis.
(iv) Foreign Spouse of an Indian Citizen or spouse of foreign origin of an OCI cardholder are required to upload a copy of the new passport and also a latest photo ONLINE each time a new passport is issued along with a declaration on subsisting of marriage, copy of the Indian passport of the Indian spouse/passport & OCI card of the OCI cardholder spouse.
(v) The Government of India has modified the online OCI web portal under “OCI Miscellaneous Service” to facilitate OCI cardholders to update details of new Passport (each time a new passport is issued up to 20 years of age and once after completing 50 years of age) and reissue of OCI card once a new passport is issued after completing 20 years of age. A detailed instruction in order to fill online Application Form and requirement may be accessed at https://ociservices.gov.in/welcome.
(vi) Likewise, OCI cardholders are required to obtain Special Permission from concerned authorities to undertake certain activities in India. In order to make it convenient to such OCI cardholders, a separate sub-portal under the name “Apply for Special Permission (only for OCI cardholders)” has been created in the online OCI web portal https://ociservices.gov.in/welcome. The link has detailed instructions as well as documents required to be submitted, which would facilitate such OCI cardholders to apply for Special Permission.
Procedures of applying for an OCI Card or renewal of OCI card
The guidelines for applying new Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card and re-issue of OCI card are available on the website of Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India at www.ociservices.gov.in.
The applicants are required to submit the hard copy/printout of the duly filled online application form along with the relevant documents in person to Indian Embassy between 9-12 AM on working days. After scrutinizing the documents by the Embassy, mandatory biometric enrolment of the applicant will be taken, after which the application would be processed.
The processing time takes approximately five-six weeks for issue of New (Fresh) OCI card/renewal of OCI card/conversion of PIO card to OCI card. The applicants who are applying for OCI cards on the basis of their spouse (Foreign Spouse Application), the processing time may be much longer than usual.
Application fee for OCI card is mentioned below:
· First Application – Euro 254
· Renewal – Euro 26
· OCI card in lieu of lost/damaged OCI card – Euro 95
· Conversion of PIO Card to OCI card – Euro 95
The fee must be transferred to the Embassy’s bank account.
Embassy's bank details:
Recipient: Embassy of India
Account number: EE752200221078480334
Swift: HABA22X
Message: Applicants’ full name and the service applied for
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR FIRST OCI CARD
Applicants who have formerly held Indian passport or who are of Indian origin are required to submit the following documents:
Copies of current valid passport and cancelled Indian passport of applicant/Indian origin proof of parents must be uploaded while filling the online application form on the portal.
Original Estonian passport or current valid passport must be presented at the Embassy at the time of submission of the application.
Note: Applicants are advised to read the instructions carefully on the online OCI portal before submitting the application. It is mandatory to upload all the relevant/supporting documents while filling the online application (failing which might delay the process) and submit copies of the same at the time of submission of printed/hard copy of application at the Embassy. Applicants may visit the OCI portal (https://ociservices.gov.in/) for latest guidelines and more details.
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR OCI CARD ON THE BASIS OF INDIAN SPOUSE
All applicants who are applying for OCI card on spouse basis under section 7A(1)(d) of Citizenship Act, 1955 need to come to the Embassy for personal interview.
Copies of current valid passport, Indian passport/OCI card of spouse, Notarized/Apostilled Marriage Certificate must be uploaded while filling the online application form on the portal.
Original Estonian passport or current valid passport must be presented at the Embassy at the time of submission of the application.
Note: Applicants are advised to read the instructions carefully on the online OCI portal before submitting the application. It is mandatory to upload all the relevant/supporting documents while filling the online application (failing which might delay the process) and submit copies of the same at the time of submission of printed/hard copy of application at the Embassy. Applicants may visit the OCI portal (https://ociservices.gov.in/) for latest guidelines and more details.
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR RENEWAL OF OCI CARD
This service can be availed in the following category of cases:
Documents required:
Note: Applicants are advised to read the instructions carefully on the online OCI portal before submitting the application. It is mandatory to upload all the relevant/supporting documents while filling the online application (failing which might delay the process) and submit copies of the same at the time of submission of printed/hard copy of application at the Embassy. Applicants may visit the OCI portal (https://ociservices.gov.in/) for latest guidelines and more details.
CONVERSION OF PIO CARD TO OCI CARD
Applicants are required to follow the same guidelines as Application for fresh OCI Card. PIO Card and a copy of it are also required to be submitted along with other documents (required for OCI card). Application fee for conversion of PIO Card to OCI card is Euro 95.
Bio-metric enrolment is mandatory
