Eligibility quiz
Was one of your parents, grandparents or great-grandparents an Indian citizen on or after 26 January 1950?
Benefits
Benefits for youBenefits for you
Live in India for life
You can enter India as often as you like and stay without a time limit.
You do not have to register with the local immigration office for your stay.
Take entrance tests
You can take NEET, JEE (Main and Advanced) and similar entrance tests on the same terms as Indian citizens living abroad.
Admission is limited to seats for Indian citizens living abroad or extra seats, not those reserved solely for Indian citizens.
Work in India
Holders can practise professions as doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, lawyers, architects or chartered accountants on the same terms as Indian citizens living abroad.
They can teach at IITs, NITs, IIMs, IISERs, IISc, Central Universities and new AIIMS under PMSSY.
Most public posts are not open to holders.
Pay Indian citizen rates
You pay the same fares and fees as Indian citizens for flights within India.
The same rates also apply to entry to national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, national monuments, historic sites and museums.
Adopt a child
You can pursue adoption across borders of an Indian child on the same terms as Indian citizens living abroad, following the adoption authority’s process.
Buy and sell property
You can buy and sell property on the same terms as Indian citizens living abroad.
This does not include agricultural land, farmhouses or plantation property.
How to apply
Applying oCI from abroadApplying oCI from abroad
Find your consulate
Find the Indian consulate responsible for you. If you live outside your country of citizenship, use the consulate responsible for the country where you normally live; this means you have stayed there continuously for six months.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “Which Indian consulate covers your city for Overseas Citizenship of India applications?”
Open the application form
Open the Overseas Citizenship of India application, Form XXVIII, on the OCI Services portal.
Open the formGather your documents
Prepare the required documents for the consulate.
See required documentsFill in the application
Register on the portal and fill in the application online. Upload your photograph, signature and supporting documents.
Fill in the formSubmit your application
Submit your completed application through the OCI Services portal.
Submit the applicationPay the fee online
Pay the fee using the payment facility shown on the OCI Services portal.
Pay the feeTrack your application
Use the OCI status service to follow your application and watch for emails about missing information.
Track your applicationPresent your originals
Take the originals of your uploaded supporting documents to your consulate for verification. You do not need to bring a paper application or photocopies of the uploaded documents.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I present original documents for an Indian Overseas Citizenship of India application at the Indian consulate in your city?”
Wait for the decision
The consulate will return your originals and acknowledge your application online. Follow its instructions if it asks for more information or documents, and use the status service to follow the decision.
Track the decisionReceive your OCI card
Follow your consulate's instructions to collect or receive your OCI card. You can then use it to travel to India without a visa.
Searches DuckDuckGo for “How do I receive my Indian Overseas Citizenship of India card from the Indian consulate in your city?”
Documents needed
Family certificates and recordsFamily certificates and records
Birth certificates
Get your birth certificate and your parent’s birth certificate, showing the parents’ names, to connect you to your Indian grandparent. Education records or inherited property records may also help show the relationship.
Grandparent’s Indian origin records
Provide your Indian grandparent’s Indian passport, domicile certificate or nativity certificate, or other evidence of their qualifying connection to India. A parent’s OCI or PIO card can also help, together with records showing Indian origin. For OCI, the evidence must show that your grandparent was an Indian citizen on or after 26 January 1950, was eligible to become one on that date, or came from a territory that became part of India after 15 August 1947.
Marriage certificates *
Provide your parents’ marriage certificate as supporting evidence of your relationship. If it is unavailable, explain why.
* Only if your parents’ marriage certificate is relevant to showing your relationship.
May need translationMay need apostille/legalisationConsiderations
Things to think aboutThings to think about
Special permission limits
You need special permission for research, missionary or Tabligh work, mountaineering and journalism.
It is also needed for internships or jobs in foreign diplomatic missions or government organisations in India, and for entering protected, restricted or prohibited areas.
Travel documents and records
You need a valid passport from your other country and must keep your card and passport details current.
Complete the arrival card when travelling to India.
If you normally live in India, email the local immigration office whenever your permanent address or occupation changes.
Status can be lost
Adults can give up the status; their registered minor children lose it too.
India can cancel it for fraud, false statements, hiding facts, disloyalty to its Constitution or illegal wartime dealings with an enemy.
It can also cancel it for a prison sentence of at least two years within five years of registration, or to protect its sovereignty, integrity, security, foreign relations or the public interest.
Discuss
Online communitiesOnline communities
OCI (Overseas Citizen Of India) Europe / Indian Origin Foreign Nationals
English Facebook group for people interested in Indian visas
Request to joinIndian Passport, OCI, PCC & Visa Services.
English Facebook group for people interested in Indian visas and citizenship
Request to joinOverseas Citizen of India (OCI) - Common & Legal Problems
English Facebook group for people interested in Indian visas
Join on FacebookConsultation
Talk to a professionalTalk to a professional
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