OTTAWA: People of Indian origin having Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards are now not required to carry their old, expired passports for travel to India, as required earlier, according to a notification posted by the Indian High Commission in Ottawa and the Indian Consulate-General in Toronto.
An official statement said: “As per existing instructions the Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder registration is required to be got re-issued each time a new passport is issued up to the age of 20 years and once after completing 50 years of age in view of biological changes in the face of the OCI cardholder.
With a view to avoiding inconvenience to such OCI cardholders, it has been decided to grant an extension of time till 31 December 2021 to all eligible foreigners to get their OCI cards re-issued.
“As per MHA’s extant guidelines regarding entry of OCI Cardholders in India, the requirement of carrying old and new passports along with the OCI card has been done away. Henceforth, the OCI cardholders traveling on the strength of their existing OCI card bearing old passport numbers are not required to carry their old passport.
“However, carrying of new passport is mandatory. The Overseas Citizens of India or OCI card is issued to people of Indian origin globally which gives them almost all the privileges of an Indian national except for the right to vote, government service and buying agricultural land. The OCI card gives them visa-free travel to India,” the statement said.
The OCI card, among other benefits, allows multiple entry, multi-purpose life-long visa to an Indian-origin foreign national to visit India. Under the provisions of the OCI card, which gives the cardholder a lifelong visa to India, those below 20 years and above 50 years need to renew their OCI card every time they have their passport renewed.
This has caused inconvenience to the Indian diaspora as normally, the old passport is discarded after the issue of new ones.
The Indian government had relaxed the provisions since last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The timeline has been extended multiple times so far.
In May last year, the central government had allowed certain categories of OCI card holders, who were stranded abroad, to come to the country.