Govt relaxes guidelines for reissue of OCI cards

In view of the recent difficulty faced by some Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) while travelling to the home country, Government has decided to relax the norms for such cardholders till 30th June 2020.

According to a press statement issued by the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Indian Consulate in Dubai, in case an OCI card holder is below the age of 20 years and has not got the OCI card re-issued on change of passport, he or she may travel on the strength of the existing OCI card bearing old passport number subject to the condition that along with the new passport, the OCI cardholder carries old passport mentioned in the OCI card.

In case an OCI card holder who has attained the age of 50 years and



has got passport renewed subsequently but not got OCI card re-issued on renewal of passport, he or she may travel on the strength of the existing OCI card along with the old and new passports. The OCI guidelines which have been in existence since 2005 states that OCI card needs to be re-issued each time a new passport is acquired by the cardholder up to the age of 20 years.

The guidelines also states that the OCI card is required to be re-issued once on acquiring a new passport after completing 50 years of age. However, the press statement advises the OCI card holders to take steps to comply with the existing OCI guidelines and renew their OCI cards as required by the rules.