OCI card holders are no longer required to carry old Indian travel passports; The diaspora welcomes movement

OCI card holders are no longer required to carry old Indian travel passports; The diaspora welcomes movement

OCI card holders are no longer required to carry old Indian travel passports; The diaspora welcomes movement

Washington / New York : Indigenous people and scattered Indians with Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards are no longer required to carry their expired old passports to India, as previously required, according to a government notice adopted by members of the public.

Citizens of the Overseas of India or OCI card are issued to people of Indian nationality who give them almost all the rights of the Indian nation except the right to vote, to work for the government and to buy agricultural land. The OCI card gives them a trip to India without visas.

In a statement sent to the media on March 26, the Indian delegation to the US said that in order to reduce the flow of OCI card holders, it was determined that the OCI card issuance deadline for er / o OCI card holders, who could be asked to re-issue their OCI card was extended until until December 31, 2021. ”

Also "the need to carry old passports and OCI card is gone. From now on, OCI card holders who are striving for their existing OCI card with the old passport number do not have to carry their old passport. However, holding a new passport is mandatory."

OCI card holders are no longer required to carry old Indian travel passports; The diaspora welcomes movement

OCI card holders are no longer required to carry old Indian travel passports; The diaspora welcomes movement

New York-based social activist Prem Bhandari, who has been working on OCI card holders for several years, welcomed the announcement. He expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of India for not only extending the renewal by December 31 this year but also by relaxing the guidelines and not wanting OCI card holders to manage their expired old countries. passports.

"OCI card holders can issue exemptions worldwide," he said. He thanked Home Affairs Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla for the new guidelines.

Bandari said he had witnessed the disruption caused by members of the Indian diaspora due to certain OCI card rules as they were traveling to India during the epidemic.

He said some of the passengers were not allowed to board flights to India and were deported from airports as they did not carry their old passports abroad, which is required by state law.

The OCI card, among other benefits, allows for frequent entry, a long-term visa for a foreigner of Indian descent to visit India. Under the OCI card issuance, which gives the holder a lifetime visa in India, those under the age of 20 and over need to renew their OCI card every time their passport is renewed.

The Indian government has suspended operations since last year due to the coronavirus epidemic. The timeline has been extended several times so far. However, this is the first time that guidelines have been reduced to handling old passports and OCI cards for overseas Indians.

In May last year, the central government allowed certain categories of OCI card holders, who were trapped abroad, to come to the country. Earlier, in terms of regulations issued by the Indian government, foreign visas and OCI cards were suspended as part of new international travel restrictions following the COVID-19 epidemic.

OCI card holders have been asked to carry their old passport to India. Now, under the new provision, OCI card holders will no longer need to carry their old passports but will still have to carry their new passport.

Bandari said the Department of Home Affairs 'OCI card holders' guidelines for dealing with expired old passports had been in place since 2005 but by 2019, they had not been properly monitored or implemented.

Bandari had earlier called on the Indian authorities to implement measures such as issuing emergency visas to assist Indian families to travel to their home country for health or other emergencies during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Bandari, Chairman of Jaipur Foot USA, had said late last year to Secretary of State Harsh Vardhan Shringla, as well as Secretary of Aviation Prodep Singh Kharola and Secretary of Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Bhalla describing some of the difficulties facing Indian families to India for emergency evacuation. for the families.

Bandari suggested that Indian passport / PIO / OCI passport holders should be allowed to travel with their children under the age of 14 born in the US on any pre-issued visa at any time without applying for an emergency visa to consulates.

He also added that in the event that it is difficult to implement these measures, authorities may consider granting Emergency Visa on Departure (E-VoD) or refunding the e-Visa process for immediate approval.

Last year, Bandari also requested an extension of the OCI card renewal date until December 31, 2020 as the Indigenous Indians / Indigenous Peoples of Indian Origin had enough time to understand the new need and renew their OCI cards.

Bandari also expressed hope that the issue of tourist visas would also be resolved soon. In October last year, the Indian government decided to immediately reinstate all existing visas, except for the electronic, tourist and medical visas. PTI