Search the Community

Hello, I am a US Citizen. I was born in India and became a naturalized US citizen in 2017. I have been traveling to India almost every year on Indian Visa. I got my Indian Visa renewed for 10 years in 2018 which is valid till 2028. I used to travel to India every year until Pandemic since Indian government invalidated the regular visas. However, due to the pandemic my standard regular Indian Visa was invalid, I ended up applying for my OCI card which I got it approved in May 2022. I used that to travel to India in Aug 2022. Recently we moved to a different town and due to that moving process some of my documents are misplaced. One of them was my OCI Card, however, I do have my US Passport and in it my Indian Visa attached. According to my Indian Visa, it is still valid till 2028. So unlike the Passport renunciation process, my Indian Visa was not canceled or scratched out. So, the question is - can I travel to India on this Indian Visa that is attached to my US Passport, even though I was approved my OCI Card? OR will I have to get my OCI card anyway before my India trip. was thinking about requesting my new OCI card after I come back from India. Any advice? Thank you! Regards, Vedic

This is a guide for OCI application process. Step 1: Complete the basic questionnaire on this Link for OCI. After completing the questionnaire, it will show you the fees and click proceed. Then it will ask you to make an account for VFS website. After creating the account, check your email and activate the account. After activating the account, you are done with VFS. Step 2: Go ahead and fill out the application on this Link. After you are done with application, review it then click submit. After that, it will ask you to upload a digital photo and signature. Click “Yes I am ready with the image.” The passport size photo that you will be sending with application must be uploaded here at this step. Also sign your name on a blank piece of paper and scan that as well and upload it at this step. Make sure to crop the signature so its fits in the box. Then, click “I have uploaded successfully” and proceed to complete the questionnaire by clicking “Proceed to Part-B”. Step 3: After completing the questionnaire, click “Submit” and it will take you to a page where you must upload the mandatory documents in a pdf format. After you are done uploading click “Final Submit” and click “Generate Registration” and save that pdf. Step 4: Go back to VFS website and Login. After logging in, Click “Create New Application” and fill out the form. I strongly recommend using online payment as its instant but it does come with a 3.5% charge. Then click “Add Customer” and fill out the form and submit. OCI Govt Reference Number was given at the end of the OCI application. Then Select the shipping method. I recommend VFS offered courier service as you’ll get the labels right away. Go ahead and put your address on the next page and pay the fees. Step 5: After paying the fees, you will be given a checklist and receipt number. Make sure you print out the whole document which should be around 7 pages. Read through the checklist thoroughly and sign it then mail your application. You must apply for renunciation of Indian Citizenship prior to filling out your OCI application. Note: Do not affix any photos on the application. Just send 2 passport size photos with the application. Do not forget to include a prepaid label or $15 money order/cashier check for the return of your US Passport. I hope I cleared all the confusions. If there is anything else that someone would like to add please post below

I need some advice from someone experienced with OCI renewal rules. I am being told about a particular rule by an Indian travel agent which I can't corroborate anywhere on an official Indian immigration website or through general articles / forums online, so I believe the travel agent has most definitely misunderstood the OCI renewal rules. But I thought I would ask the question in this forum to see if I'm missing something. First a little bit of background on my situation. I used to be an Indian citizen, but became an US citizen as a minor along with my parents in 2005. Then in 2007, I received my OCI card when I was less than 20 years old. Then I renewed my US passport in 2015, by which time I was over 20 years old. I did not renew my OCI card at this time, and I have already traveled to India since 2015 without any issues. So what I am being told by a travel agent is that in 2019/2020, Indian government stated that people who had received their OCI card when they were a minor (<= 20 years old) need to renew their OCI at least once when they renew their US passport, even if they are older than 20 years old at that time. Meaning that I should have renewed my OCI in 2015 when my US passport was renewed. However, that doesn't match with the rules I see on official consulate website, as follows: OCI Travel Advisory – Re-issue of OCI Card (On getting a New Passport) • For an applicant who is 20 years of age or younger, OCI documents must be re-issued each time a new passport is issued. • For an applicant who is 50 years of age or older, OCI documents must be re-issued once after the issuance of a new passport. If the OCI card is issued for the first time after the age of 50 years, then there is no need for re-issue of OCI. • For an applicant who is 21 to 49 years of age, there is no need to re-issue OCI documents each time a new passport is issued. However, if the applicant desires, he/she can request that the OCI documents be re-issued so that the OCI documents reflect the correct passport number. Please view the full requirements for OCI Re-issue for more information at the following link. According to the above (particularly the part in red), if you are currently between the age of 21 and 49, the you do not need to renew your OCI. It doesn't state anything of when you originally were issued the OCI. That is why I believe the travel agent has misunderstood when he says that I need to renew my OCI now since I have not renewed it since I originally received it when I was a minor. Any insight and thoughts would be appreciated!