India

Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card. Not residence and not citizenship — a lifelong diaspora card for people of Indian origin and their spouses, with no retirement or investment visa as an alternative since India has neither.

Free, with the law behind every answer

Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card

Lifelong, multiple-entry visa-free travel to India, and the right to live and work there without a separate permit, with parity to Non-Resident Indians in most economic, financial, and educational matters. It does not grant voting rights, government or constitutional posts, or agricultural or plantation land ownership, and it is not an Indian passport or citizenship.

Who qualifies

Foreign nationals who were Indian citizens on or after 26 January 1950 (or eligible to have been), or whose territory became part of India after 15 August 1947, and their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren; also minor children of eligible persons, and spouses of Indian citizens or OCI holders after 2 years of continuous marriage. Under section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, this is barred for anyone who is, or either of whose parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents is or was, a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh, or another country the government later specifies by gazette notice — an absolute bar that overrides any qualifying Indian ancestry.
OCI brochure
Documentary proof of the qualifying ancestral or marital link, filed online and submitted through an Indian mission abroad or the Foreigners Regional Registration Office in India.
Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

It could fit.

Not residence and not citizenship — a lifelong diaspora card for people of Indian origin and their spouses, with no retirement or investment visa as an alternative since India has neither.

Every option that fits your family

Not legal advice.

What it takes.

Time: A few weeks to a few months once the ancestral or marital documentation is assembled and filed online.
Cost: ₹15,000 if applying within India, or about $275 if applying abroad; document-gathering costs (birth and citizenship records) vary by case.
The hard part: Proving the ancestral link — locating and certifying a parent’s, grandparent’s, or great-grandparent’s Indian birth or citizenship record.

Citizens by 2033.

If your first permit is issued in 2027 and you keep living there, this is the road.

2027
Permanent residence
From the start, with nothing to renew.
2032
Apply for citizenship
With a language test.
2033
Citizenship

Language: Adequate knowledge of one of the 22 languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution (Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and so on).
Time away: Living in India for the whole 12 months before applying (the government may allow up to 30 days’ breaks), plus at least 11 years in total in the 14 years before that.
Two passports: Usually not: new citizens are asked to give up their other citizenship.

A lifelong registration, not a time-limited permit and not citizenship; after five years as a cardholder and twelve months living in India you can register as a citizen, but only by giving up your other passport.
How long the decision takes isn’t published; we allow a year.
This country asks new citizens to give up their other citizenship.

The law behind these dates

Living there.

Time you must spend there: The program sets no minimum number of days. Renewal still expects it to be your home.
Tax: OCI status alone does not create Indian tax residency; that depends separately on days spent in India each year under Indian income-tax rules.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

Start today.

Apply for an OCI card through India’s online OCI services.Open ociservices.gov.in ↗
Gather these documents.
- The papers that prove the family tie

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