OCI card holders can now travel to India without old passport; community thanks GoI

The Indian community abroad having Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards has welcomed a decision by the Government of India that allows them to travel to India without their old expired passports as required earlier. OCI is issued to Indians abroad allowing them all the privileges of an Indian national except the rights to vote, government service, and purchase of agricultural land in India.

'Carrying a new passport with OCI card mandatory'

The Indian missions in the US on March 26 in a press release said that “Timeline for re-issuance of OCI cards in r/o OCI cardholders, who may be required to get their OCI card reissued has been extended until 31 December 2021.” According to PTI, the release further read "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 a new passport is mandatory.”

'Many Indians abroad were barred from travel last year during pandemic'

Prem Bhandari, a New York-based social activist who has been handling the matters of OCI cardholders for the past few years welcomed the decision by the government, and expressed gratitude to the Ministries of Home and External Affairs, for relaxing the guidelines. “The OCI cardholders can heave a sigh of relief worldwide,” he observed.

Bhandari acknowledged that he has been a witness to the inconveniences caused to many Indian OCI cardholders due to certain OCI card rules, during their travel to India during the Covid-19 pandemic last year. Many Indians who arrived at the airports were not allowed to board the flight as they were not carrying their old foreign passports, which was then required as per the government rules.
 
Meanwhile, Mr. Bhandari has also hinted that the issue of tourist visas will also be resolved soon. In October last year, the Indian government had decided to restore with immediate effect the validity of all existing visas, except electronic, tourist, and medical category visas.

(With PTI inputs)