VISA CURBS EASED
Ministry of Home Affairs exempted additional
categories of foreigners from the existing visa restrictions, allowing them to
travel to India
Fresh categories include “foreign national
who are minor children where at least one of their parents is an Indian citizen
or OCI card holder; foreign national married to Indian citizens; foreign
nationals who are single parent of minor children holding Indian passports or
OCI cards; students who are foreign nationals where at least one of their
parents is an Indian citizen or OCI card holder; and dependent family member of
foreign diplomats/ official service passport holding service staff accredited
to foreign diplomatic missions, counselor offices of accredited international
organizations in India
Foreigners will have to seek fresh visas
May 22, MHA Had allowed a limited category of
Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders, stranded abroad, to come to India
The life-long visa to OCIs was temporarily suspended
in March due to COVID-19
Overseas Citizenship of India
(OCI): An immigration status
permitting a foreign citizen of Indian origin to live and work in the Republic
of India indefinitely
Introduced by The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2005
in August 2005. It was launched during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention held in Hyderabad in late 2005
Constitution of India does not permit dual citizenship for citizens of
India
Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 gives the government additional power to strip
people of their Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status if they violate any
local law, whether it is a petty offense or a serious felony
OCI limitations: no right to vote,
no right to hold constitutional offices, and no right to buy agricultural
properties
Apply and use an
OCI document: Holder must be a citizen of and hold a passport of another
country, except that of Pakistan or Bangladesh. Furthermore, the holder must not have parents from
either of those two nations
May 2019 the
Indian Home Ministry contemplated permitting Bangladesh citizens to apply for
the OCI registration. Bangladesh will likely be eligible in the future
Overseas
Citizenship of India allows a holder : Multiple-entry, multi-purpose lifelong
visa to visit India; Exemption from foreigner registration requirements for any length of stay in India; and Parity with non-resident Indians in financial, economic and educational fields
except in the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties
Persons of Indian Origin Card
(PIO Card): It was a form of
identification issued to a Person of Indian Origin who held a passport in a country other than Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
9 January 2015,
the PIO card scheme was withdrawn by the Government of India and was merged
with the OCI
card scheme
PIO card holders
can use their PIO card to travel to India until 30 September 2020. Effective 1
October 2020, PIO card holders' entry to India will be refused
Earlier, PIO card
holders needed to register with the appropriate FRRO (Foreigner Regional
Registration Office) if they stay for more than 180 days. On 30 September 2014,
this requirement was removed
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