Oci for Wife

vekaria

Hi,

I have just been granted OCI status (it took 6 months!). My Wife and I are UK Passport holders but I was born in India. My Wife was born in Kenya. I have 3 questions:

1) Can my Wife get OCI status because of marriage to me (we have been married for 30+ years)? If so, is there anything special I need to do on the form when filling it in for her?

2) As I have an OCI, can someone point me in the direction of a source listing the restrictions I am bound by when in India? Eg. I believe OCI holders cannot vote, cannot not buy land (eg. farm land), cannot start a business, etc etc. Can you list any others and confirm the above I have given as examples? I think I read something when I was filling in the OCI form but can't find it now!

3) Someone was telling me that when I enter India on an OCI using my British passport, I am not entitled to any assistance from the British embassy in India were I to have any issues legally - is this correct?

4) This is a really silly question but upon arrival to India is there anything special I need to do at immigration control (fill in an extra form, stand in a seperate queue, sing a song and perform a dance ) or do I just present my passport as I have always done?

Your helpful responses are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Kind Regards,

namaste_cat

No she can't via you but if she has either birth certificates or evidence of her parents/grandparents being Indian citizens at any time, she can apply for OCI on her own. Otherwise, she's looking at PIO status.
MHA site
Why wouldn't you? Aren't you a British citizen? I'm a US citizen w/ OCI and I've never had any US Embassy in India blow me off because I was of Indian origin. No idea why it would be different for the UK.
Get in the line for non-Indians, and present both your OCI booklet, and your foreign passport (which has the U Visa sticker inside). Singing and dancing optional

Good luck, and not to worry you will be treated just fine at Indian immigration provided you have both the booklet and U Visa with you. Your wife will need to carry her PIO booklet, and she should be in the same line as you; go up to the counter together.

sakamath

It gets a little tricky here and would apply to you only if you were a crook
In the sense that if, for any reason, you were arrested, you would be treated as an Indian would be, in your place. That means, you may not have a right to contact your embassy for assistance. That is the case with any Dual Citizenship of any countries. As long as you abide by the law - which your post suggest you do, you do not have to worry about this matter.

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skyepark

six months! why was that? I cant afford for it to take six months. Can I ask where and when you applied?

Nick-H

This consular assistance thing is a just-in-case-possibly-maybe-worst-scenario thing that someone dreamt up which is based on the more factual... If a national of country A also has citizenship of country B, then, when they are in Country B, country A will not give assistance. I think you might be able to find something to that effect on the British Foron & Commonwealth Office site.

OCI is not Indian Citizenship --- and I think that is recognised. A British OCI would continue to answer No to such questions as Do you hold any other citizenship/passport

The disembarkation form has been redesigned (in the last two or three years) to include fields to enter details of OCI/PIO cards. Apart from that, and, as has been said, showing the card with the passport, there is nothing special.

The link you want for the info is on the Ministry of Home Affairs site: -->here. I don't think it includes starting business! (although the restrictions on foreign investment/ownership would apply. Remember that you are free to work or study in India, as is, even, a PIO-card holder. Yes, I think we can start businesses!

sakamath

I believe it takes a year in some parts of Canada to gain its citizenship (after you are eligible, of course). I'd have to wait for another 3 years to sponsor my mom to come and live with me.

Well, each country has their own process, if we choose to accept it, we would also have to abide by its process. Having said that, it does not mean every OCI application would take a minimum 6 months to process. It varies on a case-by-case basis and on the volume of applications in queque.

Since a major chunk of the OCI process is done at New Delhi, I wonder why different regions have such a vast variance in processing times.

vekaria

I applied in March 2009. After no reply at all (except online to say the application had been received at HCI London), I started writing more and more serious emails to them. In the end I told them they had comitted fruad by taking my money and not responding or providing the service they had committed to provide. I threatened them with some totally made-up UK and EU laws!

Not sure if that had any impact but the OCI came through within 2 days of a recorded delivery letter landing on someones desk at HCI London...!

Haylo

Notwithstanding the advice already given, the levels of assistance that a British High Commission can offer is VASTLY overestimated.

If you were arrested, they could put you in touch with an English speaking local lawyer (but not provide one) and inform your relatives that you have been arrested, but that's about it - they have no influence over proceedings and Indian courts will not answer any questions the British High Commission might ask about your case.

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The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful - E.E. Cummings, poet (1894-1962)

kmalik

Irrespective of the effectiveness or usefulness of consular access, I disagree with the the impact of the OCI status on consular access implied by sakamath. It is amply clear that OCI is not a dual citizenship, and presuming treatment as Indian citizen based upon the false premise of OCI being dual citizenship is suspect in my view. I believe that an OCI will be treated as a foreigner belonging to his/her respective country in a legal/criminal matter. I am, however, interested in finding out more if there is a legal opinion - concurring or contrary to this position.

On a related note, I did come across a thread on the internet recounting an OCI horror story where an OCI attempted to enter India with the OCI card and his (Canadian) passport, but minus the original passport on which the OCI visa was stamped. After major hassles - which involved 2+ hours in limbo at the passport control, passport withheld and 48 hours stay granted, multiple trips to FRRO finding resolution only after someone in Canada FedEx'd the original passport to get out of the situation.

I guess I'll keep the original (old) passport handy with my measly PIO card when I visit...

skk

That pesky "OCI is dual citizenship" meme simply will not die, will it. Admittedly, the Indian govt. hardly makes it easy. To quote from the Ministry of Home Affairs brochure on OCI :

The Constitution of India does not allow holding Indian citizenship and citizenship of a foreign country simultaneously. Based on the recommendation of the High Level committee on Indian Diaspora, the Government of India decided to grant Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) commonly known as ‘dual citizenship’

I know, any sane person reading it goes - "HUH?" - I don't think its just a case of a "citizenship" designed by committee( like the camel - an animal designed by committee. I think its some really smart people trying to design something so that the diaspora could "have their cake and eat it".

I mean - citizenship involves duties as well as rights; how many in the diaspora wants to do their NCC ( National Cadet Corps or whatever that is nowadays ) stuff , be available to be called up to the armed forces, pay Indian taxes and so on. Then again if it was truly dual citizenship, regarded as such by the US ( who don't regard it as dual citizenship), then those of the diaspora who are US citizens would have to cede their US citzenship, since the USA does not allow dual citizenship.

How many of the diaspora are going to do that ? Not many, the committee rightly judged.

So we have this yes its commonly called dual citizenship but isn't really situation.

It really is something that gives me the right to a life long multiple entry, almost unrestricted purpose visa, access to the same jobs as an NRI ( who have a lower form of access than a RI).

Yeah, it is not itself an entry-visa. Neither the booklet, which I must admit has the look and feel of a passport, nor the fact that you are in the database of registered OCIs count as an entry visa. It only entitles you to a U-visa, which you must het as a stick-on at least once in your life. Then, with that little stamp ( the U-visa ) in a any-country ( no, NOT Indian ) passport ( current or expired ), and a current any-country passport( which needn't have that stickon so long as you have an expired passport that does ), then they let you in without any hassle.

That isn't so difficult, is it?

Not a bad solution, IMO, Gordian knots and all - and yup I've got an OCI. And don't ask me how the USA handles people who have UK citizenship ( the UK "allows" dual citizenship ), and also US citizenship. Think Queen, British subject etc.. Aye, yi, yi.

-skk

namaste_cat

I think like you say OCI is being confused with dual citizenship, and it's very clear that we are no longer Indian citizens once we acquire US/foreign citizenship.
Out of curiosity I was looking at the State Dept website, and what they say here is perhaps what sakamath was referring to in regard to British citizens as well:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p.../cis_1753.html
So those of us who are Americans with OCI should be able to seek help from the U.S. consulate since the Indian govt isn't part of the equation.
I can believe it. I've been witness to more than one case like this. One time my brother and I were traveling together a year after we both got OCI, and after an hour and a half of much pleading and drama, he was allowed in until he could produce the old passport. I think my brother was lucky to be let in at all given he didn't have his old passport with U visa. He's never forgotten his passport after that!

Nick-H

They do tend to do things like organise evacuations when war breaks out

I think another area of dual citizenship where people have been disappointed, is expecting that citizenship of country A will protect them from their obligations under their citizenship of country B while they are in country B, eg military service.

Again... this is talking about having real multiple citizenship, with valid multiple passports, and OCI is not dual citizenship.

skyepark

oh really? well its been six weeks and all they've done is scan my photos and i'm getting worried, can you paste as to what you wrote in your letters? did you get any email responses to your question? I may need to do the same come November/December.

I also included photos which are 5mm too long but I hope they don't reject on that basis. My case is clear cut, my dad has n indian passport, born in india and completed school there.

sakamath

I had based my opinion on the following point in the OCI faq located at: http://mha.nic.in/pdfs/oci-faq.pdf

In any case, there has been a discussion on the above in another thread. My cautious opinion remains that I assume I would not have access to consular services, should the need arise. If I get it - that would be a bonus. I hope I don't get into that situation in the first place!

My take on this is India wishes to take steps towards Dual Citizenship, primarily to those people who are of Indian Origin. Its just taking baby steps towards that goal. Once all checks and balances are well settled, they would remove the contradiction which begins with "strictly does not allow dual"...and ends with..."commonly referred to as Dual..."

sakamath

Once the photos are scanned, it takes a couple of days to change the status from "granted" and "printed" to "sent to consulate". After that, your consulate should receive it within 2 weeks followed by another week to get it stamped on your current passport.