NEW DELHI: The Union Home Ministry on Thursday notified changes in the Citizenship Rules 2009, bringing a digital transformation across various processes for overseas Indian Citizen Cardholders and citizenship applications.
In a Gazette notification published on Thursday, the government added a specific condition for citizenship applicants including children, namely that “a minor child cannot at any time hold the passport of any other country while also holding an Indian passport”.
The Citizenship Rules 2009 allowed a person to submit an application to register the birth of his or her minor child born outside India to the Indian consulate in the country where the child was born, with an acknowledgment that the child does not hold a passport of any other country.
The changes, known as the 2026 Citizenship Rules, introduce a slew of online initiatives for OCI cardholders, including a digital application and waiver process.
All applications for card registration and abandonment of OCI card will now be submitted electronically through the official portal https://ociservices.gov.in, the notification said.
“Application for registration as Overseas Indian Citizen Cardholder under Section 7A in Form XXVIII shall be submitted electronically on the designated online portal, namely https://ociservices.gov.in,” replacing the paper-and-ink procedure stipulated in the old rules.
On declaration of abandonment of OCI, the individual must hand over the original physical card to the nearest Indian Mission, Post or Foreigners’ Regional Registration Officer. If your OCI status is revoked by the government, the physical card must be returned.
If the card is not returned, the government can still declare it officially cancelled. For those who have E-OCI, the government can cancel the digital registration in its records, the notification said.
The government said it has removed the earlier requirement for applicants to submit documents “in duplicate” and introduced e-OCI, whereby registered individuals can now be issued either a physical OCI card or an electronic OCI registration.
The government will also maintain its official register of OCI holders digitally, she added.
OCI applicants will now have to sign a new consent form to opt into the Fast Track Immigration Program by agreeing to allow their biometric information to be collected while they are enrolled with OCI, which will be shared with future Fast Track applications or used for automatic enrollment into the program.
The new rules also introduced measures for those who wish to appeal the decision if their OCI application or citizenship application is rejected. The challenge will now be dealt with by an authority “one level higher” than the one that made the original decision.
The rules also introduced a right to be heard, allowing the aggrieved person a reasonable opportunity to present his or her case in all cases of review or review before a final decision is made, the notification said.
The government has also introduced a new rule which states: “If a person files an application for review under Section 15A, the Central Government shall dispose of the said review application after giving a reasonable opportunity to the aggrieved person to present his case.”
The OCI scheme was introduced through the Citizenship Amendment Act 1955 in 2005.
The scheme provides for the registration of persons of Indian origin as overseas citizens of India, provided they were citizens of India on or after 26 January 1950, or were eligible to become citizens on that date.
However, individuals whose parent, grandparents or great-grandparents are or were citizens of Pakistan or Bangladesh are not eligible.
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