OCI Card/Visa is now cancelled EVERY TIME when US passport is renewed

[ProNRI]

This is an official travel advisory/policy posted by the Indian embassy, which effectively states that existing Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) card/visa becomes INVALID EVERY TIME when the OCI card/visa holder's US passport is renewed before 21 years of age and once after 49 years of age:

https://www.indianembassy.org/pages.php?id=20

To say the least the above is clearly an anti-NRI policy that is selectively attacking OCI card holders while 10 year tourist visa holders are allowed to carry old passport with visa and renewed passport to travel to India. This policy and the requirements thereof are in direct contradiction to the PM Modi's claim and promise to make immigration to India NRI-friendly. Needless to mention, this policy and the execution of it will have a significantly negative business impact on NRIs' immigration to India.

As per the requirement under this new policy, every time an existing OCI card holder renews their US passport before the age of 21 years and once after the age of 49 years their OCI card/visa (despite having lifetime validity endorsement) becomes invalid. As a result, all existing OCI card/visa holders are now being forced to reapply to get their OCI cards reissued every time when their US passport is renewed before 21 years of age and once after 50 years of age. Effectively, this policy imposes restriction on NRIs in that unless NRIs get their OCI card reissued after renewal of their US passport, they will not be allowed to travel to India, despite possessing OCI visa card that clearly reads "Validity: LIFELONG".

On top of this agony, the application for getting OCI card reissued involves significant yet unnecessary hardship by means of an extremely cumbersome, tedious and lengthy process, as it means applying for OCI card/visa all over again every time when one renews their US passport. The application for OCI card reissue/renewal also requires submitting same amount of paperwork as if one is applying for the first time, and then imposes a long waiting period of two long months - all this just to get existing OCI card reissued.

Please take a look at the CKGS website (CKGS is the official partner of the Indian Consulate, providing consular services for applying for/reissuing of OCI card, visas, etc) to see how much is involved in getting one's OCI card reissued:

https://www.in.ckgs.us/oci/oci-categories.shtml

Take a look at the long list of documents that one has to supply just to renew their existing OCI card, just to get the idea of how the NRIs are being harassed just for maintaining their existing OCI card validity that was promised to be lifelong in the first place:

https://www.in.ckgs.us/resources/pdf/oci/oci-re-issue-new-passport-us-adult.pdf

Ironically, US passport holders with 10 year tourist visa are EXEMPT from having to even transfer visa from old passport to renewed passport! They are allowed to carry the old passport and the new passport to travel to India!

I must say that all NRIs with OCI cards have been cheated, as we were first granted lifetime validity visa/OCI (by charging the fee of almost $300 per person, and requiring a lengthy application process, with all the required documentation that we had to submit) and now the government of India does not want to honor their own endorsement and is forcing people to apply all over, again and again!

I have Tweeted PM Modi and Sushma Swaraj (and I think we all should), and appealed them to have the the Indian embassies in the USA and other countries retract this totally unfair policy or, at the least, to make the OCI card renewal/reissue process simple, easy, straight forward, and quick by requiring only the so called "match up" step, where the agency staff performs transfer of the lifelong visa from an existing OCI card to a new reissued OCI card.

If this policy is not retracted or modified, all NRIs with OCI cards will face significant hardship when wanting to travel to India on a renewed US passport.

[ProNRI]

More information, more confusion!

My brother found a very interesting piece of information on the CKGS website, which has brought a new twist (and more confusion) to the OCI card/visa rule change news. The info is the information in the paragraph below, which you can find at this website (http://ww2.in.ckgs.us/oci.shtml#)


“OCI Cards are now* being printed without the lifelong “U” Visa Sticker (which is normally pasted on the applicant's passport). The proof of life long visa will** be just the OCI Card** which will have “Life Time Visa” printed on it. The OCI Card will be valid with any Valid Passport."

*I interpret this as "currently"

**I interpret this as the new style OCI cards that they are issuing for new applicants and those who are supposed to get their existing OCI cards reissued.

For all of us who have the old style OCI cards (without the visa info on them) from few years ago, the above is the reminder that our OCI card is NOT the visa, as nowhere on it does it say "Visa" or "Validity: Lifetime" or "Multiple Entry", etc. the OCI card we received is merely the registration of the Overseas Citizens of India status. The only "lifetime validity", "multiple entry" visa we have is the sticker on one of the pages in our passports.

So, as I understand it now, the game-plan by the Indian govt is to have both the visa and the OCI registration on the OCI card itself, and no visa endorsement on passports. This way, when we renew our passport we would not have to carry old/expired passport that would have the OCI visa sticker.

Also, I understand that new style OCI card with the "built-in" visa sticker will again need to be reissued when the person gets their passport renewed before the age of 21 or after the age of 49. However, I am not sure if the OCI visa on our passport also now becomes invalid when we have a new passport before the age of 21 or after the age of 49 (for those with old style OCI card without the visa on it) or if the OCI reissue requirement only applies to the new kind of OCI cards that they are now issuing for new applicants! I am going to try to call CKGS to get some clarity on this.


On top of that, I am more confused when I go to the FAQ page on the CKGS website:

http://ww2.in.ckgs.us/general-information/faq.shtml:

It reads under "Transferring Visa From Old Passport To New Passport":

Q.5. OCI is on my old passport and it has not been transferred to my new passport, can I travel?

Answer: Yes, you may travel with both the new and old passports.

So, does this mean that we will be allowed to travel to India if we carry old passport along with the new one, without going through the painful process of getting our OCI reissued? Do we also have the choice to transfer OCI visa sticker from our old passport to the new one? If yes, how do we do that?

Bottomline: Lack of straightforward, consistent and structured information on the CKGS website (and very limited information on the embassy website and zero customer service by the embassy office staff) has created a very confusing situation for such a critical item.

In other words, one would need a panel of lawyers to try to analyze the language on various web pages of CKGS website and try to interpret what the actual requirements and stipulations are!

[milli]

This's been the case for years and nothing new as you'd posted. And nowhere I see it becomes invalid.

[ProNRI]

Not a new poicy?

This's been the case for years and nothing new as you'd posted. And nowhere I see it becomes invalid.

So, this policy is not new? When was it first posted? I wonder, if it has been posted for so long then why the immigration officers at the Indian airports do not even know about it till date!

- - - Updated - - -

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[milli]

So, this policy is not new? When was it first posted? I wonder, if it has been posted for so long then why the immigration officers at the Indian airports do not even know about it till date!

I remember reading it when I applied around 2011.

[ProNRI]

Not new but not implemented ever either!

I remember reading it when I applied around 2011.

Oh? So, this means that this policy is only good in print and not implemented? From what I read in your post, this policy is at least five years old, but even today the immigration office in Mumbai is telling me that I will be fine without having OCI reissued for my children and myself (despite all three of us falling outside the "green zone" of 21 and 49 years of age, and our US passports have recently been renewed outside the "green zone" age!)

What a mess!

I am NOT going to go through the plight of applying over and over again for reissuing of OCI cards (for my children) and even once for myself, because I have looked at the amount of paperwork required every time, over and over again, and have read about unreliability of CKGS services. I will just get eTourist visa on-line and go. OCI card will be a museum object in my world! So much for the LIFETIME validity of my U visa! What a joke!

[prishi]

I think it is the Cox and Kings people who are screwing up the OCI Renewal process!!!

The GOI website simply asks for your old and new passport documentation. However, the CKGS website does that "Matchup Process" and that step prints out a TWENTY ONE STEP CHECKLIST!!
It asks for documents that should be "Notarized". This gives us unnecessary work to do and does not make sense for a simple RENEWAL of the OCI card due to US Passport having been renewed.
These documents that do not make any sense in this particular process are:-
------- Naturalization Certificate - When a person already had had a US Passport for 15 years and that has expired, why should the Govt of India ask to see his Naturalization Certificate at this step when they are expiring their own OCI card?
------- Marriage Certificate - Why should a Marriage Certificate be asked for at an OCI renewal process? It is as rediculous as asking what my "birthsign" is!!!
------- Birth Certificate - Again, why do you need this? Just because everyone would have one?
All this has been asked during the time of initial issue of the OCI. Currently, the OCI is being *renewed*. Why are you delaying this process?
------- Proof of Residence as in Drivers License or Utility Bill. WHY? If the OCI card already states the Proof of Residence, and the Residence has not changed, why should there be another document that I produce, and then get notarized?
------- Then there are other irrelevant sections on Police Report etc. and when I called up Cox and Kings, the call center bloke simply said..... "You may ignore this section"...... so, he had authority for this! For everything else, he kept repeating like a parrot, that they were only doing this on behalf of the GOI and kept blaming it on the GOI for asking for all these forms!!

STUPID STUPID STUPID!!!

Makes me wonder as to why one should have an OCI card at all!!!!!!!

[Sudheer Henderson]

OCI renewal required AFTER hitting 50 or ONLY after US passport renewal after 50 ?

This is an official travel advisory/policy posted by the Indian embassy, which effectively states that existing Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) card/visa becomes INVALID EVERY TIME when the OCI card/visa holder's US passport is renewed before 21 years of age and once after 49 years of age:

As per the requirement under this new policy, every time an existing OCI card holder renews their US passport before the age of 21 years and once after the age of 49 years their OCI card/visa (despite having lifetime validity endorsement) becomes invalid. As a result, all existing OCI card/visa holders are now being forced to reapply to get their OCI cards reissued every time when their US passport is renewed before 21 years of age and once after 50 years of age. Effectively, this policy imposes restriction on NRIs in that unless NRIs get their OCI card reissued after renewal of their US passport, they will not be allowed to travel to India, despite possessing OCI visa card that clearly reads "Validity: LIFELONG".

If this policy is not retracted or modified, all NRIs with OCI cards will face significant hardship when wanting to travel to India on a renewed US passport.

(1) Should OCI be renewed if my USA passport was renewed shortly before I hit 50 yrs (say, 2 months) ? (2) And now traveling to India after I'm 51 yrs old - so is OCI renewal still required since I'm over 50 yrs old ? The answer seems to be NO, for both questions; but having my doubts if I'm wrongly interpreting the OCI renewal requirement, since they can also mean that if I travel to India AFTER I hit 50 yrs, I'll have to renew the OCI regardless of US passport renewal BEFORE reaching 50 yrs - since I'm 51 yrs old NOW.

[ProNRI]

OCI renewal requirement is for "entertainment purpose" only!!

(1) Should OCI be renewed if my USA passport was renewed shortly before I hit 50 yrs (say, 2 months) ? (2) And now traveling to India after I'm 51 yrs old - so is OCI renewal still required since I'm over 50 yrs old ? The answer seems to be NO, for both questions; but having my doubts if I'm wrongly interpreting the OCI renewal requirement, since they can also mean that if I travel to India AFTER I hit 50 yrs, I'll have to renew the OCI regardless of US passport renewal BEFORE reaching 50 yrs - since I'm 51 yrs old NOW.

Don't bother! They (the Indian Govt., that is) have no idea what they are doing. They have this reissue requirement posted since 2011 (or even before that) but I have asked many families who have successfully traveled to India with kids and adults like you and I (I am also exactly 51) whose US passports were renewed but they did not get their OCI cards reissued.

In other words, the OCI reissue requirement rule is "for entertainment purpose" only! After all, the endorsement of "Lifetime validity" on the U visa should stand.

On top of that, CKGS is another big reason NOT to risk your passports and money when you don't have to! CKGS simply SUCKS!

Go to India and come back to share your immigration experience (which I guarantee to be a smooth one).

[proonindiandoc]

Don't bother! They (the Indian Govt., that is) have no idea what they are doing. They have this reissue requirement posted since 2011 (or even before that) but I have asked many families who have successfully traveled to India with kids and adults like you and I (I am also exactly 51) whose US passports were renewed but they did not get their OCI cards reissued.

In other words, the OCI reissue requirement rule is "for entertainment purpose" only! After all, the endorsement of "Lifetime validity" on the U visa should stand.

On top of that, CKGS is another big reason NOT to risk your passports and money when you don't have to! CKGS simply SUCKS!

Go to India and come back to share your immigration experience (which I guarantee to be a smooth one).

sir, you are all correct. first of all, OCI reissue is totally freak out many people, is not have to do so. secondly, CKGS is the worst company I never seen, from the beginning it opened on 2014, no major improve, the new update of the process even more worst and ridiculous, last two outsource companies, BLS I thought was the worst, but now CKGS is even worst, I have many clients rather than paying extra to us, and not going through the painful process on CKGS. In the other hand, I should say thank you to CKGS the sucks operation.

[ProNRI]

Do you help people know the fact that OCI reissue is not required?

sir, you are all correct. first of all, OCI reissue is totally freak out many people, is not have to do so. secondly, CKGS is the worst company I never seen, from the beginning it opened on 2014, no major improve, the new update of the process even more worst and ridiculous, last two outsource companies, BLS I thought was the worst, but now CKGS is even worst, I have many clients rather than paying extra to us, and not going through the painful process on CKGS. In the other hand, I should say thank you to CKGS the sucks operation.

I have talked to many families who have successfully travelled to India without OCI renewed, in spite of renewed passports for children. The most recent case is from the summer of 2016. I also called Mumbai airport immigration officer who was kind enough to give me his full name and advice that there is no need to get OCI card renewed. He actually said, "I welcome you to India, don't worry!"

[proonindiandoc]

I have talked to many families who have successfully travelled to India without OCI renewed, in spite of renewed passports for children. The most recent case is from the summer of 2016. I also called Mumbai airport immigration officer who was kind enough to give me his full name and advice that there is no need to get OCI card renewed. He actually said, "I welcome you to India, don't worry!"

exactly. that's what I said

[ndk100]

OCI Renewal after getting a new passport after turning 50 not strictly needed

Hi,
I wanted to share my recent experience on traveling to India after passport renewal (after turning 50) and with old OCI card and old (canceled) passport with the OCI visa sticker.

We landed at Delhi International airport and went to the OCI immigration desk (which, I think is the second from left). We were through in less than 10 minutes (for a family of 3) and no questions asked about OCI renewal. We just presented the new passport, OCI card and old passport with OCI sticker.

I was worried about this earlier and didn't find much information on this forum and thought that I should share my experience with other people in the same situation who might also be worried. From what I experienced, I can say that there is no problem and one can travel with new passport, OCI card and old passport (with the original OCI sticker).

[vijaycv]

Travelling to India, need advice

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I am travelling to India in 2 weeks, my kid's US passport was recently renewed and her OCI card shows old US passport number. The expired US passport does not have U sticker as she got the OCI only this Jan 2017. So can i travel with the kid's old and new passport and OCI card without renewing the OCI for the new US passport. Just thinking about the renewal process gives me nightmares on the paperwork that i have to do. Please advice.

[milli]

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I am travelling to India in 2 weeks, my kid's US passport was recently renewed and her OCI card shows old US passport number. The expired US passport does not have U sticker as she got the OCI only this Jan 2017. So can i travel with the kid's old and new passport and OCI card without renewing the OCI for the new US passport. Just thinking about the renewal process gives me nightmares on the paperwork that i have to do. Please advice.

Yes you don't need the OCI reissued for new passports any more and also they don't check the U stamp on the passport. OCI card is good enough to travel. My kids travelled last week that way.