OCI Card Renewal Required ?

[anubansa]

Hi All

Both me and my husband are over 50 and have US Citizenship, we have OCI card issued in 2012. Since then we have new passport issued in 2017 that is valid till 2027. Do I need to renew my OCI card? We actually went to India in Nov-2019 without any OCI card renewal and we had no trouble getting in and out of India. Is the OCI renewal ruling has now changed since Nov-2019 that we now require OCI renewal, Any help will be appreciated, considering all the OCI renewal nightmares I have heard, just trying to avoid it if it is not required.

Similarly my 2 kids who are now 25 and 27 years old have OCI card issued in 2012 and they also have new passports as of 2015, do they require OCI renewal. They also went to India in Nov-2019 and had no issues getting in/out of India.

Appreciate your responses.

Txs

Anu

[sathak]

For you - Yes you need to renew the OCI card since you are over 50. Now anytime you renew your passport, you need your OCI reissued.

For you Kids - When they got their OCI they were 16 and 18, so now they have to renew once since they crossed 20 years. after renewed it they don't have to renew their OCI cards until they turn into 50 and over. Hope this helps...

[arkaa]

Both me and my husband are over 50 and have US Citizenship, we have OCI card issued in 2012. Since then we have new passport issued in 2017 that is valid till 2027. Do I need to renew my OCI card? We actually went to India in Nov-2019 without any OCI card renewal and we had no trouble getting in and out of India. Is the OCI renewal ruling has now changed since Nov-2019 that we now require OCI renewal, Any help will be appreciated, considering all the OCI renewal nightmares I have heard, just trying to avoid it if it is not required.

The exact rule that applies to you is as follows:
"For an applicant who is 50 years of age or older, OCI documents must be re-issued once after the issuance of a new passport. If the OCI card is issued for the first time after the age of 50 years, then there is no need for re-issue of OCI."

So, if you were below 50 when you got your current passport (in 2017), then you do not have to update your OCI till you get your first new passport after you turned 50. When you travel to India, along with the OCI you should also carry your old expired US passport (the one whose number is on the OCI) and you are good. When you get your new passport in 2027, then get the OCI reissued.

However, if you were already 50 when you got your current passport, then as per rules you should get your OCI updated. But that has been relaxed till June 2021 due to Covid - so in case you are planning to travel this summer, you can travel without issues.

Please note: You need to get the OCI re-issued only once after turning 50. After that no further updates are needed, no matter how many times you get a new passport. (The response posted by sathak above is not correct).

Finally, as you have already experienced in 2019, the immigration officers in India do not verify the OCI & Passport very closely. As long as they are valid, the name matches and the photos look like you, they let you pass. But there is always a risk, so better to fully comply with the rules.

Similarly my 2 kids who are now 25 and 27 years old have OCI card issued in 2012 and they also have new passports as of 2015, do they require OCI renewal. They also went to India in Nov-2019 and had no issues getting in/out of India.

For your kids, the following rules apply:
"• For an applicant who is 20 years of age or younger, OCI documents must be re-issued each time a new passport is issued.
• For an applicant who is 21 to 49 years of age, there is no need to re-issue OCI documents each time a new passport is issued. However, if the applicant desires, he/she can request that the OCI documents be re-issued so that the OCI documents reflect the correct passport number"

Your kids were both under 20 when they got their OCI. So they should get their OCI reissued with their current passports. After that they needn't update it till they turn 50.

And, as I said above, the IOs do not check the OCIs very closely. But, if they catch it then there will be unnecessary headaches. Better to follow the prescribed rules.

Here are the complete guidelines regarding OCI - https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default...delinesOCI.pdf

[sathak]

arkaa - Thank you .. I must have misread the rules. I got it now after read again for 50+ years. Thank god... it's nice to know.. thanks again...