OCI status can be cancelled if convicted in a case, says MHA

The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a notification stating that the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, which allows Indian-origin foreign nationals to visit India without any visa, will be cancelled if the person is sentenced to jail for a term not less than two years or gets chargesheeted for an offence carrying imprisonment for seven years or more.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (da) of section 7D of the Citizenship Act, 1955 (57 of 1955), the Central Government hereby states that an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) registration shall be liable to get cancelled when a person has been sentenced to imprisonment for term of not less than two years or has been charge-sheeted for an offence entailing punishment of imprisonment for seven years or more,” the notification issued on August 11 stated.

MHA sources said that the notification has been brought to make OCI card holders accountable to the law of the land. Given that getting OCI status provides certain rights and privileges to foreign citizens of Indian origin, there was a need for tightening the legal framework governing it. “The provision applies irrespective of whether the conviction occurred in India or abroad, provided the offence is recognised under Indian law,” said MHA sources.

Introduced in August 2005, the OCI scheme provides for the registration all persons of Indian origin as OCI, provided they were citizens of India on January 26, 1950 or thereafter or were eligible to become citizens of India on January 26, 1950, except those who are or has been a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh or such other country as the central government may by notification in the official gazette specify.

However, the OCIs do not enjoy the political rights for voting or holding constitutional posts. The government maintains that the facility is a privilege, and not an entitlement, and may be withdrawn if the holder is found violating Indian laws.

The notification comes under the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and the Citizenship Rules, 2009, which empower the central government to cancel OCI registration under specified conditions.

In recent years, the MHA has taken steps to more closely regulate the OCI scheme after instances where holders were found to be involved in criminal or anti-national activities.

Published on August 13, 2025