Foreign spouses cannot get overseas Indian citizenship

Dubai: The foreign spouse of a person of Indian origin does not qualify for Overseas Indian Citizenship (OCI), said a senior official from the Indian consulate in Dubai.

"An OCI holder gets a multi-purpose life-long visa which is stamped on his passport but the foreign spouse will have to apply for a separate visa when travelling to India. But their children will be entitled for OCIs since one of their parents is of Indian origin," said the official.

"The applications are verified and we run interviews.

"For example, if a UK national applies for an OCI on the basis that his grandfather was an Indian, we ask him to get the passport copy of his grandfather or other documents which verify that the grandfather was indeed an Indian," he added.

The official was responding to queries Gulf News received from foreign nationals of Indian origin concerning OCI.

Haridas Nambier, a Canadian of Indian origin, said, "I am yet to apply for an OCI but I wanted to know whether my wife who is French will also get the benefit of the OCI. She does not have any Indian connection."

Raising similar queries, Vidya Parthasarathy, a Briton of Indian origin, said: "Can my children and me apply at the same time for the OCI?

"My husband does not qualify, I am aware of it as he is a Briton of French origin."

The government of India grants OCIs another form of 'Dual Citizenship' to persons of Indian origin of certain categories who migrated from India and acquired the citizenship of a foreign country other than Pakistan and Bangladesh.

An OCI is granted as long as their home countries allow dual citizenship in some form or the other under their local laws.

Every registered OCI will be issued a registration certificate and an OCI visa sticker will be pasted on the person's foreign passport. These two documents will have the photograph of the individual and all necessary security features.

An OCI holder is not given the right to vote or to run for constitutional posts.

The official announcement of the OCI was first made by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (Overseas Indian Day) in 2005.

Singh formally launched the scheme on January 7, 2006 at Hyderabad when the first OCI was handed over to a person of Indian origin.

An OCI certificate acquired on the basis of concealed information or misrepresentation could be cancelled and the person can be blacklisted for entry to India.

"In Dubai, the first batch of people of Indian origin received their OCIs at the consulate on February 12.

"Earlier it took six weeks to process an OIC but now it is done in four weeks. The applicants can apply online," said the consular official.

"A hard copy of each application is sent to India. An OCI is granted only after a thorough investigation is carried out," said the official.

On whether people from UAE are eligible to apply for an OCI, the official said: "No. This is because the UAE does not permit dual citizenship."

The official said that so far the consulate has received 144 applications for OCI.

The benefits

- Multi-purpose, multiple entry life-long visa to enter India.

- Exemption from registration with the Foreigners Regional Registration officer for any length of stay in India.

- Parity with Non-Resident Indians in respect to all facilities, except in matters relating to the acquisition of agricultural and plantation properties.

- Fee for registration as an OCI is Dh1,020.