Kanishka Singharia
Published22 May 2025, 02:27 PM IST
The Ministry of Home Affairs has launched the revamped portal for Overseas Citizens of India (OCI), a special status for Indian nationals residing in another country, which will provide a user-friendly experience for accessing OCI services. Home Minister Amit Shah, on Tuesday, in a post on social media, stressed that Indian-origin citizens residing in various countries "must face no inconvenience when visiting or staying in India."
Incidentally, the launch happened just two days after Nitasha Kaul, a British Kashmiri Professor of Politics and International Relations at London’s University of Westminster, claimed that her OCI was cancelled by the Indian authorities over alleged “anti-India activities”.
According to PTI report, Kaul has been accused of “numerous inimical writings, speeches and journalistic activities at various international forums and on social media platforms” that target “India and its institutions on the matters of India's sovereignty”.
Also read | Big relief for academic Ashok Swain: Delhi High Court sets aside govt's order cancelling OCI Card
What is Overseas Citizenship of India?
OCI, or Overseas Citizenship of India, is a special status granted to individuals of Indian origin who are citizens of another country. It allows them to travel to and stay in India without restrictions, offering a lifelong, multiple-entry visa, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The OCI scheme was introduced in 2005 through an amendment to the Citizenship Act of 1955. It enables Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) to register as OCI holders, provided they were citizens of India on or after 26 January 1950, or were eligible to become citizens on that date. However, those who are or have been citizens of Pakistan or Bangladesh - or whose parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents were - are not eligible.
How will the revamped OCI portal help?
The new OCI portal aims to fix past issues and make the process easier for users. It incorporates the latest technology and feedback from OCI cardholders over the years. The portal offers several helpful features, such as account sign-up, automatic filling of profile details in OCI application forms, an online payment system, and clear guidance on which documents to upload based on the type of application.
The current OCI services portal, developed in 2013, is active in over 180 Indian missions worldwide and 12 FRROs within India, handling around 2,000 applications each day.
Nearly half of past decade’s OCI cancellations in 2024
The MHA cancelled 57 OCI registrations in 2024, which is almost half the total number of such cancellations made in the past 10 years, according to a report by The Hindu.
From 2014 to mid-2023, the MHA executed cancellations OCI registrations 122 times under Section 7D of the Citizenship Act, 1955. The number of cancellations rose sharply in 2024, and 15 more have already been made this year (until 19 May), the report further added.
Recently, Kaul received a cancellation notice from the Indian government under Section 7D. The academic described the move as a “vindictive, cruel example of transnational repression” and accused the Central government of “targeting” her for expressing her views.
Who is Nitasha Kaul?
Professor Nitasha Kaul is an Indian-origin British citizen who works as a scholar in the UK. A Professor of Politics, International Relations, and Critical Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Westminster in London, Prof Kaul also describes herself as a ‘Kashmiri novelist’. Her focus areas include "right-wing politics, postcolonial neoliberal nationalism, the Hindutva project in India, and the history and politics of Kashmir".
