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The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday notified the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2026.
The new rules update the 2009 framework and change how Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) services and applications will now be handled.
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The idea is to make the process easier to follow, while also ensuring stricter adherence to rules.
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Under the revised rules, OCI applications will now have to be submitted online. At the same time, applicants will have the option of holding either a physical OCI card or an e-OCI document.
According to the Ministry, minors will not be allowed to hold both Indian and foreign passports at the same time under the revised provisions.
OCI cards continue to offer multiple-entry, multi-purpose lifelong visas to persons of Indian origin and their spouses, along with certain economic and educational benefits in India. However, the government has reiterated that OCI status does not grant political rights such as voting or holding constitutional posts.
The Ministry underlined that OCI status remains a privilege and not a right, and may be withdrawn if the holder is found violating Indian laws.
Background of OCI scheme and tightened norms
The Overseas Citizen of India scheme was introduced in 2005 through an amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955. It allows registration of persons of Indian origin as OCI cardholders if they were citizens of India on or after January 26, 1950, or were eligible to become citizens on that date.
However, individuals who are or have been citizens of Pakistan or Bangladesh, or whose parents, grandparents or great-grandparents held citizenship of these countries, are not eligible under the scheme.
In recent years, the government has also tightened rules governing OCI registration. On August 11 last year, the MHA issued a notification stating that OCI registration can be cancelled if an individual is sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more, or is charge-sheeted for an offence punishable with imprisonment of seven years or more.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by the 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 stated.
The latest rules, the government said, are aimed at streamlining application procedures while strengthening compliance and security provisions under the citizenship framework.
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