India's OCI Card: Lifelong Entry for Americans with Indian Roots
The Overseas Citizen of India card lets you live in India with no time limit and no police registration. It isn't citizenship, and it isn't open to everyone.
Built for the Indian diaspora and their foreign spouses. If you have no Indian roots and no Indian spouse, the alternatives are at the end of this page.
Eligibility
Three ways in: former citizen, descendant or spouse
You can apply if you were an Indian citizen on or after January 26, 1950, or if a parent, grandparent or great-grandparent was. Proof can be an old Indian passport, a birth certificate, or a parent's or grandparent's Indian passport.
A foreign spouse of an Indian citizen or OCI holder qualifies once the marriage is registered and has lasted two continuous years. Spouses also sit a personal interview.
Two groups are shut out: anyone whose parent, grandparent or great-grandparent was ever a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh, and foreign military or police on active duty.
The numbers that matter
$297
To apply from the U.S.
$275 fee, $3 fund, $19 VFS
3 months
To log a new U.S. passport
free inside that window
182 days
In India before tax residency
in one tax year
5 years
As an OCI before citizenship
plus 12 months living in India
Rights and limits
What the card covers, and where it stops
What you get
A lifelong, multiple-entry visa for any purpose, with no registration at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) however long you stay. You're on par with Non-Resident Indians in economic, financial and educational matters, which covers buying a home or commercial property and practicing as a doctor, advocate, architect or chartered accountant. You also pay the Indian rate for domestic flights and monument entry.
What you don't
You can't vote, sit in a legislature or hold most government jobs, and you can't buy farmland or plantation property. Research, journalism, missionary work, mountaineering and jobs at foreign embassies need special permission first, as do visits to protected areas. When you move house or change jobs, you email the authorities.
The rules shifted in 2025 and 2026
Since August 2025, India can cancel an OCI after a prison sentence of two years or more, or a charge sheet for an offense carrying seven years or more, whether the case is in India or abroad. Rules notified at the end of April 2026 moved every application online, added an electronic e-OCI alongside the physical card, and ask new applicants to consent to biometrics for India's Fast Track Immigration Programme. People already in India on a long-term visa can now apply soon after arrival. The same rules bar a minor who holds an Indian passport from holding any other passport at the same time.
Applying from the U.S., step by step
Clear your Indian passport first
Former Indian citizens surrender their Indian passport before applying: a $40 government fee and $3 welfare fund charge, plus the VFS fee. You need the certificate if you naturalized in 2010 or later.
Fill in the form online
Apply on India's official OCI portal. Your U.S. passport needs at least six months of validity left.
Send your file to VFS Global
Mail the printed form and documents, or bring them by appointment, to the VFS center for your consular area. Card payments add 3.75%, and VFS returns files not completed within 20 calendar days.
Wait five to six weeks
That's the Atlanta consulate's figure for new cases, and there's no rush option. If you must fly sooner, get a regular visa while the OCI is pending.
Before you commit
Taxes, citizenship, and the route if you don't qualify
Taxes follow you
The IRS taxes Americans on worldwide income wherever they live, with an automatic extension to June 15 for filers abroad. The foreign earned income exclusion and foreign tax credit only apply if you file. India can tax you too: besides the 182-day test, 60 days in a year plus 365 days over the previous four makes you resident.
Citizenship means a choice
India doesn't allow dual citizenship, so registering as a citizen means giving up your U.S. passport. Most Americans keep the OCI instead.
No Indian roots or spouse?
You'll need another route. U.S. citizens can get a 10-year paper tourist visa or a 5-year e-visa, but either caps you at 180 days in India per calendar year. Investors can look at Permanent Residency Status, which asks for ₹10 crore within 18 months and jobs for at least 20 resident Indians every year.
Help with the documents, money and move
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U.S. Expat Tax Service
Prepares and files the U.S. tax returns Americans still owe after moving abroad.
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Tax Residency and Visa Tracker Platform
An app that counts your days in each country and warns you before you cross a tax or visa threshold.
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Currency Exchange
Currency conversion and recurring international transfers, for rent and bills paid in rupees.
OCI questions Americans ask
What do I do with my OCI when I renew my U.S. passport?
Upload the new passport details on the OCI portal within three months, which is free. After that, the update costs a $25 consular fee plus $3 and a $19 VFS fee. If you got your OCI as a child, the card itself is reissued once when you get a new passport after turning 20.
Can I become an Indian citizen through the OCI card?
Yes. After five years as an OCI holder, and 12 months living in India right before you apply, you can register as a citizen. India doesn't allow dual citizenship, so that means giving up your U.S. citizenship.
Can India cancel an OCI card?
Yes. Grounds include getting the card by fraud, a prison sentence of two years or more, or a charge sheet for an offense punishable by seven years or more, whether in India or abroad. You get a chance to be heard before any cancellation order.
Can I live in India permanently with an OCI card?
Yes. The OCI is a lifelong, multiple-entry visa for any purpose, and cardholders don't register with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office however long they stay. You do need to email the authorities when you change your address or occupation.
Is an OCI card the same as dual citizenship?
No. India doesn't allow dual citizenship, and an OCI card doesn't make you an Indian citizen. You stay a U.S. citizen and get a lifelong Indian visa with many economic rights, but you can't vote, sit in a legislature or hold most government jobs in India.
Can I work in India with an OCI card?
The OCI is a visa for any purpose, and cardholders have parity with Non-Resident Indians in economic matters. Research, journalism, missionary work, mountaineering and work with foreign embassies need special permission first, and most government jobs are closed to OCI holders.
Can OCI cardholders buy property in India?
Yes. OCI holders can buy homes and commercial property on the same terms as Non-Resident Indians, but they can't buy agricultural land or plantation property.
How much does an OCI card cost in the U.S.?
As of September 2026, a new application costs $297: a $275 government fee, a $3 Indian Community Welfare Fund charge and a $19 VFS Global service fee. Paying by card adds a 3.75% convenience fee.
Other routes into India
India's investor residency is for people building a company there
PRS asks for ₹10 crore (about $1.04 million in September 2026) and 20 Indian jobs a year. In return you get 10 years of multiple-entry residence, renewable once.
Weighing India against other options?
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