THoD NewsDesk, New Delhi: Through its recent notification, the center stated that people of Indian origin and Indian diaspora that have Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards are no longer required to carry their old, expired passports while traveling India, as was mandatory earlier.
In a press release on March 26th, the deadline to get the OCI cards reissued was extended till 31st December 2021 by the Indian Embassy. It further said that the “requirement to carry old and new passports by the OCI cardholders has been done away with. Hence, the cardholders can travel with their new passport without having to carry the old one.”
The inconvenience of keeping the old and expired passports have been eased by the government and the provision is welcomed by many among the Indian diaspora. Prem Bhandari, a New York-based activist who has been voicing the issue of OCI cardholders for many years, expressed his gratitude towards the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for changing the policy and extending the timeline to get the cards reissued up till the age of 20 years.
In place since 2015, this OCI guideline required the OCI card to be re-issued each time a new passport is obtained by the cardholder. Due to the ongoing pandemic, this relaxation on the timeline has been extended.
