PERMANENT INDIAN VISA FOR CITIZENS OF INDIAN ORIGIN
An Overseas Citizen of India will enjoy all rights and privileges available to Non-Resident Indians excluding the right to invest in agriculture and plantation properties. There is no visa requirement for travel to India. The person has to carry his existing foreign passport along with Registration Certificate. Alternately, the Overseas Citizen of India can apply for a new type of visa called `U' visa which is a multi-purpose, multiple-entry, life-long visa for those that wish to acquire it. It will entitle the Overseas Citizen of India to visit the country at any time for any length of time and for any purpose.An Overseas Citizen of India will not enjoy the following rights even if resident in India: (i) the right to vote, (ii) the right to hold the offices of President, Vice-President, Judge of Supreme Court and High Court, Member of Lok sabha, Rajya Sabha, Legislative Assembly or Council, (iii) appointment to Public Services (Government Service).Although Overseas Citizenship of India is not a full citizenship of India, it is a form of Indian nationality. Article 4 of the Hague Convention on Certain Questions relating to the Conflict of Nationality Laws, 1930 provides that "a State may not afford diplomatic protection to one of its nationals against a state whose nationality such person also possesses". Therefore, international law limits the ability of a country to provide consular protection to its citizens or nationals in their country of second nationality. A person registered as an Overseas Citizen of India, who is also a citizen of another country will therefore lose their right to consular protection of their home country when in India , assuming the other state recognizes the status of Overseas Citizen of India as a form of nationality. The latter point is doubtful since this status does not include possession of a travel document (i.e. the holder enters India on another country's passport, and must renew the other country's passport if it expires while in India) nor most of the other attributes of nationality (e.g. presumably a holder of an OCI card may be denied entry or deported from India, may have the status removed arbitrarily at any time, etc.) It's also not clear whether India will provide consular protection to holders of OCI cards while present in third countries. This matter has not been tested in the courts yet.Many persons of Indian origin eligible to apply for Overseas Citizenship of India are considering whether they prefer to obtain Overseas Citizenship of India, or a Person of Indian Origin card (PIO card - see below) which offers virtually identical benefits while preserving their right to consular protection in India (if one accepts the theory stated above that OCI is a kind of nationality).Acquiring Overseas citizenship of India prevents British nationals from registering as full British citizens under Section 4B of the British Nationality Act of 1981 (which requires that nationals have no other citizenship in order to register.) It does not prevent them from acquiring full British citizenship by a different method and it does not revoke their British citizenship if they have already registered under Section 4B.
An Overseas Citizen of India will enjoy all rights and privileges available to Non-Resident Indians excluding the right to invest in agriculture and plantation properties. There is no visa requirement for travel to India. The person has to carry his existing foreign passport along with Registration Certificate. Alternately, the Overseas Citizen of India can apply for a new type of visa called `U' visa which is a multi-purpose, multiple-entry, life-long visa for those that wish to acquire it. It will entitle the Overseas Citizen of India to visit the country at any time for any length of time and for any purpose.An Overseas Citizen of India will not enjoy the following rights even if resident in India: (i) the right to vote, (ii) the right to hold the offices of President, Vice-President, Judge of Supreme Court and High Court, Member of Lok sabha, Rajya Sabha, Legislative Assembly or Council, (iii) appointment to Public Services (Government Service).Although Overseas Citizenship of India is not a full citizenship of India, it is a form of Indian nationality. Article 4 of the Hague Convention on Certain Questions relating to the Conflict of Nationality Laws, 1930 provides that "a State may not afford diplomatic protection to one of its nationals against a state whose nationality such person also possesses". Therefore, international law limits the ability of a country to provide consular protection to its citizens or nationals in their country of second nationality. A person registered as an Overseas Citizen of India, who is also a citizen of another country will therefore lose their right to consular protection of their home country when in India , assuming the other state recognizes the status of Overseas Citizen of India as a form of nationality. The latter point is doubtful since this status does not include possession of a travel document (i.e. the holder enters India on another country's passport, and must renew the other country's passport if it expires while in India) nor most of the other attributes of nationality (e.g. presumably a holder of an OCI card may be denied entry or deported from India, may have the status removed arbitrarily at any time, etc.) It's also not clear whether India will provide consular protection to holders of OCI cards while present in third countries. This matter has not been tested in the courts yet.Many persons of Indian origin eligible to apply for Overseas Citizenship of India are considering whether they prefer to obtain Overseas Citizenship of India, or a Person of Indian Origin card (PIO card - see below) which offers virtually identical benefits while preserving their right to consular protection in India (if one accepts the theory stated above that OCI is a kind of nationality).Acquiring Overseas citizenship of India prevents British nationals from registering as full British citizens under Section 4B of the British Nationality Act of 1981 (which requires that nationals have no other citizenship in order to register.) It does not prevent them from acquiring full British citizenship by a different method and it does not revoke their British citizenship if they have already registered under Section 4B.
Comments
Do you know about the fees in educational institutions (higher education) for Under Grad and Post-Grad studies? Is it same as Resident Indians for the OCI?