15 Jan 2020  |   04:28am IST

'Lifelong' OCI card, has restrictions for some Goan origin 'foreigners'

OCI cards must have passport nos of renewed passports, carrying old passport with old oci number not enough for some age groups from June 2020

 

The joy of travelling home is special as one anticipates

meeting loved ones after years and spending a few days in a house filled with memories and loved ones. Some make the journey to reconnect to their roots while some travel to explore new places and cultures. With so many plans in one’s mind, it is quite frustrating when you have your bags packed, tickets and passport in hand and then you are asked to return back. This is especially true for Indians who are under 20 years or above 50 years of age and are Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card holders.

Radhika ( name changed) was brought to tears at the Brisbane airport when she was told by Singapore Airlines that she can’t travel to Goa to meet her grandmother after spending money saved from her salary on her ticket. Unfortunately for her, two hours later, the Indian Government issued a notice of allowing ‘temporary relaxation’ till June 2020.

The Government of India has introduced Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) Scheme to Persons of Indian origin who have migrated from India and acquired Citizenship of a foreign country. Among other benefits, the OCI scheme a multiple entry lifelong visa to India for any length of stay and for any purpose. However, the Indian government is advising Indians under 20 years of age and holding OCI cards to get them re-issued each time they get their passports re-issued. For OCI card holders above 50 years, the card needs to be re-issued only once after passport renewal. The Indian government is allowing temporary relaxation till June , 2020 for selected cases, where any OCI card holder less than 20 years old or above 50 years travels with a copy of the new passport, the OCI card and the old passport that is linked to the OCI card. However, it is advised that OCI cardholders take steps to comply with the existing guidelines and renew their OCI cards as required by the rules.

Post June 2020, no one is sure about what will be the rule, including Adv Narendra K Sawaikar, Commissioner for NRI Affairs Government of Goa. “There are many Goans who can approach the NRI Affairs office at the Goa Secretariat, Porvorim or the Passport Office in Panjim for any clarification about the renewal of the OCI Cards. Earlier, the cards could be applied for only with the Ministry of Home Affairs at New Delhi, which was causing inconvenience. We try to help as much as possible. The notice of the renewal has been on social media and various other platforms and it was also brought to our notice because of the Goan Diaspora settled across the globe. We don’t have permission for a list of OCI holders in Goa to inform them about the changes. I am not sure about the rule after June 2020,” says Adv Sawaikar.

Marius Fernandes recently organised an NRI Fest in Divar, which brought many NRI Goans together. However, since they were NRIs, the issues of OCI didn’t crop up. But being an OCI card holder himself, Marius knows the struggle. “We don’t know where to find out the right information as we don’t know where the office is anymore. Earlier, we had to visit Delhi to make the OCI cards or we had to visit the Indian Embassy in the home country. There are many Portuguese passport holders in Goa itself who will be facing this issue when they are travelling and who have no idea about the rules. And the only way they will learn about it is when they get stopped at the airport,” says Marius.

With the holiday season soon approaching, many families have already started planning on the destinations and length of vacation while paying attention to the dates involved. Many families have parents who have OCI Cards but their children are in the under 20 age group and hence will will be affected. “While my wife’s and my passports because she us under 50, our daughter’s passport will have to be renewed after we return from our holidays in May. We cannot extend our holidays because of the June 2020 deadline,” says Vikas ( name changed) an Indian passport holdervwhose wife n daughter are Goans with Portuguese passports.

It’s clear that there is not enough discussion or information regarding this. And this confusion has led to panic and frustration. There are reports that some of those of Goan origin in the USA boarded a flight to Goa via the Gulf. While they boarded in New York for a Gulf country enroute to India, they were not allowed to board for the last leg at the Gulf airport.

Its important that this issue gets sorted quickly to prevent frustration setting among those who simply want to connect with their motherland.