OVERSEAS CITIZEN OF INDIA

Press Information Bureau 
Government of India
Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs 

17-December-2014 20:47 IST

Overseas Citizens of India 

The Minister of State in the ministries of Overseas Indian Affairs & External Affairs General (Retd.) V. K. Singh said in Lok Sabha today that Registration of 27,606 OCI applications was pending as on 08.12.2014.  These applications are at various stages of processing.  Persons of Indian origin who specifically apply are granted OCI registration. Application is not mandatory.  Hence no time frame can be indicated by which all PIOs are likely to be issued OCI cards.  NRIs are Indian citizens and do not require OCI cards.

General (Retd.) V. K. Singh said that OCIs have been granted the following benefits:-

(i) A multiple entry multi-purpose life long visa for visiting India.

(ii) Exemption from registration with local police authority for any length of stay in India.

(iii) Parity with Non resident Indians (NRIs) in  respect of economic, financial and educational fields except in relation to acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties. No parity is allowed in the sphere of political rights.

(iv) Parity with NRIs in entry fee for visiting national monuments, historical sites, museums, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries as well as in domestic air fares in India.

(v) Preference in the matter of inter-country adoption of Indian children.

(vi) Parity with NRIs for practice as doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, advocates, architects and chartered accountants in pursuance of the provisions contained in the relevant Acts.

(vii) Parity with NRIs to appear in AIPMT or such other tests in India to make them eligible for admission in pursuance of the provisions contained in the relevant Acts.

(viii)Permitting OCIs to file an affidavit to declare their address in India, for the purpose of availing services like securing admission of their children to educational institutions in India, obtaining of driving licenses, gas connections, residential telephones and mobile phones, electricity/water connection, etc.

Country-wise details of OCI Registration granted from inception till 08.12.2014

Sr.No.	Mission Name	No. of Visa/OCI Cards Allotted
1	LONDON	299289
2	NEW YORK CGI	191914
3	SAN FRANCISCO	132857
4	BIRMINGHAM	111246
5	HOUSTON	99902
6	TORONTO	92772
7	CHICAGO	89099
8	SYDNEY	83274
9	WASHINGTON DC	59606
10	MELBOURNE	56013
11	PARIS	38947
12	VANCOUVER	34468
13	CANBERRA	33991
14	WELLINGTON	28917
15	MHA DELHI	28101
16	SINGAPORE	26439
17	NAIROBI	20568
18	FRRO MUMBAI	18722
19	COLOMBO	15823
20	FRRO CHENNAI	12744
21	DUBLIN	11365
22	PERTH	10864
23	FRANKFURT	10604
24	MILAN	10403
25	FRRO DELHI	9211
26	OTTAWA	8923
27	EDINBURGH	7735
28	ATLANTA	7375
29	BANGKOK	6979
30	BRUSSELS	6947
31	VIENNA	6389
32	THE HAGUE	5916
33	DURBAN	5633
34	MUNICH	4928
35	BERNE	4927
36	LISBON	4921
37	MADRID	4866
38	HONG KONG	4746
39	MOMBASA	4594

40	JOHANNESBURG		4304
41	DUBAI		3921
42	KANDY		3700
43	FRRO AMRITSAR		3506
44	STOCKHOLM		3505
45	FRRO HYDERABAD		3175
46	DAR ES SALAAM		3083
47	HAMBURG		3075
48	FRRO BANGALORE		2859
49	OSLO		2640
50	BAHRAIN		2069
51	BERLIN		2037
52	ROME		1886
53	ST. DENIS		1714
54	GENEVA		1537
55	CARACAS		1448
56	FRRO KOLKATA		1254
57	TEL AVIV		1180
58	HELSINKI		1028
59	VICTORIA		952
60	ABU DHABI		887
61	ANTANANARIVO		834
62	DOHA		828
63	COPENHAGEN		806
64	PORT LOUIS		749
65	LUSAKA		728
66	RIYADH		717
67	PARAMARIBO		683
68	KINGSTON		683
69	KUWAIT		677
70	MANILA		646
71	MEXICO CITY		633
72	PANAMA CITY		622
73	GABORONE		603
74	JAKARTA		517
75	FRRO COCHIN		499
76	PRETORIA		447
77	JEDDAH		423
78	KAMPALA		376
79	HARARE		326
80	MUSCAT		314
81	PORT OF SPAIN		300
82	WARSAW		281
83		SHANGHAI	234
84		SANTIAGO	208
85		FRRO LUCKNOW	180
86		TOKYO	177
87		MOSCOW	169
88		SAO PAULO	159
89		SANA A	158
90		ACCRA	149
91		KUALA LUMPUR	136
92		ATHENS	124
93		TAIPEI	120
94		KHARTOUM	114
95		FRRO TRIVANDRUM	110
96		SEOUL	90
97		MEDAN	88
98		CAIRO	84
99		KOBE	79
100		BRASILIA	76
101		LAGOS	69
102		NICOSIA	64
103		TEHRAN	62
104		BALI	60
105		REYKJAVIK	56
106		BOGOTA	52
107		BRUNEI	51
108		GUANGZHOU	48
109		BUENOS AIRES	46
110		BAKU	46
111		VIENTIANE	44
112		BUCHAREST	37
113		DAKAR	33
114		FRRO CALICUT	32
115		WINDHOEK	31
116		BUDAPEST	30
117		LIMA	28
118		GEORGETOWN	28
119		DHAKA	26
120		PRAGUE	24
121		ADDIS ABABA	20
122		PHNOM PENH	19
123		EOI	17
124		MALE	17
125		ANKARA	16
126		ZAGREB	12
127		ALMATY	11
128		CGI JAFFNA	11
129		HANOI	9
130		GUATEMALA CITY	9
131		ISTANBUL	8
132		ABIDJAN	7
133		PORT MORESBY	7
134		MINSK	7
135		BRATISLAVA	7
136		KATHMANDU	6
137		TRIPOLI	6
138		SOFIA	6
139		EOI SERBIA	5
140		LUANDA	4
141		BEIJING	4
142		VLADIVOSTOK	4
143		ST. PETERSBERG	3
144		DUSHANBE	3
145		KABUL	3
146		ABUJA	2
147		CAPE TOWN	2
148		ISLAMABAD	2
149		HO-CHI-MINH CITY	1
150		BAMAKO	1
151		BAMAKO	1
152		AMMAN	1
153		ULAAN BAATAR	1
154		BRUNEI	1