The Overseas Citizenship status cannot be granted to non-resident
Indians as they are still Indian citizens. This was clarified by the Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Under the Citizenship Act of 1955, registration for OCI status
can be made only if applicants are citizens of another country.
Persons of Indian origin, who are citizens of a foreign country,
however, can be registered as Overseas Citizens of India.
This
legislation came into effect in December 2005.
The Overseas Citizenship Scheme applies to all overseas Indians
who migrated from India after January 1950, except persons now
settled in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The promulgation of the Citizenship
Ordinance, 2005 extends privileges to overseas citizens, which
include a multiple-entry, multi purpose lifelong visa for traveling
to India, and exemption from registration at the Foreigners Registration
Office for any length of stay in India.
The Minister of State for Home also informed the legislature
that 363 Pakistani nationals of Indian origin are currently staying
on a long term visa in Kerala.
Over the last 3 years, 2,272 Pakistani
officials have been granted Indian citizenship all over India,
excluding the border states of Gujarat and Rajasthan.
