Surrender comes first
- Surrender your last Indian passport to the Indian embassy or consulate (usually through its outsourced service provider, such as VFS) immediately after you take foreign nationality.
- You get a Surrender Certificate (or Renunciation Certificate). If you lost the old passport, you submit an affidavit and get a Renunciation Declaration Certificate instead.
- Consulates will not process an OCI or visa application without one of these certificates.
- Travelling on an Indian passport after taking another nationality is an offence and a penalty applies.
OCI: what it gives you
An Overseas Citizen of India card is a lifelong, multiple-entry visa. OCI holders:
- can live and work in India with no time limit;
- do not register with the FRRO, however long they stay;
- have parity with NRIs in many financial matters, such as buying residential or commercial property (but not farmland or plantations);
- cannot vote, hold most public offices, or buy agricultural land.
See our full OCI card guide, including the rule on updating OCI when you renew your foreign passport.
Family members
- Foreign-citizen children of Indian citizens or OCI holders are usually eligible for OCI.
- A foreign spouse of an Indian citizen or OCI holder can apply for OCI once the marriage has been registered and subsisting for two years. Until then, an entry (X) visa is the usual route.
Taxes and money
Citizenship and tax residence are different things. An OCI who lives in India becomes tax-resident in the same way as anyone else; see RNOR status. US citizens remain subject to US tax filing wherever they live.
Sources: Consulate General of India, San Francisco, General information on surrender, checked 21 October 2026. Fees, penalties and documents are set by each mission; check yours before you apply.
