India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has quietly overhauled the rules for Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards, removing one of the biggest bureaucratic hurdles for foreign nationals of Indian origin. Effective 1 April 2026, applicants filing for a new OCI card while physically in India no longer need to demonstrate six months’ continuous residence before submitting their paperwork. The clarification—published on 8 April and highlighted in press coverage on 17 April—means eligible foreign nationals can now arrive on any valid visa and lodge the OCI application immediately, provided they hold the required proof of Indian ancestry and a local address. The rule change comes alongside a new fee structure: INR 15,000 for new applications filed in India (payable by demand draft) and US $275 for applications lodged abroad. Replacement cards after passport renewal now cost US $25, while duplicate cards for loss or damage cost US $100. A US $25 late-fee applies if a passport update is filed more than three months after renewal.
![India abolishes 6-month stay requirement for in-country OCI applicants, revises fees]()
Applicants who prefer professional assistance can leverage VisaHQ’s end-to-end support service: the company’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) walks clients through every OCI requirement, helps organize demand drafts, arranges document pickups, and monitors application status—making the process easier for busy travelers and families alike.
The government has also made the digital e-Arrival Card—introduced last year—permanently mandatory for OCI holders, ending the paper-based disembarkation form. For the Indian diaspora and multinational employers, the scrapping of the six-month stay rule is a significant facilitator. Until now, executives on short-term assignments or family visits often had to make two trips—one to establish residence and a second six months later to file the OCI. The new policy allows them to combine the two steps, reducing travel costs and time away from work. The change is also expected to ease workloads at Foreigners Regional Registration Offices, which fielded thousands of “residence-proof” queries each year. Corporate mobility managers should update their checklists: proof of residence is still required (hotel confirmation, lease or family address), but the ‘continuous stay’ element has been deleted. HR teams may also want to brief employees on the new digital-only arrival card and ensure that children’s birth certificates are apostilled in advance; these are now scanned during the online application. Finally, spouses of OCI holders must remember to upload a fresh passport copy and “marriage declaration” each time their passport changes—a compliance step that is drawing increased scrutiny in online audits. Overall, the makeover signals India’s intention to make the OCI pathway a friendlier alternative to long-term visas and to keep the 35-million-strong diaspora closely connected at a time when talent flow is central to India’s economic diplomacy.
Applicants who prefer professional assistance can leverage VisaHQ’s end-to-end support service: the company’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) walks clients through every OCI requirement, helps organize demand drafts, arranges document pickups, and monitors application status—making the process easier for busy travelers and families alike.
The government has also made the digital e-Arrival Card—introduced last year—permanently mandatory for OCI holders, ending the paper-based disembarkation form. For the Indian diaspora and multinational employers, the scrapping of the six-month stay rule is a significant facilitator. Until now, executives on short-term assignments or family visits often had to make two trips—one to establish residence and a second six months later to file the OCI. The new policy allows them to combine the two steps, reducing travel costs and time away from work. The change is also expected to ease workloads at Foreigners Regional Registration Offices, which fielded thousands of “residence-proof” queries each year. Corporate mobility managers should update their checklists: proof of residence is still required (hotel confirmation, lease or family address), but the ‘continuous stay’ element has been deleted. HR teams may also want to brief employees on the new digital-only arrival card and ensure that children’s birth certificates are apostilled in advance; these are now scanned during the online application. Finally, spouses of OCI holders must remember to upload a fresh passport copy and “marriage declaration” each time their passport changes—a compliance step that is drawing increased scrutiny in online audits. Overall, the makeover signals India’s intention to make the OCI pathway a friendlier alternative to long-term visas and to keep the 35-million-strong diaspora closely connected at a time when talent flow is central to India’s economic diplomacy.
