Posted on: 10-05-10 22:24:33
Quote:
Originally posted by NM
..............
The advocate who is looking after all these procedures is telling "OCI's parity with NRI's in economical " is not defined properly.
By t he time EP is finished, if i am NRI it is ok, otherwise unnecessary problems.
Do you have the government website link for such definitions.
I apprecie your answer.
Thanks.
Is it an agricultural land? You should probably go by your lawyer's advice. It is not mandatory to take Canadian citizenship, you can simply renew your PR card and Indian passport.
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Quote:
Originally posted by rajcanada
Quote:
Originally posted by NM
..............
The advocate who is looking after all these procedures is telling "OCI's parity with NRI's in economical " is not defined properly.
By t he time EP is finished, if i am NRI it is ok, otherwise unnecessary problems.
Do you have the government website link for such definitions.
I apprecie your answer.
Thanks.
Is it an agricultural land? You should probably go by your lawyer's advice. It is not mandatory to take Canadian citizenship, you can simply renew your PR card and Indian passport.
Hi raj,
It is residential land. Anyway i have seen the govt website. It says OCI's /PIO s will be treated in parity with NRI's except purchasing agricultural land.
I will first renew PR card and decide according to the situation.
OCI is definitely not dual citizenship. It is very unfortunate that the Indian government chose to use this terminology.
As others have said, it is a lifelong visa that confers several benefits
- The right to stay and work in India indefinitely, without ever registering with an FRRO
- Parity with NRIs in educational and financial sectors, and in purchasing property, except for agricultural/plantation properties
Why is it clear that it is _not_ dual citizenship?
- At any international Indian airport, you can see that OCI cardholders do not stand in the Indian citizen line. They stand in the foreign passport holders queue
- When you acquire foreign citizenship, you are required to relinquish Indian citizenship, a symbol of which is surrendering your Indian passport
- The rules clearly state that you must carry your foreign passport that has the OCI sticker in it in order to enter India. The OCI passport-like booklet that you get is NOT a travel document, and is quite useless
- Indian embassies have made it very clear that according to the Constitution of India, OCI is not the same as citizenship. For example, see http://www.indianembassy.org/newsite/oci.asp
- Unlike Indian citizens, OCI cardholders are not eligible for ILPs (Inner Line Permits) to visit sensitive areas, such as Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, parts of Kashmir, etc.
- OCIs do not have the right to vote, are ineligible for political positions or government jobs
For all practical purposes, in my opinion, all former Indian citizens who may at some point want to visit India should get OCI. Why?
- It is quite inexpensive, especially compared to getting visitor visas. Roughly $300, one-time expense
- Get it once and forget about it
- Very useful for emergency travel
- For those that are business savvy, it may be useful if your employer is a multinational company and is looking to increase their marketshare in India. As an OCI, there is no work permit you will need to apply for. You can easily relocate and conduct business at any time.
With regards to the previous poster's legal concern, it is unclear as to how exactly the Indian government plans to treat OCIs, as there has been very little precedent, given that the system is only a few years old. For example, it is unclear what will happen, i.e. whether India will object (and how it will phrase its objection), if an OCI holder commits a crime in India and then requests consular protection from his/her country of citizenship.
