Knowledge Nugget: European Council president holds an OCI card. What the term means for your UPSC exam?

Speaking at a joint press conference, European Council President António Costa stressed on both the strategic and personal significance of the agreement. Referring to his Goan roots, Costa said the EU–India relationship held special meaning for him. Costa, a Person of Indian Origin (PIO), also showed his Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Card during the conference.

Key takeaways:

1. António Costa has ancestral links to India through his father’s family, which hails from Goa. His grandfather was born in the former Portuguese colony and spent much of his life there. Costa’s father, Orlando da Costa, was born in Mozambique, then under Portuguese rule and was a noted writer whose work reflected strong Goan influences and included essays on Rabindranath Tagore. Among his admirers in India, Costa is fondly known as “Babush”, a Konkani word meaning a beloved young one.

2. In January 2017, Costa visited his ancestral home in Goa and was honoured with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman. Later that year, in July, he hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lisbon, marking the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Portugal. During the visit, Modi described Costa as “representing the best of the Indian diaspora across the world,” and Costa was also conferred an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card.

3. Widely regarded as a skilled negotiator, Costa earned the nickname “the Gandhi of Lisbon” in Portugal for his role in transforming a crime-ridden neighbourhood during his tenure as mayor of the capital.

What is OCI?

1. Introduced in August 2005, the OCI scheme provides for registration of all Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) who were citizens of India on January 26, 1950, or thereafter, or were eligible to become citizens of India on the said date.

2. It was introduced by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955, in August 2005. The Scheme was launched during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention 2006 at Hyderabad. In 2015, the government discontinued the PIO scheme, and PIO cardholders were required to convert to OCI.

3. An applicant is not eligible to get an OCI card if his/her parents or grandparents have ever been citizens of Pakistan or Bangladesh. However, the spouse of foreign origin of a citizen of India or spouse of foreign origin of an OCI, whose marriage has been registered and subsisted for not less than two years, can apply for an OCI card.

Benefits available to OCI cardholders:

* Multiple entries in India: OCI cardholders are eligible for a lifelong visa for visiting India for any purpose. However, they are required to obtain special permission to undertake “any research”, to undertake any “missionary” or “Tablighi” or “journalistic activities”, or to visit any area in India notified as “protected”, “restricted” or “prohibited”.

* Registration exemptions like foreigners: They are not required to register with Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO) or Foreigners Registration Officer (FRO) for any length of stay in India.

* Parity with Indian residents: They are in parity with Indian residents in matters of tariffs in domestic air fares and in respect of entry fee for visiting national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in India.

* Inter-country adoption: OCI cardholders are treated at par with Non-Resident-Indians in the matter of inter-country adoption of Indian children.

* Parity with Non-Resident Indians(NRI): OCI cardholders are treated in parity with NRIs in entry fees charged for visiting monuments, historical sites, pursuing certain professions in India, and to appear for the all India entrance tests such as National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Joint Entrance Examination or such other tests to make them eligible for admission only against any Non-Resident Indian seat or any supernumerary seat.

* Purchase and sale of immovable property: They are eligible for the purchase of immovable properties other than agricultural land or farm house or plantation property.

Benefits that are not available to the OCI cardholders:

#Voting Rights: The voting right is not available to the OCI cardholders

#Constitutional Posts: They are not eligible to hold positions such as President, Vice President, Judge of the Supreme Court or High Court, and other constitutional posts.

#Holding Public Office: OCI cardholders cannot be members of the Legislative Assembly, Legislative Council, or Parliament.

#Public Services: OCI cardholders are not entitled to appointment to public services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or any State, except for special appointments specified by the Central Government.

#Article 16: OCI cardholders are not entitled to the rights conferred on a citizen of India under article 16 of the Constitution with regard to equality of opportunity in matters of public employment.

#Agricultural Land: OCI cardholders cannot acquire agricultural land, farmhouses, or plantation properties in India.

#Foreign Exchange Management Act: In March, 2021, the Ministry of Home Affairs amended the rules regarding OCI card holders. The notification put OCIs at par with “foreign nationals” in respect of “all other economic, financial and educational fields” for the purposes of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 2003. This reversed the position wherein OCIs were equated to NRIs for the purposes of their economic, financial and educational rights.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: Citizenship Act, 1955

1. The constitutional provisions were originally intended to define citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution. However, the Citizenship Act of 1955 aimed to outline the substantive aspects of citizenship thereafter. It deals with matters relating to acquisition, determination and termination of Indian citizenship after the commencement of the Constitution.

2. There are four ways in which Indian citizenship can be acquired: birth, descent, registration and naturalisation. The provisions are listed under sections 3, 4, 5(1) and 5(4) of the Citizenship Act, 1955.

3. The amended Citizenship Act of 1955 does not provide for dual citizenship or dual nationality. It is important to note that OCI is not a dual citizenship as the constitution of India does not allow holding Indian citizenship and Citizenship of a foreign country simultaneously.

Post Read Question

Consider the following statements about the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Card:

1. OCI cardholders are eligible for lifelong visa for visiting India.

2. They are in parity with Indian citizens in the adoption of children.

3. It is a form of dual citizenship.

Which of the statements mentioned above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 1 and 2 only

(c) 1, 2 and 3

(d) 2 and 3 only

(Sources: This word means: OCI (Overseas Citizen of India), António Costa’s India connection: How a Goan-origin European Council head just delivered mega EU free trade deal, High Commission of India, MEA )

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