Beware New Rules: Your OCI Card Could Be Cancelled For This Reason

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If you’ve got an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, watch out—India’s new rules mean your status can be cancelled.

The Indian government has ushered in sweeping changes, so it’s now much easier for them to cancel an OCI card. The Ministry of Home Affairs unveiled the update on Tuesday via a gazette notification that significantly broadens the grounds for revocation - affecting the four million-plus OCI holders globally.

From this week, if you get slapped with a prison sentence of two years or more — even if it happens long after you first received your card — you could lose it. And here’s the kicker: you don’t even have to be convicted anymore. Just being officially charge-sheeted for a serious crime that carries at least a seven-year sentence could also do it.

Before, the “two years in jail” rule only applied if the offence happened within five years of getting your OCI. Now, the clock never runs out.

And yes — this applies no matter where in the world the offence happened, as long as it’s something recognised under Indian law.

India has issued more than 4 million OCI cards around the globe — including a big number here in Australia. And over the past decade, at least 134 have been cancelled, mostly over fraud or national security concerns.

This new crackdown puts perks like visa-free entry and property ownership at risk for anyone who lands in serious legal trouble.

OCI Card: More Than a Visa

The OCI scheme, introduced in August 2005, has long allowed foreign nationals of Indian origin (with some exceptions for Pakistani and Bangladeshi citizenship) to travel to India visa-free, live and work indefinitely, and enjoy a host of economic rights. 

Cardholders can purchase and sell most types of property (excluding agricultural land), pursue education, and access some government benefits without registering with a Foreigners Regional Registration Officer during their stay.

Between 2014 and May 2025, official records show at least 134 OCI registrations have already been revoked by Indian authorities - ranging from fraud to crimes against "national interest".

Why the New Crackdown?

According to India’s Home Ministry, it’s all about keeping the OCI scheme free of serious offenders — whether the crimes are financial, violent, or a threat to national security. They’ve also kept all the older cancellation rules in place, like booting people who show “disaffection” towards the Constitution or have links with enemy nations during wartime.

Legal experts, though, are uneasy about adding “being charge-sheeted” to the list of reasons for cancellation. That can happen before a court has even decided if someone’s guilty, raising questions about fairness.

What’s At Stake

For many, an OCI card is more than just a travel perk. It gives lifelong, multiple-entry visa-free access to India, the right to live and work there, and the ability to buy and sell most kinds of property (just not agricultural land or plantations). You also don’t have to register with immigration every time you visit.

If you’ve got an OCI card, the message from New Delhi is pretty clear: Stay out of trouble, or you could lose your lifelong connection to India—fast!