Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – e-OCI Card

1. What is an e-OCI Card?

The e-OCI Card is an electronic version of the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Card issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. It contains the particulars of the OCI cardholder available in the OCI records and can be downloaded from the OCI Services Portal.

The e-OCI Card facilitates convenient electronic access to the cardholder’s OCI details. It does not alter the validity or status of an existing OCI Card.

2. How can an e-OCI Card be downloaded?

Applicants should log in to the OCI Services Portal using the email address linked to their OCI record and submit a request to generate the e-OCI Card.

No additional information is required to download the e-OCI Card.

OCI Services Portal: https://ociservices.gov.in/onlineOCI/

3. Can the e-OCI Card be printed?

Yes. The e-OCI Card may be downloaded and printed for personal reference.

Applicants must, however, comply with all document requirements prescribed by the competent authorities at the time of travel.

4. What should an applicant do if the registered email address is no longer accessible?

If an applicant no longer has access to the email address registered with the OCI record, the email address may be changed through the “Email ID Updation” facility available under OCI Miscellaneous Services on the OCI Services Portal.

The applicant should:

1. Access the “Email ID Updation” facility under OCI Miscellaneous Services;

2. Submit a request to update the registered email address;

3. Wait for the request to be processed and approved; and

4. After approval, log in using the updated email address and download the e-OCI Card.

Once the request has been approved, the new email address will be linked to the applicant’s OCI record.

5. Can family members, including elderly applicants, use a common email address for their OCI Cards?

Yes. A single user account may be used to manage OCI services for multiple family members, including senior citizens.

To use a common email address, the registered email address associated with each OCI Card must first be updated individually through the “Email ID Updation” facility under OCI Miscellaneous Services.

The following steps must be completed:

1. Submit a separate Email ID Updation request for each family member’s OCI Card;

2. Wait for each request to be processed and approved;

3. Ensure that the common email address is reflected in each family member’s OCI record; and

4. Link and manage the OCI Cards through the common user account.

After the email updation requests have been approved, the common user account may be used to access, monitor and download the e-OCI Cards of all linked family members.

Note: A separate Email ID Updation request is required for each OCI Card before it can be linked to a common user account.

6. Does a delay in downloading the e-OCI Card mean that the OCI Portal has crashed?

Not necessarily. Generation or download of an e-OCI Card may occasionally take longer than expected because of system processing and validation requirements.

Applicants are advised to wait for the process to be completed and not interrupt the download. A delay does not necessarily mean that the OCI Services Portal has crashed or is unavailable.

7. What should an applicant do if no email address was registered with the OCI Card?

In some cases, an email address may not have been recorded at the time of the original OCI registration.

In such cases, the applicant should create a new user account on the OCI Services Portal using a current email address. After logging in, the applicant may use the “Email ID Updation” facility under OCI Miscellaneous Services to link the current email address to the OCI record.

The following information will be required:

• OCI Card number;

• Date of birth; and

• Passport number linked to the OCI Card.

Once the request has been approved, the new email address will be linked to the applicant’s OCI record. The applicant may then access OCI services through the updated account and download the e-OCI Card.

For further information, please visit: https://ociservices.gov.in/onlineOCI/eOCICardFAQs