India dual citizenship: why there is none and what the OCI card gives

Section 9 of the Citizenship Act, who qualifies for an Overseas Citizen of India card, its rights and limits, the $275 fee, the e-OCI and the way back to an Indian passport.

In detail

India does not allow dual citizenship: an Indian who takes another country's citizenship stops being an Indian citizen at that moment. Instead of a second passport, India offers the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card, a lifelong visa with the right to live, work, study and buy a home in India. For families with Indian roots and for foreign spouses of Indians, it covers almost everything a second passport would.

Rules and fees follow the Citizenship Act 1955 and Indian consulates in 2026.

Why India has no dual citizenship

Section 9 of the Citizenship Act 1955 is short: an Indian citizen who voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country, by naturalisation, registration or otherwise, ceases to be a citizen of India. No separate application is needed: the new citizenship ends the Indian one.

• The Indian passport is surrendered after naturalisation abroad, and the consulate issues a renunciation certificate.
• The renunciation certificate is needed for the OCI application; through the consulate's outsourcing centre it is ready in 2-3 working days.
• A foreigner who becomes an Indian citizen gives up the previous passport in the same way.

Countries that let you keep both passports are listed in which countries allow dual citizenship, and life in India itself is covered on the India page.

Who can get an OCI card

The card is issued under section 7A of the Citizenship Act to foreign citizens with a link to India:

• people who were Indian citizens on or after 26 January 1950, or were eligible for Indian citizenship on that date;
• their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren;
• minor children of such people, and minor children with at least one parent who is an Indian citizen;
• a foreign spouse of an Indian citizen or of an OCI holder, if the marriage is registered and has lasted at least 2 years.

The card is not issued to citizens and former citizens of Pakistan and Bangladesh or to their descendants.

What the OCI card gives you

OCI holders do not vote, do not sit in parliament or state assemblies, do not hold constitutional posts and are not normally hired for government jobs. Research, missionary work, mountaineering, journalism and visits to protected or restricted areas need prior permission. How an OCI holder buys a flat is covered in buying an apartment in India, and tax on Indian income in India taxes.

How to apply for an OCI card and what it costs

You fill in the application on the OCI services portal, then hand in the documents at the Indian consulate's outsourcing centre or, if you already live in India, at the regional foreigners' registration office.

• Documents: your foreign passport, proof of the link to India (an old Indian passport, your own or a parent's birth certificate), the renunciation certificate for former Indian citizens, a photo and a signature; spouses add the marriage registration certificate and the spouse's Indian passport or OCI card.
• Fee abroad: US$275 per applicant, plus small service charges; in the Chicago consulate district these are $3 for the Indian community welfare fund and $19 for the centre.
• The card comes as a physical document. A digital e-OCI is downloaded free from the same portal, up to 5 times a day, and works alongside the physical card.

From an OCI card back to an Indian passport

An OCI holder who has held the card for 5 years and has lived in India for the 12 months before applying can register as an Indian citizen under section 5(1)(g) of the Citizenship Act. The foreign passport is then given up, since India allows one citizenship.

Other routes take longer: a foreign spouse of an Indian citizen registers after 7 years of ordinary residence in India, and naturalisation needs 12 months in India before applying plus 11 of the previous 14 years.

OCI card or a second passport elsewhere

For someone who already holds a foreign passport, the OCI card gives a full life in India without a second citizenship. Those who want a second passport for travel and banking choose a country that allows dual citizenship, such as Antigua and Barbuda or St Kitts and Nevis through investment, or Brazil after residence. An Indian citizen who takes such a passport moves to the OCI card, so the order of steps is planned in advance.

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