The Center has eased restrictions for OCI card holders with foreigner spouse to travel India since May 22.

Amid Coronavirus outbreak, the Ministry of Home Affairs has announced for a big relief for certain categories of foreigners, including Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders. The India government has allowed them to enter the country with minimum restrictions.

Have a look on the NRI categories that are permitted to travel India.

• Those who hold OCI card under MINOR children category and whose parents are Indian nationals can enter India.
• Those OCI card holders who have to meet family emergencies like critical medical conditions of family members or their death.
• Those married couples between whom one has the OCI card and the other is an Indian national.
• Students who have this card and also, one of their parents is an Indian citizen or this cardholder.
• Students who are OCI cardholders, where at least one of their parents is an Indian citizen or an OCI cardholder

As far as foreigners are concerned, the government has allowed entry to foreign nationals also. Here are the categories of those foreigners:

• The minor children from foreign of the couple, out of whom at least one parent is Indian citizen or an overseas citizen of India card holder
• Those foreign nationals who are wedded to an Indian citizen
• Foreign nationals who are single parents of the minor child that has an Indian passport or an OCI card.
• Foreign students whose at least one parent is an Indian native or this card holder
• Dependent of foreign diplomats or official/ service passport holders authorized to foreign diplomatic missions, consular offices or accredited international organizations in India

Despite meeting all these requirements, the foreign nationals have to obtain a fresh visa from Indian consular offices located in other countries. The revalidation is mandatory from the respective mission for those who have a valid long-term visa.

The Indian Express published that the foreign nationals won’t be able to travel to India who would travel on the strength of any electronic visa that has been obtained earlier.

However, international travel would not be permitted to take place even if it is the first phase of “Unlock 1” in this country. The government has plans to ease the norms and lift up restrictions. But, this is a gradual process because the highly contagious Covid-19 is all around, spreading its deadly effect from one country to another.

In the meantime, the only flights, operating internationally, are those to bring the stranded Indian citizens.  But, the United States Department of Transportation (USDT) is still causing worries to hundreds of US-based Overseas Citizens of India card holders, especially students. It has ordered to stringently screen all Vande Bharat repatriation flights. This is going to be done on a case-by-case basis, which is irking those who want to leave America urgently.

Those who are lucky have reached Bangalore in the past few weeks. But, there are many classmates and friends who are still stuck back in the USA. A number of frantic calls for support in international flights and NRI documents and many other things in the name of institutional quarantine are making their life like a hell.

The stress level due to all these puzzling things is raising stress level in the stranded Indians. However, there are many WhatsApp group to exchange these kinds of visa and documentation information for non-residents so that they can keep themselves up-to-date.

In short, people are really in the worst condition wherein the leverages in OCI rules seem a silver lining.