OCI stands for Overseas Citizenship of India. It is a scheme introduced by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955 in August 2005. The OCI card is a long-term visa that offers various privileges to the cardholders, including the right to work, study, and own property in India. The following categories of foreign nationals are eligible for registration as OCI cardholders:

• Those who were citizens of India at the time of, or at any time after, the commencement of the Constitution of India i.e. 26.01.1950.
• Those who were eligible to become citizens of India on 26.01.1950.
• Those who belonged to a territory that became part of India after 15.08.1947.
• Those who are a child or grandchild or a great-grandchild of such a citizen.
• Spouse of foreign origin of a citizen of India or spouse of foreign origin of an OCI cardholder registered under section 7A of Indias Citizenship Act, 1955 and whose marriage has been registered and subsisted for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of the OCI application.

OCI does not confer political rights, and the registered Overseas Citizens of India shall not be 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. However, OCI cardholders have certain benefits, such as parity with Non-Resident Indians in the matter of inter-country adoption of Indian children, parity with resident Indian nationals in matters of tariffs in domestic airfares, and parity with domestic Indian visitors in respect of entry fees for visiting national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in India.

OCI card services are offered by the High Commission of India in Ottawa, Canada. The decision to grant or refuse OCI service is made solely by the officers at the Indian Mission, and the rules and regulations of the OCI process are subject to change without any prior intimation to the applicant. The application fee for an OCI card is CAD 345.