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OVERSEAS CITIZEN OF INDIA
(OCI Card)
https://ociservices.gov.in/

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Eligibility

A foreign national, - (i) who was a citizen of India at the time of, or at any time after 26th January, 1950; or (ii) who was eligible to become a citizen of India on 26th January, 1950; or (iii) who belonged to a territory that became part of India after 15th August, 1947; or (iv) who is a child or a grandchild or a great grandchild of such a citizen; or (v) who is a minor child of such persons mentioned above; or (vi) who is a minor child and whose both parents are citizens of India or one of the parents is a citizen of India - is eligible for registration as OCI cardholder. Besides, spouse of foreign origin of a citizen of India or spouse of foreign origin of an Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder and whose marriage has been registered and subsisted for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of the application is also eligible for registration as OCI cardholder. However, no person, who or either of whose parents or grandparents or great grandparents is or had been a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh or such other country as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify, shall be eligible for registration as an Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder.

Note: Foreign nationals cannot apply for OCI in India while on Tourist Visa, Missionary Visa and Mountaineering Visa. Moreover, the foreigner has to be ordinarily resident of India to be eligible to apply for OCI registration in India.

Note: 'ordinarily resident' will mean a person staying in a particular country or in India for a continuous period of 6 months.

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Process for Applying :

In order to apply for OCI Card Service of the Government of India, please proceed to https://ociservices.gov.in/ and follow the guidelines.

OCI-Registration is an online process. Eligibles are supposed to register through the appropriate link given. Only after complete successful registration, an applicant will be considered as an OCI-Card Applicant.

Steps for successful Registration

  1. Start registration from Part-A, then upload Image and signature; and finally complete Part-B.
  2. Documents supporting your application have to be uploaded in PDF format at the end of Part-B.
  3. After completing application, hard copy has to be be submitted to the selected mission's office.

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Before you start:

Check Your Eligibility Before You Start Your Registration.

If You Are Already An OCI Card Holder, Kindly Use Oci Miscellaneous Services.

To reprint your already registered application, kindly use 're-print submitted application' service.

In case of urgent travel, applicants may apply for appropriate visa.

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Pre-requisites:

Kindly be ready with applicant's image and applicant's signature image (max size 500kb).

The height and width of the applicant photo must be equal.

The minimum dimensions are 200 pixels (width) x 200 pixels (height).

The maximum dimensions are 1500 pixels (width) x 1500 pixels (height).

The height and width of the signature photo must have aspect ratio 1:3

The minimum dimensions are 200 pixels (width) x 67 pixels (height).

The maximum dimensions are 1500 pixels (width) x 500 pixels (height).

Kindly be ready with supporting documents in pdf format (max size 1000kb).

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After Registration:

After submission of online application, a copy of the application form will be printed with an Online Registration Number.

Application form, complete in all respects, along with all relevant enclosures and requisite fee may be submitted to the Indian Embassy/High Commission/Consulate in whose jurisdiction the applicant is ordinarily residing irrespective of the fact whether the same Indian Embassy/High Commission/Consulate has issued the original OCI documents or not.

Instructions:

Applicants applying for OCI-Card, please read

a) Please fill the fields in BLOCK LETTERS.

b) A Person who has not attained the age of 18 years is considered as minor. In case of minor who cannot sign, his/her left thumb impression may be placed in the signature box. Parents should not sign on the behalf of the children.

c) Signature/Thumb impression should be confined to the prescribed box. In case of minor applicants, parents should NOT sign in the box.

d) Photograph to be affixed on the application should be a square shape of size not less than 51*51mm (with 80% coverage of face). It should have plain light color background (not white) without the border with front view of person's head and shoulders showing the full face in middle of the photograph. It should not be stapled and not have any signature.

e) Photographs that do not conform to these standards will be rejected and may cause a delay in processing the applications. Please see standards of acceptable photographs as Photo Link.

f) If there are any objections while processing the applications, the same will be displayed on the Online Status Enquiry. Please follow the instructions and send requisite documents to the Indian Mission/ Office where you have applied quoting the File (or Acknowledgement) Number.

g) After successful registration, copy of Part A and Part B with an online registration number will be printed. Application form on Parts A and B, complete in all respects, along with all relevant enclosures may be submitted to the High Commission.

i) At the time of submission of application, the biometrics of the applicant will compulsory be captured at the High Commission.

Enclosures to be attached with the application:

Please Note: All documents listed below must be uploaded on the OCI Portal at the time of online submission and carried in original to the HCI, Gaborone at the time of the appointment. Applications will not be accepted if any requisite document is not uploaded or not produced in original.

In case of fresh application for registration as OCI Cardholder, following documents are to be attached:-

(A) For Applicant who held an Indian passport

(a) Foreign Citizenship Naturalization Certificate — Original citizenship certificate of the applicant.

(b) Present valid passport (applicable in all cases), with validity of minimum 6 months at the time of submission of application. In case application is submitted in India, copy of any type of Visa (other than Missionary Visa and Mountaineering Visa)/ Residential Permit with 3 months validity as on the date of application.

(c) Surrender Certificate of Last Indian Passport

(d) Cancelled Indian Passport — Original cancelled Indian passport (first and last page to be uploaded on the portal).

(e) Photograph of the applicant (See specifications above)

(f) Declaration by the OCI Applicant — (Link to the form)

(g) Voter ID Surrender (if applicable) — If the applicant previously held an Indian Voter ID, please follow the steps to surrender it online given below.

(h) Proof of Address: Proof of address must match with the present address as per application.

(B) For applicant who never held Indian passport.

(a) Present valid passport (applicable in all cases), with validity of minimum 6 months at the time of submission of application. In case application is submitted in India, copy of any type of Visa (other than Missionary Visa and Mountaineering Visa)/ Residential Permit with 3 months validity as on the date of application.

(b) Declaration by the OCI Applicant — (Link to the form)

(c) Parents' / Grandparents' / Great-Grandparents' Indian Passports — Copies (first page and last page).

  • If parents of Indian origin have acquired foreign nationality, their Surrender Certificate and current OCI Card must be submitted.
  • If only one parent is of Indian origin, submit a copy of that parent's Surrender Certificate and OCI Card, along with the foreign passport  copy of the other parent.  

(d) Parents’ Marriage certificate (Apostilled / authenticated by the Government of the country of issue if marriage is registered in a foreign country).

(e) If document mentioned in Point (f) not available, Evidence of self or parents or grandparents or great grandparents being a citizen of India at the time of, or at any time after the commencement of the Constitution i.e. 26.01.1950 or being eligible to become a citizen of India at the time of commencement of the Constitution i.e. 26.01.1950 or belonging to a territory that became part of India after 15th August, 1947. These could be:

  • Copy of the Domicile Certificate issued by the Competent Authority; or
  • Copy of Nativity Certificate from the Competent Authority; or
  • OCI Card/ PIO card of parents/ spouse along with the documents upon which the OCI/ PIO card was issued; or
  • Any other proof substantiating the request. Usually applicant does submit a certificate of residence or place of birth of self/parents/grandparents from First Class Magistrate/District Magistrate (DM) of the concerned place. Evidence of relationship as parent/grandparent/ great grandparent, if their Indian origin is claimed as basis for registration as OCI Cardholder:  The document of relationship could be “Birth Certificate” issued from competent authority mentioning both parents’ name. In case the birth certificate is issued by a foreign authority, it is to be Apostilled or endorsed by the concerned Indian Mission abroad.

(f) Photograph of the applicant (See specifications above)

(g) Birth Certificate (Apostilled)— Original birth certificate of the applicant. 

(h) Proof of Address: Proof of address must match with the present address as per application.

Additional supporting documents (submit as many as applicable):

  1.  Indian Domicile Certificate — Issued by a competent authority (District Magistrate, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Executive Magistrate, etc.) 
  2.  Indian Passport or OCI Card of parents / grandparents. 
  3.  Indian Birth Certificate. 
  4.  Indian Educational Certificates — Note: submission of more than one educational certificate will be considered as a single proof only. 
  5.  Indian Marriage Certificate. 
  6.  Aadhaar Card. 
  7.  Indian Ration Card. 
  8.  Indian Government Employment Record. 
  9.  Indian Voter's Identity Card. 
  10.  Agricultural Land Documents.

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Steps to Surrender Your Voter ID Online (Form-7 Submission)

Applicant may surrender his/her Voter ID online by submitting Form-7 through the official website of the Election Commission of India (ECI). Follow the steps below:

Step 1: Search Your Voter Details
Visit: https://electoralsearch.eci.gov.in 
Enter your details to locate your voter record.

Step 2: Access Form-7
Go to: https://voters.eci.gov.in 
On the homepage, click on Form-7 to initiate the surrender process.

Step 3: Register/Login to Submit the Form
Visit: https://voters.eci.gov.in/login 
Create an account or log in using your credentials.

After logging in, fill out and submit Form-7 to request deletion or surrender of Voter ID.

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In case of minor child whose both parents are citizens of India or one of the parents is a citizen of India:

  • Copy of child’s birth certificate
  • Copy of Indian passport of the parents / one of the parents or copy of the Domicile Certificate or Nativity Certificate issued by the Competent Authority in respect of the parents/ one of the parents or any other proof substantiating the status of the parents/ one of the parents as being Indian citizen(s).
  • If the parents are divorced, court order of dissolution of marriage, which specifically mentions that the legal custody of the child is with the parent who is applying for the OCI card.

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Spouse of foreign origin of a citizen of India or spouse of foreign origin of an OCI Cardholder:

  •  Registered marriage certificate; indicating that the marriage has taken place before 2 years on the date of application.

AND

  •  In the case of spouse of an Indian citizen - Copy of the Indian Passport of the spouse or copy of the Domicile Certificate or Nativity Certificate issued by the Competent Authority in respect of the Indian spouse or any other proof substantiating the status of the spouse as being an Indian citizen

OR

  •  In the case of spouse of an OCI Cardholder - Copy of the present valid Passport of the spouse and copy of the OCI Card of the spouse and copies of the documents upon which the OCI Card was issued to the spouse.

The Applicant can verify the status of his/her application online by quoting the online Registration Number or File (or Acknowledgement) Number.

Please contact Indian Embassy/High Commission/Consulate where you have applied for OCI Card, after 10 days from the date of despatch of documents from India or any day after receipt of documents at the Mission/Office whichever is earlier.

For collection of OCI document, the applicant is required to be present at the concerned Indian Embassy/High Commission/Consulate/FRRO Office in person or he/she can send a duly authorized person, along with his/her passport & PIO card (if applicable) and the original documents for which self-attested copies were attached at the time of submitting application, for verification purposes.

Please check that all fields in the form are filled in and all necessary enclosures are attached before submission of the form to Indian Mission/Post abroad or FRRO in India.

Note: Concealment of any material fact or false representation etc. will lead to cancellation of registration as Overseas Citizen of India (Please refer to section 7D of the Citizenship Act, 1955).

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Revised Fee Structure With Effect From April 01, 2026

(only cash accepted at present)

Please Pay:

Pula 3780/- for an OCI Card

Pula 1405/- for a Duplicate OCI Card (in case of loss/damage)

Pula 385/- for Miscellaneous Services for OCI Card
(in case acquisition of new passport, change in the personal particulars like nationality, name, father’s name, etc.)

Useful Information Points:

High Commission accepts all fees in Pula only.

Fees once paid are non-refundable.

HCI Contact Number: + 267 – 391 2240

HCI List of Holidays:

https://www.hcigaborone.gov.in/https://www.hcigaborone.gov.in/docs/1734008252Holidays%202025.pdf