New Delhi : May 22, 2020.A section of the Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders stranded abroad would now be able to travel back to India as the Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday relaxed the travel restrictions for certain categories of these OCIs specified by the ministry.
According to the MHA notification, the categories of the cardholders who would be permitted to travel to India are:
1. Minors on OCI, with parents being Indian nationals abroad
2. Family emergencies like death in the family
3. Couples where one spouse is an OCI and the other is an Indian, with permanent residence in India
4. University students who are OCIs (not legally minors), but parents living in India.
Therefore, the earlier travel restrictions on them taking flights, ships, trains and other vehicles would not apply, the order stated.
On May 5, the government, along with suspending all the visas granted to foreign nationals, barring a few categories, had kept in abeyance multiple-entry life-long visas given to OCI cardholders till international travel remained suspended. However, it said that the OCI cardholders who were already in India could stay in the country for “any length of time”.
