In a move welcomed by the 5-million-strong Overseas Citizen of India community, the Ministry of Home Affairs has scrapped the obligation to attach a copy of one’s foreign Registration Certificate or Residence Permit when applying for or renewing an OCI card. The change was first reported by the Financial Express on 18 July and has already been reflected on the OCI services portal. Under the old rules, long-term residents of India—often foreign spouses, professionals on intra-company transfer visas, or investors—had to upload a scanned copy of their local residency document, adding an extra bureaucratic step that many found confusing because different states issued permits in different formats. With the new process, applicants simply enter their FRRO file number online; the Immigration, Visa & Foreigners Registration Tracking (IVFRT) system automatically pulls status data. Mobility consultants estimate the documentation burden for corporate transferees will drop by 20-25 percent, saving HR teams multiple follow-ups with relocating employees. Crucially, the reform came only weeks after India launched the e-OCI card, signalling that the government intends to fully digitise and de-duplicate foreign-national records. Analysts say the back-end integration between IVFRT and OCI databases also reduces identity-fraud risk—a priority as India negotiates mutual trusted-traveller programmes with partners such as Singapore and the U.S. Companies should refresh their relocation checklists immediately: the FRRO permit scan is no longer required, but ensuring that employees’ FRRO data are up-to-date is vital because inaccuracies will now trigger automatic rejections rather than manual clarification calls.
Source: The Financial Express
