By Poorvi Chothani, Esq., Managing Partner of LawQuest
India is now permitting the entry of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders from the U.S., the UK, Germany, and France. These are countries that India has signed ‘air bubble’ arrangements.
However, OCI cardholders who are nationals of all other countries are permitted to travel to India only under specific circumstances. The following category of OCI cardholders are permitted to travel to India:
• Minor children who hold OCI cards and whose parents are Indian citizens;
• OCI cardholders who wish to travel to India on account of family emergencies such as a death in the family;
• Married couples where one spouse is an OCI cardholder and the other is an Indian national; and
• Students who are OCI cardholders and whose parents are Indian citizens living in India.
Normal Indian visa services remain suspended until further notice.
All in-country formalities for foreign nationals, such as registration and visa extensions at the Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRROs) and Foreigners Registration Offices (FROs), continue to remain operational.
International flights are being permitted on select routes on a case-by-case basis and under the ‘air bubble’ agreements. Other international scheduled, commercial, passenger, flights continue to remain suspended until August 31, 2020.
It is important to note that all travelers to India should check the Indian government’s updates on admissibility, post-arrival quarantine, and/or other procedures that may apply to them, before embarking on their journey. Further, individual Indian states have their own restrictions and quarantine requirements, which would also apply to foreign nationals seeking to travel out of the state into which they arrived.
This post was published by Poorvi Chothani, Esq., Managing Partner of LawQuest, a Global Immigration and Employment Law Firm
LawQuest is a dynamic global immigration and Indian employment law firm with a cumulative experience of over 70 years.