What's changed

The Ministry of Home Affairs notified the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2026 on 30 April 2026, amending the Citizenship Rules, 2009. The amended rules took effect the same day.

All applications for OCI registration, renunciation, and cancellation must now be submitted electronically through the ministry's official online portal. The Bureau of Immigration also issues an electronic OCI (e-OCI) registration that holders may use in place of the physical card for travel and immigration clearance into India. Applicants may still request a physical card, but doing so is no longer mandatory.

A new provision in Rule 3 establishes that a minor child holding an Indian passport cannot, at any time, simultaneously hold the passport of any other country. Revised Rule 35 empowers the central government to treat an e-OCI registration as cancelled by direction, including in cases where a physical card is not delivered upon notice. Decisions on revision applications related to citizenship matters now go to an authority one rank higher than the original decision-maker.

Who's affected

The digital OCI rules apply to all current and prospective OCI cardholders — an estimated four million Indian-origin foreign nationals worldwide, concentrated in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore. The Bureau of Immigration projects average OCI processing of around 15 working days for straightforward applications under the new electronic system, down from a previous six-to-eight-week paper-based timeline.

The minor single-passport rule affects mixed-nationality families and Indian-origin children registered as nationals of another country before reaching majority. The renunciation provisions apply to OCI holders relinquishing their card status, who must file electronically and surrender any previously issued physical card to the nearest Indian Mission, Indian Post, or Foreigners Regional Registration Officer.

When it takes effect

The Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2026 took effect on 30 April 2026, the same day they were notified — there is no transitional grace period. All OCI applications submitted from that date onward must use the electronic portal. Existing OCI cardholders retain their physical cards; the rules introduce e-OCI as an additional issuance option, not a replacement.

The minor single-passport requirement applies from 30 April 2026. The Bureau of Immigration's revised Fast Track Immigration Programme requires a separate biometric-data consent form from participating travellers as a condition of opting in.