OCI is or is not Dual Citizenship ?

H

hitechguy

Registered Users (C)
The information about OCI versus Dual Citizenship is contradictory as per Indian consultate's OCI details.

Firstly, the Indian Consulate website in NY http://indiacgny.org/php/showContent.php?linkid=174&partid=100&sub=sub6 )
says :

"2. A foreign national, eligible to become a citizen of India on January 26, 1950 or was a citizen of India on, or at anytime after, January 26, 1950 or belonged to a territory that became part of India after August 15, 1947 and his/her children and grand children, provided his/her country of citizenship allows dual citizenship under the local laws, is eligible for registration as Overseas Citizen of India (OCI). "

However, immediately after this it contradicts itself by saying :
" 4. Please note that OCI is NOT Dual Citizenship. The Constitution of India does not permit the facility of holding Indian Citizenship simultaneously with a foreign citizenship. "

So if OCI is NOT dual citizenship as per (4) , why do your local laws have to allow dual citizenship - as per (2) ?

And if OCI requires that "your local laws allow dual citizenship" then OCI should NOT be valid for US citizens - since US does NOT allow dual citizenship either just like India. The US does not allow dual citizenship - this was emphasized by USCIS officer during my recent citizenship oath ceremony.

I was told that with OCI they put some sort of sticker on your US passport identifying you as an Overseas Citizen of India. Does this jeopardize your US citizenship status since USCIS does not permit dual citizenship ?

Thanks for any clarifications here.
 
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OCI is NOT full dual citizenship. However, the wording is as such to make clear that the citizenship laws of another country must be adhered to when considering OCI, and that itself shows that OCI isn't full citizenship, as a citizen of India is required, by India, to follow only India's laws.
 
cafeconleche said:
OCI is NOT full dual citizenship. However, the wording is as such to make clear that the citizenship laws of another country must be adhered to when considering OCI, and that itself shows that OCI isn't full citizenship, as a citizen of India is required, by India, to follow only India's laws.
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Whether US allows dual citizenship has no simple yes/no answer. Essentially, it's not encouraged, but isn't prohibited either. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_nationality_law (see Dual Citizenship section) and http://www.richw.org/dualcit/faq.html
 
When you fill out the OCI form, there's a question like "Does your country allow for Dual Citizenship in some form?" You should answer "Yes" to this as US does not prevent you from having a dual citizenship... many people from Europe who have taken a USC do use both passports (US and their home country) as UK etc allow for dual citizenship.
 
OCI is not dual citzship , it is like a lifelong visa, except you don't have to register with local police for long stays in India.
Not exactly sure why they ask that pt 2, but the US does allow multiple citizship.
 
LegalAlien2 said:
When you fill out the OCI form, there's a question like "Does your country allow for Dual Citizenship in some form?" You should answer "Yes" to this as US does not prevent you from having a dual citizenship... many people from Europe who have taken a USC do use both passports (US and their home country) as UK etc allow for dual citizenship.[/QUOTE

This directly contradicts what we were told by the USCIS Supervisor during the oath ceremony in Newark in May 2008 that I attended. We were told "US Does not allow you to maintain Dual Citizenship". Further one of the things you take the oath on is that you renounce allegiance to and the citizenship of all other countries ! So if the oath means anything at all - it means you cannot maintain Dual Citizenship status.

What I cannot understand is why does OCI require that your country allow Dual Citizenship - when it says in its own publications everywhere else that OCI is NOT dual citizenship !! It makes no sense and confuses the issue. In fact OCI itself is a misnomer - since you are NOT a citizen of India with the OCI - you do not have an Indian passport and you cannot vote - a better name would have been LIV ( Lifelong Indian Visa ) - because that is all OCI really is !
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hitechguy said:
LegalAlien2 said:
When you fill out the OCI form, there's a question like "Does your country allow for Dual Citizenship in some form?" You should answer "Yes" to this as US does not prevent you from having a dual citizenship... many people from Europe who have taken a USC do use both passports (US and their home country) as UK etc allow for dual citizenship.[/QUOTE

This directly contradicts what we were told by the USCIS Supervisor during the oath ceremony in Newark in May 2008 that I attended. We were told "US Does not allow you to maintain Dual Citizenship". Further one of the things you take the oath on is that you renounce allegiance to and the citizenship of all other countries ! So if the oath means anything at all - it means you cannot maintain Dual Citizenship status.

What I cannot understand is why does OCI require that your country allow Dual Citizenship - when it says in its own publications everywhere else that OCI is NOT dual citizenship !! It makes no sense and confuses the issue. In fact OCI itself is a misnomer - since you are NOT a citizen of India with the OCI - you do not have an Indian passport and you cannot vote - a better name would have been LIV ( Lifelong Indian Visa ) - because that is all OCI really is !
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Dual Citizenship is what we got after many years of people's request and or grievences. OCI is more than just a life long visa to India. It gives NRI parity, except buying agriculture land. You won't get an OCI status even if you just married to a person of Indian origin. You need to be of Indian origin. India is not calling you to take the OCI status; It's upto you to either apply or not. It's upto India to Grand OCI or not. It's upto the Lawmakers (however screwed up they are) to make the rule and call the status as they like.
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hitechguy said:
LegalAlien2 said:
When you fill out the OCI form, there's a question like "Does your country allow for Dual Citizenship in some form?" You should answer "Yes" to this as US does not prevent you from having a dual citizenship... many people from Europe who have taken a USC do use both passports (US and their home country) as UK etc allow for dual citizenship.[/QUOTE

This directly contradicts what we were told by the USCIS Supervisor during the oath ceremony in Newark in May 2008 that I attended. We were told "US Does not allow you to maintain Dual Citizenship". Further one of the things you take the oath on is that you renounce allegiance to and the citizenship of all other countries ! So if the oath means anything at all - it means you cannot maintain Dual Citizenship status.

What I cannot understand is why does OCI require that your country allow Dual Citizenship - when it says in its own publications everywhere else that OCI is NOT dual citizenship !! It makes no sense and confuses the issue. In fact OCI itself is a misnomer - since you are NOT a citizen of India with the OCI - you do not have an Indian passport and you cannot vote - a better name would have been LIV ( Lifelong Indian Visa ) - because that is all OCI really is !
Click to expand...

What happens when you apply for an INDIAN PASSPORT, after remaining 5 years in OCI with a year of physical presence in INdia?

You get the Indian passport of course, but does that mean US citizenship is invalid?
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You lose US citizenship

Since you acquire Indian citizenship, and as India does not allow dual citizenship, you have to forgo US citizenship.

US however doesn't care.
 
When you get OCI status - do they stamp your US passport with some sort of visa stamp for India OR do they give you a separate document that says you have OCI status ?
 
hitechguy said:
When you get OCI status - do they stamp your US passport with some sort of visa stamp for India OR do they give you a separate document that says you have OCI status ?
Click to expand...

On your US passport, you get a visa sticker with no expiry date (i.e., lifelong). You also get a passport-size (though it's not a passport) booklet conferring on you the title of "Overseas Citizen of India" :)
 
Here are some links to clarify the issue further :

US Embassy in India, New Delhi says the following about the OCI Card

http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/acsdualnation.html

"....The Indian government recently launched a program called "Overseas Citizens of India" or "OCI". This program often has been mischaracterized as "dual nationality" or "dual citizenship." However, a person who holds an OCI Card in reality is granted an Indian visa, not Indian citizenship. Thus, an American citizen who obtains OCI status remains a citizen only of the United States. "


And if you are a British Citizen here is some information that OCI may jeopardize your British Citizenship status :

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/8/prweb270791.htm


And finally somone who brilliantly highlights the issues regarding OCI :

http://www.ivarta.com/columns/OL_050130.htm

Hope this helps !
 
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