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Indian Express
19-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
User-friendly interface, seamless registration: Shah launches revamped OCI portal
UNION HOME Minister Amit Shah on Monday launched the revamped Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) portal and said its updated user interface will simplify the registration process for overseas citizens. Shah said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is continuously striving to provide world-class immigration facilities to its OCI cardholders. He stressed that many Indian-origin citizens reside in various countries worldwide, 'and we must ensure they face no inconvenience when visiting or staying in India'. 'The new portal will provide enhanced functionality, advanced security and a user-friendly experience for the existing over five million OCI cardholders and new users. The new OCI portal is available at the existing URL: a MHA spokesperson said. According to the MHA, the OCI scheme was introduced through an amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955, in 2005. 'The scheme provides for the registration of Persons of Indian Origin as Overseas Citizens of India, provided they were citizens of India on or after January 26, 1950, or were eligible to become citizens on that date. However, individuals who are or had been or whose parents or grandparents or great grandparents are citizens of Pakistan or Bangladesh are not eligible,' the spokesperson said. 'The existing OCI services portal was developed in 2013 and is currently operational in over 180 Indian missions abroad as well as 12 Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRROs), processing approximately 2,000 applications per day. Given the significant technological advancements over the past decade and the feedback received from OCI cardholders, a revamped portal has been developed to address the existing limitations and enhance user experience,' the spokesperson said. Explaining some of the key user-friendly features of the new OCI portal, the spokesperson said it has a user sign-up and segregation of registration menu, auto-fill of user profile details in registration forms, dashboard displaying completed and partially filled applications, integrated online payment gateway for those who filed in FRROs. 'It also has seamless navigation across application steps, categorisation of requisite documents to upload based on application type, editing option to the applicant at any stage before submission, integrated FAQ in the portal, reminder to the applicant to verify information before final submission, display of eligibility criteria and requisite documents based on selected application type, in-built image cropping tool for uploading applicant photos and signatures,' the spokesperson said. Mahender Singh Manral is an Assistant Editor with the national bureau of The Indian Express. He is known for his impactful and breaking stories. He covers the Ministry of Home Affairs, Investigative Agencies, National Investigative Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Agencies, Paramilitary Forces, and internal security. Prior to this, Manral had extensively reported on city-based crime stories along with that he also covered the anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government for a decade. He is known for his knack for News and a detailed understanding of stories. He also worked with Mail Today as a senior correspondent for eleven months. He has also worked with The Pioneer for two years where he was exclusively covering crime beat. During his initial days of the career he also worked with The Statesman newspaper in the national capital, where he was entrusted with beats like crime, education, and the Delhi Jal Board. A graduate in Mass Communication, Manral is always in search of stories that impact lives. ... Read More
United News of India
19-05-2025
- Business
- United News of India
Home Minister Amit Shah launches new Overseas Citizen of India Portal
New Delhi, May 19 (UNI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday launched the new Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) Portal here. Shah said that, a revamped OCI portal with an updated user interface will simplify the registration process for Overseas Citizens, a Home Ministry statement said. He also emphasised that many Indian-origin citizens reside in various countries worldwide, and we must ensure they face no inconvenience when visiting or staying in India. The new portal will provide enhanced functionality, advanced security, and a user-friendly experience for the existing over five million OCI cardholders and new users. The new OCI portal is available at the existing URL: : The OCI scheme was introduced through an amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955, in 2005. The scheme provisions the registration of Persons of Indian Origin as Overseas Citizens of India, provided they were citizens of India on or after January 26, 1950, or were eligible to become citizens on that date. However, individuals who are or had been or whose parent or grandparent or great grandparent citizens of Pakistan or Bangladesh are not eligible. The existing OCI services portal was developed in 2013 and is currently operational in over 180 Indian missions abroad as well as 12 Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRROs), processing approximately 2000 applications per day. Given the significant technological advancements over the past decade and feedback received from OCI cardholders, a revamped OCI portal has been developed to address existing limitations and enhance user experience. The new OCI portal introduces several user-friendly features, including user sign-up and segregation of registration menu, auto-fill of user profile details in registration forms, dashboard displaying completed and partially filled applications, integrated online payment gateway for those who filed in FRROs and in-built image cropping tool for uploading applicant photos and signatures. Present on the occasion were Union Home Secretary, Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), and other senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). UNI RBE SSP
Hans India
19-05-2025
- Business
- Hans India
HM Amit Shah launches revamped OCI portal to ease registration process
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday launched the new Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) portal, offering enhanced security and smoother registration to help the five million Indian-origin citizens remain connected with the country. HM Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is continuously striving to provide world-class immigration facilities to its OCI cardholder citizens. He emphasised that many Indian-origin citizens reside in various countries worldwide, and we must ensure they face no inconvenience when visiting or staying in India. He said that a revamped OCI portal with an updated user interface has been launched to simplify the registration process for Overseas Citizens. The Union Home Secretary, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), and other senior officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) were present on the occasion. The new portal will provide enhanced functionality, advanced security, and a user-friendly experience for the existing over five million OCI cardholders and new users. The new OCI portal is available at the existing URL: The Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) scheme was introduced through an amendment to the Citizenship Act, 1955, in 2005. The scheme provides for the registration of Persons of Indian Origin as Overseas Citizens of India, provided they were citizens of India on or after January 26, 1950, or were eligible to become citizens on that date, said a statement. However, individuals who are or have been or whose parent or grandparent or great-grandparent citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh, are not eligible. The existing OCI Services portal was developed in 2013 and is currently operational in over 180 Indian missions as well as 12 Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRROs), processing approximately 2,000 applications per day. Given the significant technological advancements over the past decade and feedback received from OCI cardholders, a revamped OCI portal has been developed to address existing limitations and enhance user experience, the statement said. The new OCI portal introduces several user-friendly features, including user sign-up and segregation of registration menu; auto-fill of user profile details in registration forms; dashboard displaying completed and partially filled applications; and an integrated online payment gateway for those who filed in FRROs. The other features include seamless navigation across application steps; categorisation of requisite documents to upload based on application type; editing option to the applicant at any stage before submission; integrated FAQ in the portal; reminder to the applicant to verify information before final submission; display of eligibility criteria and requisite documents based on selected application type an in-built image cropping tool for uploading applicant photos and signatures.
Time of India
26-04-2025
- Time of India
Raj intensifies efforts to ensure exit of Pak nationals by April 27
1 2 Jaipur/Jodhpur/Jaisalmer: The Rajasthan govt has intensified monitoring of Pakistani nationals staying in the state on short-term visas, following a clear directive from the Union govt to ensure their departure by April 27. The directive followed the terrorist attack targeting tourists in Pahalgam on April 22. Officials said nearly 1,500 to 1,700 Pakistani nationals registered with various Foreigners Registration Offices (FROs) across Rajasthan over past three months. Many of them have already left, while those still present have been informed about the impending deadline through their guarantors or local guardians. The FRROs, they said, is working overtime to verify the number of individuals who departed for Pakistan or those still in India. Officials clarified that Pakistani nationals who applied for Long Term Visas (LTVs) are permitted to stay while their applications are under process. However, those visiting on medical visas must leave by April 29. In Jaipur alone, 21 Pakistani nationals registered their arrival in the past 30 days. Of these, 19 already applied for LTVs, while two individuals departed for Pakistan on Saturday. "I am in constant touch with both the city and rural FRROs to ensure that every Pakistani national leaves the state before the deadline," said Jitendra Kumar Soni, District Magistrate, Jaipur. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Tizi-ouzou: AI guru Andrew Ng recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Aroun... Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo The Jodhpur division has the highest number of visitors from Pakistan in the country, with over 1,000 individuals registered with the FRO in the past three months. "Since the directions were issued, 27 Pakistani nationals left till Saturday morning, while others have been informed through their guarantors to expedite their departure. By evening today, the majority will reach the Attari-Wagah border. Guarantors or local guardians have been asked to approach the FRO to provide necessary assistance. Since we are collecting data on their departure, the exact number will be known by Sunday evening," said Narpat Singh Rathore from the Jodhpur FRO. He clarified that nationals awaiting LTVs have been advised to submit proof of their application as required for their continued stay. Jodhpur also holds the largest number of Pakistani nationals on LTVs in the country, with over 16,000 individuals. Officials in Pali, Sirohi, and Jalore confirmed that they also have visitors from Pakistan; however, those present already applied for LTVs and thus none have to return immediately. All districts have been directed to submit a final report by the morning of April 28 on the status of Pakistani nationals. In the five border districts, 17 Pakistani citizens — 4 from Jaisalmer, 6 from Barmer, 1 from Phalodi, 2 from Balotra, and 4 from Bikaner— have received directions to leave. Jodhpur Zone CID DIG Ajay Singh said four women from minority communities received clearance to return to Pakistan via the Attari route. In Jaisalmer, four women from the minority communities from Pakistan currently reside on short-term visas, including Maikarm Khatu and Sachul. Two of these women, who married Indian men in 2023, arrived in Jaisalmer on August 11. Director General (Intelligence), Sanjay Agarwal, told TOI, "Most Pakistani nationals on short visas have already left. The FROs are providing assistance to those who require help. The instructions are clear: the Union govt's directions must be implemented in letter and spirit." However, the decision has drawn criticism. Calling the return of Pakistani nationals a contradiction to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), Hindu Singh Sodha, founder of Seemant Lok Sangathan, an organisation working for Pakistani immigrants, said, "The majority of those visiting Rajasthan are Hindus facing persecution in Pakistan. The short 48-hour deadline is affecting those who arrived in the past 10–20 days and are in the process of applying for LTVs. The govt should at least respect the CAA and revoke the decision for religious minorities protected under the Act."
