Lok Sabha Question No. 3695 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-17
Subject: OCI Card Holders
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: Jagdambika Pal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3695

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 17 TH  MARCH, 2020/ PHALGUNA 27, 1941 (SAKA)

OCI CARD HOLDERS

3695. SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a)  the  total  number  of  Overseas  Citizen  of  India  (OCI)  card-holders  globally, country-wise; and

(b) the details of the measures being taken for their welfare?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI NITYANAND RAI)

(a):      Till March 12, 2020,  35,79,011 Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards have been issued to foreigners.

Country- wise list is enclosed at 'ANNEXURE'.

(b):    Various benefits have been provided to the OCI cardholders by the Central Government  through  Gazette  notifications  dated  11 th   April,  2005,  6 th   January 2007 and 6 th   January  2009  issued  under section  7B(1)  of  the  Citizenship  Act, 1955. These inter-alia include:-

(a) grant of multiple entry lifelong visa for visiting India for any purpose;

(b) exemption from registration requirement;

## L.S.US.Q.NO. 3695 FOR 17.03.2020

(c) parity  with  Non-Resident  Indians  in  respect  of  all  facilities  available  to them in economic, financial and educational fields except in matters relating to the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties;

(d) parity with Non-Resident Indians in the matter of inter-country adoption of Indian children;

(e) parity with resident Indian nationals in the matter of tariffs in airfares in domestic sectors in India, and also for same entry fee as for domestic Indian visitors to visit national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in India;

(f) Parity with non-resident Indians in respect of :-

- (i) entry  fees  to  be  charged  for  visiting  the  national  monuments,  historical sites and museums in India;

(ii) pursuing the following professions in India, in pursuance of the provisions contained in the relevant Acts, namely: doctors, dentists, nurses and pharmacists; advocates; architects; chartered accountants;

(g) to appear for the All India Pre-Medical Test or such other tests to make them  eligible  for  admission  in  pursuance  of  the  provisions  contained  in  the relevant Acts.

*****

ANNEXURE-1/1

## L.S.US.Q NO. 3695 FOR 17.03.2020

Nationality Wise OCI Card issued

| S. No   | Country Name    | No. of OCI Card issued   |
|---------|-----------------|--------------------------|
| 1       | UNITED STATES   | 1309559                  |
| 2       | UNITED KINGDOM  | 788411                   |
| 3       | AUSTRALIA       | 403746                   |
| 4       | CANADA          | 317375                   |
| 5       | PORTUGAL        | 87299                    |
| 6       | NEW ZEALAND     | 69883                    |
| 7       | FRANCE          | 65678                    |
| 8       | SINGAPORE       | 63290                    |
| 9       | MALAYSIA        | 61703                    |
| 10      | ITALY           | 53008                    |
| 11      | GERMANY         | 49936                    |
| 12      | KENYA           | 40900                    |
| 13      | IRELAND         | 26001                    |
| 14      | SRI LANKA       | 23831                    |
| 15      | NETHERLANDS     | 21825                    |
| 16      | SOUTH AFRICA    | 16940                    |
| 17      | AUSTRIA         | 15078                    |
| 18      | BELGIUM         | 12364                    |
| 19      | TANZANIA        | 11722                    |
| 20      | SPAIN           | 11572                    |
| 21      | THAILAND        | 11356                    |
| 22      | SWEDEN          | 10700                    |
| 23      | NORWAY          | 9502                     |
| 24      | MAURITIUS       | 8759                     |
| 25      | SWITZERLAND     | 5862                     |
| 26      | INDONESIA       | 4992                     |
| 27      | HONG KONG       | 4952                     |
| 28      | SWAZILAND       | 4002                     |
| 29      | PHILIPPINES     | 3949                     |
| 30      | RUSSIA          | 3154                     |
| 31      | MOZAMBIQUE      | 3090                     |
| 32      | DENMARK         | 3024                     |
| 33      | ZAMBIA          | 2985                     |
| 34      | YEMEN           | 2802                     |
| 35      | FINLAND         | 2657                     |
| 36      | BAHRAIN         | 2585                     |
| 37      | PANAMA          | 1879                     |
| 38      | ZIMBABWE        | 1855                     |
| 39      | UGANDA          | 1791                     |
| 40      | ISRAEL          | 1777                     |
| 41      | JAPAN           | 1569                     |
| 42      | IRAN            | 2710                     |
| 43      | SEYCHELLES      | 1519                     |
| 44      | MYANMAR (BURMA) | 1516                     |
| 45      | POLAND          | 1327                     |
| 47      | FIJI            |                          |
|         |                 | 1291                     |

ANNEXURE-1/2 L.S.US.Q NO. 3695 FOR 17.03.2020

| 48    | UKRAINE                | 1192    |
|-------|------------------------|---------|
| 49    | MADAGASCAR             | 1107    |
| 50    | CHINA                  | 1065    |
| 51    | SAUDI ARABIA           | 1057    |
| 52    | GREECE                 | 1030    |
| 53    | MALAWI                 | 989     |
| 54    | BARBADOS               | 956     |
| 55    | BRAZIL                 | 934     |
| 56    | JAMAICA                | 848     |
| 57    | OMAN                   | 825     |
| 58    | CHILE                  | 690     |
| 59    | BELIZE                 | 650     |
| 60    | BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS | 620     |
| 61    | TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO    | 614     |
| 62    | BOTSWANA               | 605     |
| 63    | MEXICO                 | 579     |
| 64    | ROMANIA                | 485     |
| 65    | LESOTHO                | 474     |
| 66    | KOREASOUTH             | 458     |
| 67    | SURINAME               | 444     |
| 68    | KAZAKHSTAN             | 405     |
| 69    | LUXEMBOURG             | 403     |
| 70    | TAIWAN                 | 379     |
| 71    | NIGERIA                | 345     |
| 72    | SUDAN                  | 336     |
| 73    | GRENADA                | 328     |
| 74    | HUNGARY                | 333     |
| 75    | VIETNAM                | 315     |
| 76    | CZECH REPUBLIC         | 296     |
| 77    | ARGENTINA              | 259     |
| 78    | CYPRUS                 | 250     |
| 79    | NETHERLANDS ANTILLES   | 241     |
| 80    | GUYANA                 | 233     |
| 81    | KUWAIT                 | 202     |
| 82    | SLOVAKIA               | 199     |
| 83    | BELARUS                | 197     |
| 84    | JORDAN                 | 191     |
| 85    | MALDIVES               | 189     |
| 86    | LITHUANIA              | 186     |
| 87    | EGYPT                  | 185     |
| 88    | UZBEKISTAN             | 183     |
| 89    | MALTA                  | 181     |
| 90    | MOROCCO                | 183     |
| 91    | BULGARIA               | 174     |
| 92    | PERU                   | 171     |
| 93    | COLOMBIA               | 171     |
| 94    | TURKEY                 | 168     |
| 95    | SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS  | 161     |
| 96 97 | LATVIA VENEZUELA       | 150 148 |
| 98    | ICELAND                |         |
|       |                        | 146     |

## ANNEXURE-1/3 L.S.US.Q NO. 3695 FOR 17.03.2020

| 99      | ESTONIA                  | 145   |
|---------|--------------------------|-------|
| 100     | GHANA                    | 135   |
| 101     | SAINT LUCIA              | 120   |
| 102     | AZERBAIJAN               | 120   |
| 103     | ANDORRA                  | 96    |
| 104     | SLOVENIA                 | 85    |
| 105     | LAOS                     | 84    |
| 106     | CROATIA                  | 81    |
| 107     | AFGHANISTAN              | 78    |
| 108     | QATAR                    | 76    |
| 109     | ECUADOR                  | 75    |
| 110     | LEBANON                  | 72    |
| 111     | ARMENIA                  | 72    |
| 112     | KYRGYZSTAN               | 71    |
| 113     | ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA      | 66    |
| 114     | TAJIKISTAN               | 64    |
| 115     | COSTA RICA               | 63    |
| 116     | CAYMAN ISLANDS           | 59    |
| 117     | NAMIBIA                  | 56    |
| 118     | DOMINICA                 | 55    |
| 119     | ETHIOPIA                 | 54    |
| 120     | GEORGIA                  | 50    |
| 121     | SERBIA                   | 49    |
| 122     | IRAQ                     | 48    |
| 123     | MOLDOVA                  | 47    |
| 124     | BRUNEI                   | 41    |
| 125     | TUNISIA                  | 41    |
| 126     | GUATEMALA                | 38    |
| 127     | MONGOLIA                 | 36    |
| 128     | TURKMENISTAN             | 35    |
| 129     | BAHAMAS                  | 34    |
| 130     | CAMBODIA                 | 33    |
| 131     | ALGERIA                  | 33    |
| 132     | SYRIA                    | 33    |
| 133     | SAINT VINCENT-GRENADINES | 32    |
| 134     | PALESTINE                | 31    |
| 135     | REUNION                  | 31    |
| 136     | SIERRA LEONE             | 31    |
| 137     | ERITREA                  | 28    |
| 138     | URUGUAY                  | 28    |
| 139     | PARAGUAY                 | 27    |
| 140     |                          | 26    |
| 141     | AMERICAN SAMOA JERSEY    | 24    |
| 142     | TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS | 24    |
| 143     | DOMINICAN REPUBLIC       | 24    |
| 144     | SOMALIA                  | 23    |
| 145     | MACAU                    | 22    |
| 146     | BOLIVIA                  | 21    |
| 147 148 | LIECHTENSTEIN COMOROS    | 20 19 |
| 149     | ANGOLA                   | 19    |

## ANNEXURE-1/4 L.S.US.Q NO. 3695 FOR 17.03.2020

| 150     | HONDURAS                     | 19      |
|---------|------------------------------|---------|
| 151     | LIBERIA                      | 19      |
| 152     | COTE D-IVOIRE                | 19      |
| 153     | ALBANIA                      | 18      |
| 154     | ZAIRE (DEM REP OF CONGO)     | 18      |
| 155     | MACEDONIA                    | 15      |
| 156     | BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA       | 14      |
| 157     | NEPAL                        | 13      |
| 158     | CAMEROON                     | 13      |
| 159     | WESTERN SAMOA                | 12      |
| 160     | RWANDA                       | 12      |
| 161     | GIBRALTAR                    | 11      |
| 162     | NICARAGUA                    | 11      |
| 163     | EL SALVADOR                  | 11      |
| 164     | HOLY SEE (VATICAN CITY)      | 10      |
| 165     | BURUNDI                      | 9       |
| 166     | BERMUDA                      | 9       |
| 167     | VANUATU                      | 9       |
| 168     | BENIN                        | 9       |
| 169     | PAPUA NEW GUINEA             | 8       |
| 170     | LIBYA                        | 8       |
| 171     | CHAD                         | 7       |
| 172     | TOGO                         | 7       |
| 173     | FRANCE METROPOLITAN          | 7       |
| 174     | CAPE VERDE                   | 7       |
| 175     | TONGA                        | 7       |
| 176     | ANGUILLA                     | 7       |
| 177     | EAST TIMOR                   | 6       |
| 178     | MONTSERRAT                   | 6       |
| 179     | KOREA NORTH                  | 5       |
| 180     | TUVALU                       | 5       |
| 181     | REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO        | 5       |
| 182     | ARUBA DJIBOUTI               | 4       |
| 183     |                              | 4       |
| 184     | SENEGAL                      | 4       |
| 185     | BURKINA FASO                 | 3       |
| 186     | FRENCH POLYNESIA             | 3       |
| 187     | MARSHALL ISLANDS             | 3       |
| 188     | MAURITANIA                   | 2       |
| 189     | GAMBIA                       | 2       |
| 190     | GUINEA-BISSAU                | 2       |
| 191     | CUBA                         | 2       |
| 192     | MALI                         | 2       |
| 193     | KIRIBATI                     | 2       |
| 194     | HAITI                        | 2       |
| 195     | PUERTO RICO                  | 2       |
| 196     | DAR-US-SALAM                 | 1       |
| 197     | EQUATORIAL GUINEA            | 1       |
| 198     | FRENCH GUIANA                | 1       |
| 199 200 | CURACAO REPUBLIC OF SLOVANIA | 1 1     |
|         | TOTAL                        |         |
|         |                              | 3579011 |

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