Over 12 lakh Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cards have been issued and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has moved an amendment bill to expand the coverage of these cards to include spouses and children, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Mullappally Ramachandran has said.
He was inaugurating a public outreach programme organised by the Foreigners Division of the ministry at Sargalaya Crafts Village in Iringal here on Thursday.
The programme was organised by the ministry to deal with issues relating to OCI and grant of Indian citizenship to foreign citizens, extension of visa for staying in the country, and related matters. Senior officials from the Union ministry and State Home Department participated.
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Among the issues discussed was the online system for registration of children born to Indian parents outside India, which has been operationalised. This system would enable speedy completion of registration formalities under Section 4 (1) of the Indian Citizenship Act.
The programme also highlighted that the ministry was implementing an e-governance project called Immigration, Visa and Foreigners Registration and Tracking (IVFRT) in 134 Indian missions and in 218 foreigners’ registration offices within the country, a statement said.