330. Foreign spouse of Indian

citizen must qualify for OCI on

own capacity

Q. Dear Sir I live in Liberia and I am citizen of India by Birth and I hold Indian Passport. I am married to Liberian citizen and our children Are Indian Citizen and they hold Indian Passport. I want my wife to live in India with my Children . How she will get resident status or can live their . She has 3 years visa for India Thanks Amandeep singh A. Since you are married to a foreign citizen and I am assuming your wife does not have any connection to Indian origin other than that she is the wife of an Indian citizen. Here is what I can suggest: 1. You should apply for a PIO card for your wife. If she is already in India with her three year visa she can apply for PIO card in India. 2. PIO card is valid for 15 years. Later on she can think of applying for Indian citizenship once she completes the residency requirement. In case she has proof of Indian origin by connection to other relatives, she may be able to apply for OCI. Just by being married to an Indian citizen does not make her eligible for OCI. She must prove here eligibility for OCI on her own capacity. However you need not worry if she is not eligible for OCI, the PIO card is just as good and for people who have a foreign spouse, PIO card is perhaps the best possible route to live in India. Information on PIO card is provided HERE When you view the form, you will get all the information regarding the procedure to apply and documents to submit. Good Luck! UPDATE Foreign spouse may now be able to apply as effective January 06, 2015 rules changed. Under new rules some foreign spouses will be eligible to apply for OCI. See below: ‘spouse of foreign origin of a citizen of India or spouse of foreign origin of an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder registered under section 7A and whose marriage has been registered and subsisted for a continuous period of not less than two years immediately preceding the presentation of the application under this section: Provided that for the eligibility for registration as Overseas Citizen of India cardholder, such spouse shall be subjected to prior security clearance from a competent authority in India . . .