Difference between OCI and NRI "EMPOWER IAS"

The Home Ministry’s March 4 order that required professional Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs), such as journalists, engineers and researchers, to notify the Ministry about their activities in India.
The notification said that OCIs shall be required to obtain a “special permission or a special permit” from the competent authority or the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) or the Indian mission “to undertake research, missionary or Tabligh or mountaineering or journalistic activities or internship in any foreign diplomatic missions
The Ministry issued a gazette notification that OCI cardholders could claim “only NRI (Non-Resident Indian) quota seats” in educational institutions.

This will place undue burden on scientific, pharmaceutical, medical, biotechnology and other research fields.
Even if an OCI student has secured a high rank in an exam like NEET, several institutions of repute do not have NRI seats.
The exorbitantly high fees under the NRI quota cannot be afforded by many OCIs as they live and work in India.
India-domiciled OCI students are deprived of domicile status both in India [country of residence] as well as the country of their citizenship.
The notification equates India-domiciled OCIs with a foreigner.

OCIs are of Indian origin but hold foreign passports.
India does not allow dual citizenship but provides certain benefits under Section 7B(I) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 to the OCIs.
So far, 37.72 lakh OCI Cards are said to have been issued.

Overseas Citizenship of India

Definition

Benefits to OCI Cardholders

OCI cardholders can enter India multiple times, get a multipurpose lifelong visa to visit India, and are exempt from registering with Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
If an individual is registered as an OCI for a period of five years, he/she is eligible to apply for Indian citizenship.
At all Indian international airports, OCI cardholders are provided with special immigration counters.
OCI cardholders can open special bank accounts in India, buy the non-farm property and exercise ownership rights and can also apply for a Permanent Account Number (PAN) card.

Limitations

OCI cardholders do not get voting rights, cannot hold a government job and purchase agricultural or farmland.
They cannot travel to restricted areas without government permission.

Constitutional Provisions

The Constitution deals with citizenship from Articles 5 to 11 under Part II. However, it contains neither any permanent nor any elaborate provisions in this regard.
It only identifies the persons who became citizens of India on 26^th January 1950 (i.e. when the Constitution commenced).
It empowers the Parliament to enact a law to provide for matters relating to citizenship. Accordingly, the Parliament has enacted the Citizenship Act, 1955, which has been recently amended in 2015.

Overseas Citizen of India

The Ministry of Home Affairs defines an OCI as a person who:
- Was a citizen of India on or after 26^th January 1950; or
- Was eligible to become a citizen of India on 26^th January 1950; or
- Is a child or grandchild of such a person, among other eligibility criteria.
According to Section 7A of the OCI card rules, an applicant is not eligible for the OCI card if he, his parents or grandparents have ever been a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh. The category was introduced by the government in 2005.
The Government of India via Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2015 merged the Person of Indian Origin (PIO) category with OCI category in 2015.

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