Overview
- The Ministry of Home Affairs launched the electronic OCI (e‑OCI) system on June 30, 2026, allowing eligible overseas Indians to generate and download a digital version of their OCI card from the OCI Services Portal.
- Existing OCI booklets remain valid but the government has removed the requirement to re‑issue the booklet after a passport change post‑age 20 and requires online passport updates instead.
- OCI holders can log into ociservices.gov.in, open the e‑OCI tab, verify their record and click ‘Generate e‑OCI Card’ to download the credential to a smartphone without a fresh physical application in most cases.
- Users have reported portal crashes and problems accessing the original registration email, and the MHA has published an email‑updation facility and guidance on linking family records while advising travellers to carry physical booklets during the transition.
- The move affects more than 50 lakh OCI holders and aims to reduce paperwork, centralise records, lower fraud risk and allow real‑time verification at immigration checkpoints with VFS Global retained for any required in‑person document checks.