Dipali was our first OCI client. That was 2011, and I still remember googling “QROPS or UK pension” the same evening she called, because I did not want to guess in front of her.
Fifteen years later, most of what I know about how an OCI family actually lives, moving between two countries, two currencies and two sets of rules, I learned from clients like her rather than from any circular.
So I asked her a few questions. Everything below in her section is exactly as she wrote it. I have not tidied her sentences, and I have not added anything to them.
⚡ Quick Answer
An OCI card is a lifelong visa for a foreign citizen of Indian origin, not dual citizenship. It gives you free entry, stay and work in India with no FRRO registration. It does not give you voting rights, government posts or the ability to buy agricultural land. Under FEMA an OCI holder is treated as a person resident outside India and gets NRI parity for most investments. The card does not by itself make you an NRI for tax: that is still decided by days spent in India.
Background reading – What an Overseas Citizen of India card actually gives you
Editor’s note, updated 2026
This interview was first published in 2018. Dipali’s experience stands, but a few OCI rules have been clarified or tightened since. Current position:
The OCI card must be re-issued each time a new passport is issued up to the age of 20, and once again after the age of 50. Between 21 and 50 no re-issue is required on passport renewal.
Dipali’s line about agriculture is still correct. OCI holders cannot buy agricultural land, plantation property or farmhouses in India. Inheritance is the only route.
OCI holders cannot open new PPF, NSC or SCSS accounts, and repatriation from an NRO account is capped at USD 1 million a financial year.
Her UK point about three years of residence for home-student fee status was accurate at the time. Post-Brexit fee and eligibility rules have changed, so anyone planning a child’s education in the UK or EU should check the current position rather than rely on this.
What does financial freedom mean to you?
Working because I want to, not because I have to.
Do you get any special benefit of being an OCI?
Financially, not really.
However, I have relocated to India and then back to the UK in the last 6 years and the ease with which I was able to do this is due to the OCI card. So knowing there is no barrier to movement, investing (unless you are planning to go into agriculture) or living in India is a huge relief.
In my heart, I feel I am still an Indian, irrespective of my passport and this is because I identify with my country of birth as much as I do with where I reside
Check – Easy steps for planning your retirement in India
You have shifted base a few times. How different is working in India compared to the UK?
There are huge differences – probably less so than there used to be. My primary reason for wanting to stay in the UK when I first came here was the work-life balance.
In India, we had a live-in maid, which is a luxury you can only dream of in the UK. However, I worked all hours and also on weekends. So my daughter was being brought up by an illiterate lady and that was definitely not alright with me.
The ability to work flexibly was not a right by law at the time, but most companies were willing to extend that facility so long as it was not abused.
Another example of this is that if there is a need to work longer hours or weekends, it is not a given that your boss will expect you to give up your plans to do so. Your personal time is precious and though working long hours and during holidays is inevitable at some point, it is appreciated and that appreciation is shown.
In India, more often than not, this is something an employer/manager takes for granted, possibly because he/she was the victim of the same attitude at some time.
Though this was the primary reason, there were other important ones.
One was the respect and value for the individual irrespective of their position in the organisations hierarchy. A simple example – you are in the lift with a senior executive, say the COO. You are at least 3 -4 levels below him so the chances that he knows you by name are slim. Say the topic is the match over the weekend – how comfortable would you be in criticising the COO’s teams play?
Strange question? Not really when you consider I have witnessed people being uncomfortable to express a difference of opinion on a non-work-related subject with their boss. I don’t feel that I have to be in office before my boss reaches or stay till he leaves. As long as I have done my work and am responsible about it, I have no barriers to working my hours.
Having said this, one does tend to form more personal connections in India. Some of my best friendships have been formed in the work-place. We tend to know about each other’s families and trials and also help where we can. We eat together and celebrate festivals irrespective of our religions. This is something I miss sorely when I am out of India.
“Financial Freedom is Working because I want to, not because I have to.” wiseNRI
Your net worth grew seven times in seven years. What went through your mind when you saw that?
That is probably due to my not tracking my portfolio as well as I should have and also getting used to near 0 inflation and hence rates in the UK. I was genuinely taken aback and elated that the investments had grown so well.
Considering the near-0 position we started from, it’s commendable how far we have reached on this journey – or rather I should say that how far you have brought me 🙂
Ultimately, a huge sense of relief in feeling more secure financially and for the future.
Your daughter chose a college in Europe. Did your UK citizenship help, and what else did you weigh up?
Our primary driver was the location where she wanted to work so that she would benefit from job placement.
In the UK, you need to be resident in the country for 3 years in order to qualify as a local student. So we were at a disadvantage on this count since she is not eligible for scholarships, etc.
Apart from the work location, we considered college status, course, etc. – all the things that anyone would while making this decision.
Checklist – If you are relocating to India
The best financial advice you ever got, that could help other NRIs?
“Fix a monthly amount to save/invest and spend on frivolities from the balance. Always be clear on whether you need something or want it.”
Why her surprise was the interesting part
Dipali did not do anything clever. She fixed a monthly amount, invested it, and then largely stopped looking. In our review meeting the growth she had not tracked was the single biggest contributor to her security. Put a number on the habit: Rs 50,000 a month invested steadily for 15 years at a 10% annual return builds roughly Rs 2.07 crore, against Rs 90 lakh actually put in. More than half of that pile is time doing work she was not watching.
In 25 years I have seen far more wealth destroyed by monitoring than by neglect. The clients who check least often are rarely the ones who end up with least.
The two-country problem nobody warns you about
Dipali named something in passing that I see constantly. She had grown used to near-zero inflation and near-zero rates in the UK, and that quietly reset what she expected from her Indian money.
This is mental accounting. We keep separate ledgers in our heads for our two lives, and we apply the assumptions of the country we are standing in to money sitting in the country we are not.
It cuts both ways. NRIs underestimate Indian growth because their salary sits in a low-inflation economy. Or they overestimate an Indian FD because 7% sounds spectacular next to a British savings rate, forgetting that Indian inflation is eating a good share of it.
One net worth. Two currencies. It has to be read as a single number, or it misleads you in both directions. If you have not done that in a while, the NRI financial checklist is a reasonable place to start, and if a move back to India is anywhere on the horizon, look at RNOR status well before you book the flight.
Two countries, two currencies, one retirement to fund
We help OCI and NRI families read their whole picture as one number instead of two.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an OCI card the same as dual citizenship?
No. India does not permit dual citizenship. An OCI holder is a foreign citizen with a lifelong Indian visa, exempt from FRRO registration, with no voting rights and no eligibility for government posts.
Does an OCI card make me an NRI?
No. NRI is a tax and FEMA status decided by days spent in India. An OCI holder is a foreign citizen, treated under FEMA as a person resident outside India, and given NRI parity for most investment purposes.
How often does an OCI card need to be re-issued?
On each new passport up to the age of 20, and once more after turning 50. No re-issue is needed on passport renewal between those ages.
Can an OCI holder buy property in India?
Residential and commercial property, yes. Agricultural land, plantation property and farmhouses, no. Those can only come to you by inheritance.
Can an OCI holder invest in Indian mutual funds?
Yes, through NRE or NRO accounts with completed KYC. Holders resident in the US and Canada face additional restrictions at fund house level because of FATCA reporting.
Do OCI holders pay tax in India?
On Indian income, yes, exactly as any non-resident does. Foreign income stays outside the Indian net while you remain a non-resident.
What stayed with me from Dipali’s answers was not the seven times growth. It was the line about her heart still being Indian irrespective of her passport, written by someone who had already made her peace with living in two places at once.
The card decides where you can land. It never decides where you belong.
💬 Your Turn
If you hold an OCI card, what is the one thing about it you wish somebody had explained to you before you applied? Tell me in the comments.
My thanks to Dipali for her time and her candour. Her answers are published exactly as she sent them.
A very close friend of mine who is a co pilot in air india chicago wants to gift me a mercedes V classis which is four years old car.i am a senior cituzen 84 yrs old. I am in bangalore. Can i receive it and will i have to pay tax duty etc