Lesser Tax
5 min read
Quick answer: A child born in the US is a US citizen and travels on a US passport. India does not allow dual citizenship, so the way for your child to live, study or stay in India long term is an OCI card. A minor is eligible if a parent is an Indian citizen or an OCI cardholder. You apply on ociservices.gov.in and submit through VFS Global, using the child's US passport. US passports for children under 16 last only five years, so your child will renew several times. Up to age 20, each time, you just upload the new US passport and a recent photo on the OCI portal within three months, free. The card itself is re-issued once, with the first new passport issued after your child turns 20.
Key takeaways
- Your US-born child's OCI is linked to their US passport, not an Indian one.
- A minor child is eligible if one or both parents are Indian citizens, or if a parent holds an OCI card (Embassy of India OCI FAQ).
- For each new US passport issued before age 20, upload the passport and a recent photo on the OCI portal within three months. There is no fee inside that window (Consulate General of India, San Francisco).
- A new physical OCI card is needed once, when a new passport is issued after your child completes 20 years of age.
- If your child was ever issued an Indian passport, it has to be surrendered before you apply for OCI.
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Who is eligible?
A child born in the United States is a US citizen by birth. Because India does not allow dual citizenship, your child is not an Indian citizen once they hold a US passport, so they need either an Indian visa or an OCI card to enter India.
The Embassy of India's OCI FAQ lists a minor child whose parents, or one parent, are Indian citizens as eligible for OCI. A minor child of a parent who is an OCI cardholder is also eligible. So most families qualify whether both parents still hold Indian passports or one has become a US citizen and holds OCI.
Some families get an Indian passport for a US-born baby instead. That is a different path with its own trade-offs, covered in Indian passport for a US-born child. Once the child holds a US passport, the Indian passport has to be surrendered, and OCI is the long-term option.
How do you apply for the first OCI card?
- Get the US passport. Apply with the child's US birth certificate (the state-issued certificate that lists the parents). The OCI application is tied to this passport number.
- Fill in the OCI application on ociservices.gov.in under "Fresh OCI". Upload the child's US passport, a recent photo meeting the OCI photo specification, the birth certificate, and proof of a parent's Indian citizenship or OCI card.
- Submit through VFS Global, which handles OCI applications for the Indian Embassy and consulates in the US. Pay the fees and send or take the documents to the VFS centre for your consulate's area, including the parental consent forms VFS asks for.
- Receive the OCI card. Keep it with the US passport it was issued on.
What do you do when your child gets a new US passport?
US passports issued to children under 16 are valid for five years, so a child usually gets three or four passports before turning 20. Each one has a new number, and the OCI record has to be updated.
Since 2021 the card does not have to be re-issued for each new passport up to age 20. Instead, the parent uploads the new passport and a recent photo online (CGI San Francisco):
- Within three months of the new passport being issued, log in to ociservices.gov.in and use "OCI Miscellaneous Services".
- Upload the new passport's bio page and a recent photo of your child.
- There is no fee if you do it inside the three-month window. After that, the update can still be made, but a late fee applies. Check the current amount with VFS.
- The existing OCI card stays valid. On the next India trip, carry the OCI card, the new US passport and, if you still have it, the old passport the card was issued on.
When does your child need a new physical OCI card?
Once: with the first new passport issued after your child completes 20 years of age. The Embassy FAQ explains why the rule exists: a child's face changes a lot before 20. Apply for OCI re-issue through VFS at that point and pay the fees current at the time.
After that, a new card is not needed for each passport between 21 and 50. The rules for adults, including the one-time update after 50, are in OCI re-issue after 20 and 50 and updating your OCI after a new passport.
| What happens | What to do |
|---|---|
| Child is born in the US | Get the US passport, then apply for Fresh OCI on ociservices.gov.in and submit through VFS |
| New US passport before age 20 | Upload the new passport and a photo on the OCI portal within 3 months, free |
| First new passport after completing 20 | Apply for OCI re-issue through VFS (new physical card) |
| New passports between 21 and 50 | No new card needed; see the adult rules for online updates |
What this means for your taxes
OCI is an immigration status, not a tax status. Your US-born child is a US citizen for tax purposes from birth. To claim the child on your US return you need their Social Security number. If the family later moves to India, the child's Indian tax residency depends on days spent in India, not on OCI; see RNOR status for returning NRIs.
This is general information. Rules and fees can change, so check the current instructions on ociservices.gov.in and with VFS before you apply. For help with Indian passport and OCI paperwork in the US, see Lesser Tax's passport renewal service.