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Aadhaar Card for NRIs

While the Aadhaar card was initially granted only to Indian residents, the central government has now made a provision to issue the same to Non Resident Indians (NRI) as well. The card comprises of a 12-digit number unique to every individual.
As per the Aadhaar Act 2016, only a resident who has resided for a period or periods amounting in all to 182 days or more in the 12 months immediately preceding the date of application for enrollment is eligible for Aadhaar.
This move was considered important not only to keep a count on the demographic profile of the country but also acts as a unique card comprising of biometric as well as identity and address proof of every Indian citizen.

Residency Requirement for Aadhaar Card for NRIs
Residency Requirement for Aadhaar Card for NRIs

Steps To Apply For An Aadhaar Card

The Aadhaar enrollment is a very simple and a hassle free process. The process is same for both Indians as well as Non Indian Residents (NRIs). Application for an Aadhaar card should meet the following steps:

  1. The first step is to enroll yourself for an Aadhaar. This is done by filling in the enrollment form in any Aadhaar enrollment centre anywhere in this country. You can locate your nearby Aadhaar centre by visiting the official UIDAI website
  2. After successful enrollment an acknowledged slip will be provided for your future use. In case you have lost your slip in can retrieve the same in the official website of UIDAI. This will require your mobile number registered at the time of enrollment.
  3. To check your Aadhaar status all you need to do is visit the official UIDAI website, click the “enroll and get Aadhaar option”. After this click on to “check Aadhaar status” option. This will redirect you to a page wherein you will have to fill your 28-digit enrollment id. The 28 digit enrollment id comprises of your 14 digit enrollment number provided at the top of your acknowledgment slip and 14 digit date and time (dd/mm/yyyy hh:mm:ss) of your enrollment.
  4. Finally, you need to fill in the security code provided in the captcha in the right hand side.

Procedure To Fill The Enrollment Form

The procedure to apply for an Aadhaar card is same for both NRIs as well Indian citizens.
Steps to fill in the enrollment form: –
There are all total 12 columns in the form. A step by step guideline to fill the form is provided below: –

  1. Pre enrollment id – This is not a mandatory field. If you want to provide your demographic data online to UIDAI you can visit their official website and after filling in your details you will be provided with a pre enrollment id. You may provide this number in this column
  2. NPR receipt/TIN number – This refers to national population survey slip or Tax Identification number. This is again not a mandatory field
  3. Full Name – Here you should mention your full name, I.e., your first name, your middle name and your surname. Your name should match with the name that provided in your identity proof document
  4. Gender – Here you will have to identify your gender as male, female or Transgender
  5. Age – If you are not sure about your age, you can provide your approximate age. If you do not have any documents to prove your age, then click on the declared box and if you have the documents to prove your age then click the verified box
  6. Address – Here you need to provide your address. Your address should match the address that you have provided in your address proof document. Along with your address, you also need to provide your mobile number and email id
  7. Details of family members – this is not a mandatory column for adults but it is compulsory for children below the age of 5. Parents should provide their names and Aadhaar numbers.
  8. Consent – By giving your consent you will allow UIDAI to share the information that you have provided to the public service agencies
  9. Doc provided – In the column “for document based”, it is mandatory to provide your Proof of Identity and Proof of Address. The proof of date of birth is mandatory you have selected the verified box in the date birth field. Proof of relationship document is mandatory if you are using an introducer or a head of the family to enroll for an Aadhaar card (e.g.: -passport, pension card, marriage certificate etc.)
  10. Introducer/head of the family –  In case a person does not have any proof of Address or proof of identity than he or she will have to fill in the credentials of the head of the family
  11. Signature – Here the applicant will have given his/her signature, name or thumbprint to authenticate the form.

Documents Required for Aadhaar Card for NRIs

1)Documents that establish your identity as a Non Residential Indian (NRI)
2)Birth Certificate
3)Photo Id
4)School Certificate
5)Documents linking your connection with the country where they hold green card/residency (this will be verified by officials to see whether or not you are eligible for Aadhaar card)

The full list of documents is given below.

Finger Tip Scanning

After successful submission of your enrollment form, you will be called for your fingertip scanning where all of your ten fingers will be scanned. This is done to ensure that your biometric data is unique. For this, you will have to personally visit the Aadhaar card centre

Iris Scanning

The iris scanning will be done in the Aadhaar card centre itself. This is done to make sure that your data is not confused with anyone else

Photograph

This is also done in the Aadhaar centre. A photograph of the applicant is taken by a web camera and is added to the Aadhaar card

After successfully scanning and submitting all the documents, the authorities takes a minimum of three months to produce an Aadhaar card. You can check the status of your Aadhaar card in the official website of UIDAI.

PPF account will be closed in case of change of status to NRI

A new notification has been issued by the Government of India (GoI) stating that if the holder of the PPF (Public Provident Fund) account becomes NRI (Non – residence of India) would be closed without the account reaching its maturity period.

This notice was issued earlier this month in the official gazette which states the above mentioned information.

The amendment to the PPF Scheme, 1968, says:

If a resident who opened an account under this scheme, subsequently becomes a non-resident during the currency of the maturity period, the account shall be deemed to be closed with effect from the day he becomes non-resident

This decision has been taken as according to the rules of PPF, NRIs are not permitted to invest in schemes like the National Savings Certificate (NSC), Public Provident Fund (PPF), and Monthly Income Schemes and other time deposits offered by the post office.

The Public Provident Fund (PPF) scheme, is a tax free savings scheme introduced by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and it was launched in order to encourage savings habit among the Indians and create a retirement corpus.

PPF is a long term savings and tax savings instrument in India, and is administered by the provisions of Public Provident Fund Act 1968. Deposits made towards the PPF account is eligible for deduction under Income Tax Act and the interest earned on it is exempted from tax.

There are other eligibility criteria’s of this for say, this scheme is only for Residents of India who are above 18 years of age or above than that as there is no upper age limit to open an account in PPF. Also, HUF (Hindu Undivided Families) or NRIs (Non – Resident of India) or Foreigners are excluded from the scheme.

Investing in PPF is one of the best investment options as it acts as a good option for a long term investment scheme. The maturity period is 15 years and minimum lock – in period is 7 years. Moreover, the interest rate also gets annually compounded. It is also one of the most tax efficient, affordable and the most popular retirement scheme in India. Not is the interest rate tax – free but the withdrawals are also taxed deductible.

Non Aadhaar mobile SIM Verification for NRIs or Foreigners

Government is introducing new SIM verification method for NRIs or foreigners who are not eligible for Aadhaar.

Aadhaar linkage is not restricted to filing income tax return (ITR) and government schemes; it has been expanded to more daily essentials.

Government have issued a notice stating that all mobile SIM cards are required to be linked with Aadhaar cards and telecom companies had been earlier instructing users to start the process of linking Aadhaar card with phone numbers. And this verification needs to be done by February 2018, after that all unlined phones to be deactivated thereafter.

How to link your mobile number to the Aadhaar Card for Indian Residents.

However, the question lies for the NRIs (Non Residence of Indians) and foreign tourist who are not eligible for Aadhaar card.

The Telecom Department and Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is planning to come out with a solution for this category.

Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan has said that the decision on non-Aadhaar SIM verification method for NRIs and foreign tourists may likely be taken in two to three weeks

She also said that

one such way for NRIs and foreign tourists could be authentication through passport, but no decision has been taken yet on the matter

Another way which has been simplified this week with the government is through OTP (One Time Password) and other modes to complete the process of linking mobile numbers with the 12 digit biometric identifier.

Government have asked the telecom operators to submit a blueprint of the process to UIDAI by November 2017 to function the new method of SIM re – verification through Aadhaar.

Also, the government have asked the telecom companies to provide door step service for the verification for ill and senior citizens who are also existing customers.

This process of linkage can be done through OTP (One Time Password) or IVRS (Interactive Voice Response) facility as well.

Telecom operators have also been directed to deploy iris devices at appropriate number of service points so subscribers have access to iris authentication within a reasonable geographical distance

This step has been taken by the government in order to prevent the numbers from misuse by the terrorist and fraudsters.

How to get yourself an Aadhaar Card being an NRI? Read about it here.

Overseas NRI Voters

The Election Commission of India was founded in the year 25th Jan 1950 which was later celebrated as the National Voters Day. The election commission of India is responsible for the administrative process in India. The voters in India have classified into different types out of which one is the Overseas NRI Voter.

Overseas (NRI) Elector

An Overseas NRI elector is a citizen of India who has not acquired any citizenship of any other country and is otherwise eligible to be registered as a voter and who is absent from his place of ordinary residence in India owing to his employment, education or otherwise is eligible to be registered.

According to the provisions of Section 20A of the Representations of the People’s Act of 1950 an NRI who has settled in a foreign land can become an official electoral roll in India.

Eligibility of An Overseas Voter

Any Indian Citizen can be tagged as an Overseas NRI Voter if he/she has attained the age of 18 years on the qualifying date, i.e first date of the month January of the year of revision of the electoral roll and should not be disqualified to be enrolled as an elector.

How To Register For An Overseas Elector

  • Below is the process explaining how to register yourself as an Overseas NRI elector.
  • Visit the official site of the Election Commission of India:www.eci.nic.in
  • Now find out the name of your constituency and the part of the area i.e the district or the state where you live in (residence).
  • Fill in the Enrollment Form. Fill the Form 6A from the website www.nvsp.in
  • You can also receive the Form 6A from the EROs/AEROs Office/Designated Locations/ Authorized Centers if you are applying it offline.
  • Now fill in the form 6A in 2 copies and send it to the Electoral Registration Officer.
  • These forms are available in free of cost in the Indian Missions.

Documents Required

The documents that are required for the registration of Overseas Elector are as follows

  • One recent passport size photograph affixed in Form 6A.
  • The self-attested photocopies of the required pages of the Passport containing the photograph, address of Indian residence and all the other details.
  • The page of the Passport containing the valid Visa endorsement.
  • The documents that are mentioned above must be duly self-attested.
  • Submission Of The Form-  in Person/Post:
  • You can submit the following form either by the Post Service or you can fill in the form in Person with the Electoral Registration Officer/ Assistant R.O. After the submission process, the form goes for the Verification Process.

The Verification Process

  • The Booth officers will visit your residence address that you have mentioned while filling up the form. The booth officers will check a few documents of the applicant in this process.
  • If in case there is no relative or is not willing to give any declaration for the verification then these documents are sent to the concerned Indian Mission.
  • The decision of the Electoral Registration Officer will be sent to the mentioned address or mobile number that is mentioned in the Form 6A. This is sent in the form of an SMS or by post. The electoral rolls are also available on the website of Chief Electoral Officer.
  • The names of the Overseas Electors are mentioned at separate column making it easier to spot. This list is usually located at the last section of the roll of each polling station area.
  • Form 8 is used to making the correction in the Electoral Roll.

How To Cast Your Vote?

  • The Overseas Elector are not issued with the Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC). The person is allowed to cast his/her vote at the polling station by showing off his/her Passport.
  • No use of mobile phones or tablets or any other gadgets in the Polling Booth.
  • Firstly the polling official will check your name in the Voter List and then check your Passport.
  • Then the polling official will put the ink on your finger and proceed to the Polling Booth to cast a vote for your desired candidate.
  • Now record the vote by pressing the button beside the symbol of the candidate of your choice on the Electronic Voting Machine.
  • After you are done with the voting you can hear a beep sound.
  • You can also press NOTA which means None of the Above. If you do not like any candidate. Feel free to press that button. It is present in the last section of the Electronic Voting Machine.

Note:

  • No person should be enrolled more than once. If you are enrolling as an Overseas NRI Elector then you need to submit a declaration mentioning that you are not enrolled as a General Elector before.
  • If in case you are registered as a General Voter, you need to surrender your EPIC when you submit Form 6A for registration as an Overseas Voter.
  • When you return back to India then you can register yourself as a General Voter at your original place of residence and get the enrollment as Overseas Elector deleted.

Don’t have a Voter Id Card? Want to know the Application Procedure.Check Here for more details.

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