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Canadian couple decodes life in India as OCIs
Sneha Khilwani and her family moved back to India after a decade in Canada and explained how their OCI cards helped in the transition.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Fri, 13, Feb 2026
- 02:49 EST
- 15
Sneha Khilwani with her husband / Sneha Khilwani via X
What are the limitations of living in India with an OCI card? A Canadian OCI couple who moved back to India broke down the how and what of their Overseas Citizens of India cardholders living in India.
Sneha Khilwani and her family moved back to India after over a decade living in Canada. After they opened up about this transition, her social media was filled with queries on what it means to live in India long-term while being OCI cardholders.
The couple said that the most common question was about employment, they clarified that OCI cardholders are free to work anywhere except be a government employee or a journalist. She added that OCI cardholders are even eligible for EPF benefits, just like any other employee.
ALSO READ: India tightens rules for overseas citizens
The second concern they addressed is about taxes, they said, "You pay taxes where you earn your income from, be it India, be it Canada, but there is one thing you should know, there is a tax treaty, there's a double tax treaty between both the countries which helps you to avoid double taxation in both the countries, so take benefit of it."
Noting the other challenges OCI cardholders can potentially face, they said that even though schools don't demand a higher fee from OIC cardholders, however, colleges and universities have different fee structures for citizens and non-citizens.
Posting part two of the video, she discussed agricultural land ownership. She explained that while OCI cardholders are allowed to inherit agricultural land or get it as a gift, they are not allowed to purchase it.
Additionally, they also confirmed that OCI cardholders are allowed to obtain Aadhar Cards as long as they become residents of India by living in India for a continuous period of 6 months in the last 12 months.
Listing out the pros and cons of living in India with an OCI card, they said, "For the pros, you can live and work in India as long as you want, for the cons, you can't vote, you can't work in government sector, you can't work as journalists, you can't own agricultural land and there are certain restrictions to visit certain tourist places that are protected by the government (they require special permissions)."
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