Can I travel to India while my OCI passport update is pending? (UK, 2026)

December travel is booked, the new British passport has arrived, and the OCI update has not come back yet. It is a question we hear often before the winter travel season. The short answer: in most cases your existing OCI remains valid while the update is processed, and many travellers fly in that period, once the update has actually been submitted and they carry the right papers. Entry decisions rest with the authorities, so send us your travel dates and we confirm the position for your case.

What "pending" actually means

There are two different situations, and they need different handling.

Submitted and pending. Your update has been filed on the official Government of India OCI system and is being processed. This is the normal position for anyone who renews a passport close to a trip, and that stage typically takes 25 to 40 days.

Not yet submitted. Nothing has been filed. Your OCI still shows your old passport, which can raise questions at check-in because the airline is looking at a document that no longer matches the passport in your hand. This is the situation to avoid. Once we have your documents, we usually prepare and submit within 24 to 48 hours. If your case needs a visa centre appointment, the date depends on availability.

What to carry

What you receive depends on the route. With an OCI Link, we email you an upload confirmation as proof of submission. With an OCI Passport Details Update, we send an acknowledgement letter within 48 to 72 hours of submission. Carry these together:

• Your new passport.

• Your old passport, where it was returned to you clipped.

• Your OCI card, and your e-OCI if you have one.

• Our upload confirmation or acknowledgement letter, printed or on your phone.

The confirmation is a record that your passport change has been lodged. Entry decisions rest with the authorities, and individual carriers and officers may still run their own checks.

Within 90 days or past it — does it change anything?

The 90-day window runs from the issue date printed in your new passport, not the day it arrived. The 90-day rule, explained covers the counting.

Within 90 days, a straightforward passport change is the £100 OCI Link, filed online with no visa centre visit. If your name or other details have also changed, it is the £125 OCI Passport Details Update, still online. Past 90 days, it is the £125 update plus a £52.78 late-update penalty, and whether you visit a visa centre depends on where your card was issued and what is changing. The checker on our OCI Passport Details Update page works that out in a few short questions.

Either way, our part is quick and the authority's part is not. We usually prepare and submit within 24 to 48 hours of receiving your documents, or on the appointment date where one is needed, and the authority then typically takes 25 to 40 days.

If your trip is close, tell us the travel date when you send your documents and we plan around it. If you need our preparation moved up, Express file is a £50 priority add-on per applicant. It does not change how long the authorities take.

When to message us before you book anything

• Your new passport was issued more than 90 days ago and nothing has been filed yet.

• Your name has changed since the OCI was issued.

• Your OCI card is lost or damaged.

• You are travelling with a child whose passport has changed.

Each of these can change the route, and a message before you pay saves a wasted appointment.