e-OCI card or booklet — what you actually receive after an OCI update in 2026

Clients still ask us to "renew the booklet". For a passport change, a new booklet is generally no longer issued. The update is recorded against your existing OCI, and the digital card that reflects it is the e-OCI, which you keep on your phone. This post explains what the e-OCI is, which of our services include it, and how it works when you travel. For the service itself, see our e-OCI card download page.

What the e-OCI is

The e-OCI is an official digital version of your OCI card, generated on the official Government of India OCI system. It shows your name, your OCI number and the passport it is linked to, and it carries a QR code for verification.

Your existing physical card remains valid. The e-OCI is an additional digital copy; it does not cancel the card.

Which Matrix services include it

• OCI Link, for a straightforward passport change within 90 days: £100. The e-OCI is an optional £25 add-on, generated once the linking is complete.

• OCI Passport Details Update, for a passport past 90 days, a name or other detail change, or a lost card with a new passport: £125, with the e-OCI included, plus the £52.78 late-update penalty past 90 days.

• e-OCI card download on its own, when your OCI is valid and already linked to your current passport: £50.

If your card is lost or damaged but your passport has not changed, you may only need the £50 e-OCI rather than a full update. The checker on our OCI Passport Details Update page confirms it for your case, and OCI Link vs the OCI Passport Details Update compares the two routes in full.

How you receive it

Once your update is processed on the official system, or your link where you added the e-OCI, we generate your e-OCI and send it to you securely as a PDF for your phone. Save it, and keep a printed copy with your travel documents if you prefer paper.

Using it when you travel

• Carry the e-OCI, on your phone or printed, with your current passport. Carry the physical OCI card too where possible.

• The update is what makes your OCI match the passport you travel on. An OCI still showing an old passport can raise questions at check-in.

• The Bureau of Immigration advises that the e-OCI can be presented at immigration check posts and to airlines. Individual carriers and officers may still run their own checks, which is why the passport and physical card are worth carrying too.

What has not changed

• The 90-day rule after a new passport still applies, counted from the passport's issue date.

• Name and nationality changes still go through the OCI Passport Details Update, as does a lost or damaged card when the passport has also changed.

• Fresh OCI applicants still attend an appointment: at a VFS centre, or at the High Commission for a spouse-based OCI. The e-OCI is issued once the application is approved.