Flying to India this December? The UK family checklist for OCI, passports and visas

Peak season starts now. Most of the problems we fix in December were avoidable in October: an OCI still showing an old passport, a child's passport renewed without the OCI being updated, an e-Visa applied for with the wrong photo. Here is the checklist we send families who message us in autumn, in the order to do it.

1. Check each passport's issue date against the OCI

For each traveller holding an OCI: has the passport been renewed since the OCI was last updated? If yes, count 90 days from the issue date in the new passport.

• Within 90 days. A straightforward passport change is the OCI Link: £100, online. If the name or other details have also changed, it is the £125 OCI Passport Details Update, still online. Do it this week.

• Past 90 days. It is the OCI Passport Details Update: £125, plus a £52.78 late-update penalty. Whether anyone visits a visa centre depends on where the card was issued and what is changing; the checker on that page shows which applies.

Children count too. A child's new passport needs its own OCI update, under the same rules. The 2026 dual-passport rules for UK children covers the detail.

Our part is quick and the authority's part is not: we usually upload within 24 to 48 hours of receiving documents, and processing then typically takes 25 to 40 days. Link as soon as the new passport arrives.

2. Passport validity for the trip

Check the expiry date on each passport. If a British passport is close to expiry, renew it first, then link the OCI, since the link needs the new passport number. HM Passport Office sets its own processing times and we cannot speed them up. UK adult passport renewal is one of our services: £180 per applicant, including the HM Passport Office fee for a standard adult renewal where eligible. First adult and child passports are quoted separately.

Indian passport holders: check validity and, if renewal is due, allow for a visa centre appointment. Our Indian passport renewal page explains the route.

3. Visa, if there is no OCI

British and other foreign passport holders without an OCI normally need an Indian visa, and for most tourist trips that is the e-Visa. Common catches:

• The photo is a digital image uploaded online, not a printed passport photo: recent, full face, eyes open, neutral expression, plain light background and even lighting. Indian e-Visa photo rules has the detail.

• Names are entered exactly as they appear in the passport.

• The passport should generally have at least six months' validity and a blank page or two for stamps.

Apply well ahead: processing can take longer in peak holiday periods, and it is safer to avoid non-refundable bookings until the grant is in your inbox. Our Indian visa services cover tourist, business and medical e-Visas.

Holding a surrender certificate but no OCI yet? That is a Fresh OCI, which needs a VFS appointment and may not be issued before a December trip. If it will not be ready in time, an e-Visa for this trip may be the practical option. Ask us to review the timeline before booking anything non-refundable.

4. The e-Arrival Card and Air Suvidha 2.0

India's e-Arrival Card is the digital landing card, filed online within 72 hours before arrival. OCI holders and other foreign passport holders file it; Indian passport holders do not. Each traveller, children included, generally has their own card and QR code. Save the QR-coded acknowledgement to your phone or print it: airlines may ask for it at check-in, and you show it at immigration in India. See our India e-Arrival Card guide.

Air Suvidha 2.0 is a separate form: a health self-declaration completed within 24 hours before arrival by all international arrivals, Indian citizens included. It was reinstated on 25 June 2026 and still applied when we last checked in September 2026, but it can be withdrawn at short notice, so check before each trip. Our Air Suvidha 2.0 guide walks through it.

5. Travelling while an OCI update is pending

If an update has been submitted and has not come back yet, carry your new passport, the old passport where it was returned to you clipped, your OCI card and, if you have one, your e-OCI, and our upload confirmation (for an OCI Link) or acknowledgement letter (for an OCI Passport Details Update, issued within 48 to 72 hours of submission). Entry decisions rest with the authorities, so send us your travel dates and we confirm the position. Travelling while your OCI update is pending goes through it in detail.

6. What to carry: one envelope per traveller

• Current passport, plus the old passport where it was returned to you clipped, if your OCI still shows the old passport number or an update is pending.

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

• Our upload confirmation or acknowledgement letter, if an update is pending.

• The e-Visa grant, if travelling on a visa.

• The e-Arrival Card QR acknowledgement, for foreign passport holders.

• The Air Suvidha 2.0 acknowledgement, while it applies.

• Return ticket and India stay address.

Our before-you-fly checklist covers the OCI side in more depth.