Can grandparents apply for an OCI card for their grandchild?

I would separate two questions here: whether the child is eligible through the grandparents and who is authorised to submit the application.

My understanding from the OCI process is that grandparents' Indian-origin documents can be used to establish the child's eligibility. However, grandparents do not automatically become the child's legal guardians just because they are providing the supporting documents.

If the child lives in the UK with their parents, I would expect the application to be handled through the parents or legally authorised guardian according to the minor application instructions.

My sister applied for her child's OCI using their grandfather's Indian passport. She had to provide documents connecting all three generations.

Also, if the grandparents are currently in India, they can help locate old passport records, domicile certificates or other supporting documents. But the application should follow the jurisdiction and submission procedure applicable to the child's residence.

I would check with VFS UK whether any additional parental consent, custody or signature documents are needed for your particular family circumstances.

We recently went through something similar in Australia. My parents were born in India, but my husband and I were both Australian citizens when our son was born.

Initially, I thought my son could only apply if one of us had an OCI card. That is not necessarily the case.

The official OCI eligibility criteria include children and grandchildren of eligible former Indian citizens. Therefore, a child may qualify through an Indian-origin grandparent even when both parents are foreign citizens.

However, there are a couple of things to check carefully.

First, you need to establish that the grandparent meets the Indian-origin eligibility criteria. Simply having an Indian-born grandparent is not always enough without checking the relevant citizenship and historical eligibility conditions.

Second, you need to establish the complete relationship:

Grandparent → Parent → Child.

Birth certificates mentioning the parents' names are particularly useful for this purpose.

Also, check the OCI exclusion relating to the citizenship of parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. The official rules include restrictions concerning people who are or have been citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh or other specifically notified countries.

I would check the current Government of India OCI FAQ before submitting the application.

Yes, a grandchild can qualify for an OCI card based on their grandparents' Indian origin. My daughter obtained her OCI card using her grandfather's Indian citizenship records.

We are Canadian citizens, and neither my wife nor I had an Indian passport. However, my father was born in India and had an old Indian passport.

The important part was establishing the family relationship through documents.

We prepared:

• My father's old Indian passport.
• My birth certificate showing my father's name.
• My daughter's birth certificate showing my name.
• My daughter's Canadian passport.
• Our citizenship documents.

This helped establish the connection between my daughter and her Indian-origin grandfather.

One thing to understand is that the grandparents' Indian origin can establish eligibility, but the child's application is still submitted in the child's name. For a minor, the parents or legally authorised guardian need to follow the applicable application and signature instructions.

I would recommend collecting the birth certificates across both generations before starting the application.