Guides and help
OCI cards and entry rules for India 
Travel guide · Plan Your Trip
OCI cards and entry rules for India
OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) cardholders travel to India visa-free on their OCI card, but entry requirements beyond the card itself — including the e-Arrival Card, mandatory for OCI cardholders since October 2025 — are set by the Government of India and can change. This page is a starting point, not legal advice; confirm the current rules for your situation on the official portal before you travel.
Read the guidePilgrimage trips for NRI families 
Travel guide · Plan Your Trip
Pilgrimage trips for NRI families
Many NRI family trips to India combine a pilgrimage — a family temple, an ancestral shrine, a major festival — with a wider visit to relatives or a general holiday, often across three generations travelling together, which changes the pacing and logistics compared with a standalone pilgrimage tour.
Read the guideMoney and SIM cards for visitors 
Travel guide · Plan Your Trip
Money and SIM cards for visitors
Currency exchange, card use and mobile connectivity for a visitor to India carry a few practical rules worth knowing in advance — cash still matters more than in many Western countries, and mobile SIM registration works differently for foreign-passport holders — but the exact regulatory limits and current procedures should be confirmed with your bank or the relevant Indian authority rather than taken as fixed here. (confirmed on enquiry)
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Frequently asked questions
Do OCI cardholders need a visa to visit India?
OCI cardholders travel visa-free on their OCI card, but current entry requirements — including the e-Arrival Card — should be confirmed on the official Government of India portal before you travel, since rules can change.
Can you help plan a trip around a family wedding?
Yes — see our wedding travel guide for the specific logistics involved in attending or hosting a wedding as a returning traveller.
Is legal or immigration advice provided on this site?
No. We are a travel operator, not a legal or immigration advisory service. For anything with legal weight — visa category, OCI rules, customs — we point you to the official Government of India portal rather than offering our own interpretation.
Can a specific hometown or ancestral village be added to a standard tour itinerary?
Generally yes — tell us the location and we will route it into your trip and quote any added distance honestly.
About Trips to India for NRIs and overseas Indians
Experience My India designs trips specifically for NRI and overseas-Indian travellers — family pilgrimage visits, roots and heritage journeys, wedding travel, and the practical entry, money and connectivity questions that come with visiting on an OCI card or a foreign passport rather than as a resident.
Reviewed by Experience My India Editorial Team · Updated 1 Sept 2026
Trips built around a different starting point
An NRI or overseas-Indian trip is often not a first visit — there may be a family home to reach, a specific temple with personal meaning, a wedding to attend, or grandparents and grandchildren travelling together for the first time. This hub covers the specific planning questions that come up for exactly this kind of trip.
What this hub covers
- OCI and entry rules — what to confirm before you travel, and where the official rules actually live.
- Pilgrimage trips for NRI families — combining a personal or ancestral pilgrimage with the rest of a family visit.
- Roots and heritage trips — tracing a family's origins or hometown alongside standard sightseeing.
- Wedding travel in India — logistics for attending or hosting a wedding as a returning traveller.
- Money and SIM for visitors — practical guidance on currency, cards and connectivity for a foreign-passport or OCI traveller.
On entry rules specifically
Entry, visa and OCI rules are set and changed by the Government of India, not by us, and they do change — most recently with the e-Arrival Card. We flag what we know and always point you to the official portal to confirm the current rule for your specific situation rather than treating this as legal advice.
Combining family logistics with a proper trip
Most of our tour itineraries can have a personal stop — a hometown, a family temple, a relative's town — routed in. Tell us the place and how much time you want there and we will build it into a wider itinerary honestly, including any added distance or time it takes.
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