Enforcement Officer / Accounts Officer (EO/AO) 2017 recruitment test. Transcribed from the Commission's own booklet (series A, GRS-A-TNS); answer as per the official UPSC final answer key. This question is in Part B. Answer last reviewed 24 August 2026.

Which one of the following statements regarding an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) is not correct?

(a)An OCI is a citizen of another country.
(b)An OCI possesses multiple-entry long-term visa for visiting India.
(c)An OCI is at par with NRIs in all matters.
(d)An OCI is not entitled to the fundamental right to equality of opportunity in public employment.

Answer

Why

Correct — C, (c) An OCI is at par with NRIs in all matters. The stem asks which statement is not correct — not is printed in bold italic — and the false one is the claim of parity in all matters. The rights of an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder come from section 7B of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and that section is built the other way round from the way this option describes it. Sub-section (1) says the cardholder is entitled to such rights as the Central Government may specify by notification in the Official Gazette; sub-section (2) then removes a list of rights from him altogether. The notifications issued under the first limb give an OCI cardholder parity with non-resident Indians in specified fields — economic, financial and educational — and even there they exclude the acquisition of agricultural and plantation property. So parity exists in named areas by executive notification; it is not a general status, and it can be varied by a further notification. The second limb puts the difference beyond argument. A non-resident Indian remains an Indian citizen: he can vote when he is registered, stand for Parliament and hold public office. An OCI cardholder can do none of these, because section 7B(2) denies him the rights of a citizen under Article 16 on public employment, Article 58 for election as President, Article 66 for Vice-President, Articles 124 and 217 for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court, and the provisions of the Representation of the People Acts on registration as a voter and on membership of Parliament and of State legislatures. A status that excludes the vote and every constitutional office is not at par with citizenship in all matters.

Why the others are wrong

(a)An OCI is a citizen of another country. — This statement is correct, so it cannot be the answer. India does not permit dual citizenship: under Article 9 of the Constitution and section 9 of the Citizenship Act, a person who voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country ceases to be an Indian citizen. Overseas Citizenship of India, despite its name, is therefore not a form of citizenship at all but a registered status conferred on a foreign national of Indian origin or connection, and holding a valid foreign passport is a condition of it. Reading the name of the scheme literally, rather than reading the statute, is what makes candidates hesitate over this option.
(b)An OCI possesses multiple-entry long-term visa for visiting India. — Also correct, and it describes the central practical benefit of the card. Registration as an OCI cardholder carries a multiple-entry, multi-purpose visa for visiting India that runs for life, so the holder does not have to apply for a visa each time he travels, and he is relieved of the requirement to register with the foreigners’ registration authorities however long he stays. This was the attraction that made the status popular, and the scheme absorbed the earlier Person of Indian Origin card, whose holders were brought within the OCI framework.
(d)An OCI is not entitled to the fundamental right to equality of opportunity in public employment. — Correct as well, and it is drawn almost word for word from the statute. Section 7B(2) opens by providing that an overseas citizen of India cardholder shall not be entitled to the rights conferred on a citizen of India under Article 16 of the Constitution with regard to equality of opportunity in matters of public employment. Note the double negative the paper has built into this item: the stem asks which statement is not correct while this option itself contains the word not in ordinary type. A hurried reader can register two negatives and choose it for that reason alone, which is exactly the error the construction is meant to produce.

Concept

The scheme of Indian citizenship for people living abroad has three tiers and the vocabulary matters. A non-resident Indian is an Indian citizen who happens to live abroad; his citizenship is untouched, and the label is a tax and exchange-control classification rather than a separate legal status. A Person of Indian Origin was a foreign citizen with Indian ancestry, given travel and residence concessions; the card was merged into the OCI scheme. An Overseas Citizen of India cardholder is a foreign citizen registered under section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955, who receives a lifelong visa and whatever other rights the Central Government notifies under section 7B(1), subject always to the exclusions in section 7B(2). Eligibility under section 7A runs to persons who were citizens of India at or after the commencement of the Constitution, or were eligible to become citizens then, or belong to a territory that became part of India, together with their children and grandchildren and certain spouses — but a person who has ever been a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh, or whose parents or grandparents were, is excluded. Registration can also be cancelled under section 7D on stated grounds, including registration obtained by fraud and disaffection towards the Constitution.

Citizenship is a small, self-contained part of the polity syllabus with a statute that can be read in an afternoon, so EPFO and other recruitment papers ask about it often and expect precision rather than impressions. The most common failure is exactly the one this item exploits: candidates treat OCI as a soft form of citizenship because of the word in its name, and then accept a statement of general parity with NRIs. Once you have read section 7B the question answers itself, because the section is a list of exclusions. The second thing to notice is the shape of the item — a negative ask combined with an option that itself contains a negation — which is a construction this paper uses more than once and which rewards slow reading.

Key facts

Section 7B(1) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 entitles an OCI cardholder only to such rights as the Central Government specifies by notification in the Official Gazette.
Section 7B(2) denies him the rights of a citizen under Article 16 on public employment, Article 58, Article 66, Article 124 and Article 217, and under the Representation of the People Acts on voting and on membership of legislatures.
Notifications under section 7B(1) give parity with non-resident Indians in specified economic, financial and educational fields, excluding the acquisition of agricultural or plantation property.
India does not allow dual citizenship: Article 9 of the Constitution and section 9 of the Act end Indian citizenship on the voluntary acquisition of a foreign citizenship, so every OCI cardholder is a foreign citizen.
The OCI card carries a multiple-entry, multi-purpose lifelong visa and exemption from registration with the foreigners’ registration authorities.
Registration as an OCI cardholder is made under section 7A; persons who have been citizens of Pakistan or Bangladesh, or whose parents or grandparents were, are not eligible.
Section 7D allows the registration to be cancelled on stated grounds, including registration obtained by fraud.

Three tiers, and only one of them is citizenship

Non-resident Indian→An Indian citizen who happens to live abroad. His citizenship is untouched: he can vote when he is registered, stand for Parliament and hold public office. The label is a tax and exchange-control classification rather than a separate legal status.

OCI cardholder→A foreign citizen registered under section 7A of the Citizenship Act, 1955. India does not permit dual citizenship — Article 9 of the Constitution and section 9 of the Act end Indian citizenship on the voluntary acquisition of a foreign one — so despite its name the status is not a form of citizenship at all.

(c) Parity ‘in all matters’ — the false claim→Section 7B is built the other way round. Sub-section (1) gives the cardholder only such rights as the Central Government specifies by notification in the Official Gazette, and those notifications give parity with non-resident Indians in named economic, financial and educational fields, excluding the acquisition of agricultural and plantation property.

What section 7B(2) removes outright→The rights of a citizen under Article 16 on public employment, Article 58 for election as President, Article 66 for Vice-President, Articles 124 and 217 for appointment as a judge, and the provisions of the Representation of the People Acts on registration as a voter and on membership of legislatures.

(b) The lifelong visa — correct→Registration carries a multiple-entry, multi-purpose visa for visiting India that runs for life, and relief from registering with the foreigners’ registration authorities however long the holder stays. The earlier Person of Indian Origin card was absorbed into this scheme.

(d) The Article 16 exclusion — correct, and doubly negative→Drawn almost word for word from section 7B(2). The stem asks which statement is not correct while this option itself contains ‘not’ in ordinary type, so a hurried reader can register two negatives and choose it for that reason alone.

Study next

Citizenship under the Constitution: Articles 5 to 11 and the position at commencementThe Citizenship Act, 1955 — acquisition by birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory, and loss by renunciation, termination and deprivationThe Person of Indian Origin card and its merger into the OCI schemeRights available to foreigners in India: which fundamental rights apply to all persons and which only to citizensAmendments to the Citizenship Act and the constitutional questions they have raised

Common traps

Reading the name Overseas Citizen of India as though it conferred citizenship. It confers a registered status and a visa.
Accepting a sweeping claim of parity. The parity that exists is confined to notified fields and excludes agricultural property.
Being confused by a negative option inside a negative stem. Option (d) states an exclusion accurately and is therefore correct.
Assuming an OCI cardholder can vote or hold public office. Both are expressly excluded by statute.

Polity questions on this paper are usually statute questions in disguise, and the most efficient preparation is to read the operative sections rather than a summary of them. Citizenship is asked either as a list item — which of these is not a mode of acquiring citizenship — or, as here, as four statements about a status of which one is overdrawn. The overdrawn statement is generally the one containing an absolute word: all matters, always, in every case. Where the paper wants a harder version it asks which specific Article or section is excluded, so the list in section 7B(2) is worth learning by its Article numbers.

Related PYQs

EPFO_EOAO_2017_Q37Open & attempt →

Which one of the following is not a feature of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016?

(a) Only citizens of India are entitled for enrolment under this Act.
(b) Both demographic and biometric information is to be submitted for enrolment.
(c) The Unique Identification Authority of India is responsible for enrolment and authentication under this Act.
(d) It is the responsibility of the Unique Identification Authority to ensure the security of identity of individuals.

Answer(a) Only citizens of India are entitled for enrolment under this Act.

The next item in the polity block, on the Aadhaar Act, which turns on the same distinction between a citizen and a person who is merely present in or connected to India.

EPFO_EOAO_2017_Q40Open & attempt →

Which one of the following is not a constitutional body?

(a) The Election Commission of India
(b) The Finance Commission
(c) The Official Languages Commission
(d) The National Commission for Women

Answer(d) The National Commission for Women

The constitutional-body item that closes this block; both questions are answered by knowing which instrument — the Constitution or a statute — creates a status or an office.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
Under which section of the Citizenship Act, 1955 are the rights of an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder conferred and restricted?
- (a)Section 5
- (b)Section 6A
- (c)Section 7B
- (d)Section 9
Answer(c) Section 7B
practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following rights is expressly denied to an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder by statute?
- (a)A lifelong multiple-entry visa to visit India
- (b)Registration as a voter in an Indian election
- (c)Purchase of a residential flat in India
- (d)Exemption from registration with the foreigners’ registration authorities
Answer(b) Registration as a voter in an Indian election

Why