Aadhaar Card for NRI: How to Avail Aadhaar Card if You Are Non-Resident Indian?

Some key pointers of Aadhaar which one needs to dwell into:

• UIDAI is the issuing authority of Aadhaar card.
• There is no expiry date to Aadhaar mentioned anywhere, ones issued; it has a lifetime validity.
• UIDAI is planning to set up 114 Aadhaar Sewa Kendra (ASK) in 53 cities across the country.
• Around 10 Lakh people enrol or update Aadhaar card every single day.
• A whopping 123.82 crore Aadhaar cards have been issued till date.

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Importance of Aadhaar card for Non Resident Indians:

• Aadhaar is considered as one of the strongest identification proof in India. It can be of great help to the NRIs for getting jobs in government sectors after their return to India.
• It will help the NRIs in getting their KYC done quickly.
• Aadhaar card will also speed up the financial transactions done by the NRIs within the country.
• The NRIs will also be able to file hustle free ITRs with the help of Aadhaar.

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Eligibility criteria for NRIs to apply for Aadhaar

• Person applying for Aadhaar should be above the age of 3 years.
• He/She should be an Indian resident.
• Foreigners can also enrol for Aadhaar.
• Foreigners residing with NRIs in the country are also eligible for Aadhaar.

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Application process for NRIs to obtain Aadhaar card.

The NRIs need to follow a simple procedure to obtain the Aadhaar card, this process is more or less the same as for the rest of the residents of India. The applicant needs to provide their biometric identification.The processing will take around 90 days. It is the time taken to link the biometric data with the information collected from documents submitted. The four simple steps of the application process are:

Step 1: Submission of all the necessary documents.
Step 2: Finger-tip scanning.
Step 3: Iris scanning.
Step 4: Photograph through webcam.

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Documents to be produced by the NRIs for Aadhaar enrolment.

The NRIs need to produce certain basic documents to get enrolled in the Aadhaar Yojna. The documents that are accepted by UIDAI are:

• Resident proof: It could be a document that gives a proof of your address. For a resident proof you can produce any of your bills like Landline bill, electricity bill, Gas connection bill or any other ID which has your address mentioned on it like drivers licence, voter id etc.
• Birth certificate: Any document that proves your date of birth. It could either be a birth certificate or a class 10th marksheet.
• Proof of Identity: This could be a PAN card or Ration card to Voter ID or a driver's license.
• An identity which establishes non-resident Indian status: The applicant needs to have the necessary documents that marks his relationship with another country. The validity of these documents will be duly checked by the government officials.

In some cases the applicant may be asked to produce documents stating the relationship he/she holds with another country.

Amendments made in Aadhaar Yojna by the Government of India for NRIs in 2019.

As per the previous norms, an NRI was entitled to get enrolled in the Aadhaar Yojna only if

• He/she has been residing in India for 180 days or more
• During the 12 months preceding the date enrolment application

The changes with the new amendment were first put forth by the Honorable Finance Minister Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman while giving her Budget 2019 speech. Wherein, it was mentioned that the NRIs with valid Indian passport can now be enrolled in the Aadhaar Yojna without the mandatory wait of 180 days.

A circular released by UIDAI also mentioned that in case the NRI has no Indian address mentioned in his/her passport then he can produce any other PoA (Proof of address) approved by UIDAI.

The CEO of the Aadhar-issuing body UIDAI, Mr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey while addressing a press meet said that technological changes are being made in the system. With the help of these the NRI can now fix an appointment or book a time slot for the enrollment procedure even before his arrival in India.