New Delhi: Pakistan-born Bollywood singer and actress Salma Agha will be granted Overseas Citizen of India card, says the MHA sources. The veteran actress, who happens to be a British citizen with Indian grandparents, will also be given life-long Indian visa.
Agha had applied for the card that gives multiple entries, multi-purpose life long visa to visit India and exemption from reporting to police authorities for any length of stay in the country.
The MHA sources have stated that Salma Agha will be getting lifetime Indian visa along with the OCI card.
Salma Agha had given her voice to few Bollywood films and acted in some of them. Agha had won Filmfare best female playback award in 1982 for her rendition ‘Dil ke armaan aansuon me beh gaye’ in movie ‘Nikaah’.
The Overseas Citizen of India card gives parity to an individual with Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in financial, economic and educational fields except in the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties.
As per rules, a foreign national who is a child, grandchild or a great grandchild of Indian citizen is eligible for registration as OCI card holder. There are few other conditions to get OCI card.
However, no person, who or either of whose parents, grandparents or great grandparents is or had been a citizen of Pakistan and Bangladesh shall be eligible for registration as an Overseas Citizen of India card holder.
Pakistani singer Adnan Sami was in January this year given Indian citizenship.
Among others who have been staying in India and working on employment visa are Katrina Kaif (UK citizen), Deepti Naval (US citizen) and Yana Gupta (Czech citizen).
