Bollywood actor is currently in the news over his rights after he participated in anti-CEC protests in Mumbai. Khan was among many who were detained by Mumbai Police on October 10. According to an official notice sent by Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), Khan is a United States of America national. However, he isn’t the only celebrity in the Indian film industry who are foreign passport holders in India under Overseas Citizen of India (OCI). From Katrina Kaif to Alia Bhatt, check out the list of celebrities in India who are OCI cardholders.
Born in Madison, Wisconsin, actor Imran Khan holds American citizenship by birth. As per multiple reports, Khan retains his US passport alongside an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card to reside and work in Mumbai.
The National Film Award-winning actor holds British citizenship by descent as her mother, Soni Razdan, was born in Birmingham. However, Alia Bhatt was born and raised in Mumbai.
During the promotions of her film, Heart of Stone, Bhatt confirmed that she holds British citizenship.
Born in Toronto to a family of Moroccan descent, the dancer and actor Nora Fatehi holds Canadian citizenship. Fatehi built her career in the Indian film industry as a foreign national. Talking about her struggling days, she once told a portal, as quoted by India Today, “Life for foreigners in India is very difficult.”
Born in Hong Kong to a British mother and British-Kashmiri father, holds British citizenship, as per a report by Deccan Chronicle. Now married to Vicky Kaushal, she has lived and worked in India for over two decades.
Talking about her passport, she once told the publication, “I am an Indian and my father is Indian. I have an Indian heritage. There are many actresses who hold different passports. One could hold a different passport due to various reasons. But my father is Indian and that is my origin.”
The former Miss Universe Sri Lanka, Jacqueline Fernandez was born in Bahrain to a Sri Lankan father and a Malaysian-Canadian mother. Fernandez holds Sri Lankan citizenship and frequently visits her family while working in India.
Recently, a Delhi Court granted a no-objection certificate (NOC) to Fernandez for renewing her work visa amid the ongoing ₹200 crores money laundering case involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar.
Born in Mumbai, Ileana D’Cruz acquired Portuguese citizenship in 2014 through her family’s ancestral roots in Goa, which was under Portuguese rule until 1961, as per multiple reports.
Born Karenjit Kaur Vohra in Sarnia, Ontario, to Punjabi parents, Sunny Leone holds dual Canadian and American citizenship. She relocated to India from 2011 to 2012 and has been reportedly working under OCI status.
Born in Puducherry to French parents who settled in India, acclaimed actress and playwright Kalki Koechlin holds French citizenship by birth.
“I don’t have a home or family there (in France). I’ve never lived there. Nowadays, when I go to France, it’s mainly for work. I’m invited to festivals in Avignon, Cannes, Paris… However, my passport is French. In India, dual citizenship doesn’t exist. To get an Indian passport, you have to renounce your other nationality. I could stay in India my whole life, but I chose a French passport because it’s easier to travel; it opens more doors,” she once told Media India Group in an interview.
The veteran actress and director Deepti Naval was born in Amritsar but later naturalised as a US citizen, reported Times of India. Naval once told Khaleej Times in an interview, “My father immigrated to give a better life to his family.”
Born in Pune but raised in Australia, the singer, actress, and television host Shibani Dandekar holds Australian citizenship, as reported by Hindustan Times in an interview on October 1, 2014. She married Farhan Akhtar. “I am an Indian in Australia and an Australian in India, and in that way I enjoy the best of both the worlds,” she told the news outlet.
Dandekar is now married to Farhan Akhtar.
