Budget 2019: Now, Aadhaar for NRIs with Indian passport

Govt proposes doing away with 182-day rule for NRIs to get Aadhaar

The Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) may no longer have to stay in India for 182 days to receive Aadhaar Cards.

The government is likely to move a Bill in Parliament to amend the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, to make sure that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) can issue Aadhaar Cards to any NRI without waiting for her or his stay in the country for 182 days.

“I propose to consider issuing Aadhaar Card for Non-Resident Indians with Indian Passports after their arrival in India without waiting for 180 days,” said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha.

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The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, at present stipulates that only a resident, who had resided in the country “for a period or periods amounting in all to 182 days or more in the 12 months immediately preceding the date of application for enrolment” could be issued an Aadhaar Card.

Though the NRIs are citizens of India, they are not eligible for an Aadhaar card unless they have resided in the country for 182 days or more in the last 12 months.

Sitharaman on Friday also noted that although India was the top remittance recipient of the world, the NRI investment in capital markets of the country was less. “With a view to provide NRIs with seamless access to Indian equities, I propose to merge the NRI-Portfolio Investment Scheme Route with the Foreign Portfolio Investment Route,” said the finance minister.