Aadhaar for NRIs: Govt to end 6 months mandatory waiting period by Nov

Finance Ministry had promised to weed out the pain of 180 days mandatory waiting period for issuing Aadhaar card to Non-Residents Indians (NRIs). It appears that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has been working swiftly in this direction.

According to UIDAI’s CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey, NRIs with Indian passports will be able to obtain 12 digits biometric identification within a few days of their arrival in the country. UIDAI will facilitate Aadhaar card to such residents through a convenient and easy appointment process.

The move would allow NRIs to avail Aadhaar-based authentication facilities such as Know Your Customer (KYC) amongst several other purposes. As per Pandey, UIDAI will soon release a notification in this direction.

So far, NRIs can’t get Aadhaar card if they have not stayed in the country for at least 180 days. UIDAI systems for issuing Aadhaar card to NRIs in a few days will be readied by November this year.

To facilitate instant Aadhaar card to NRIs, UIDAI is opening-up Aadhaar Seva Kendras in 53 cities akin to Passport Seva Kendra. The agency would enable the online appointment to avoid inconvenience.

Apart from helping NRIs in their respective states, the Kendra will also allow local citizens to obtain fresh as well as update existing Aadhaar cards. The agency would reportedly be allocated about Rs 400 crore for the project.

As of now, UIDAI had opened three Aadhaar Seva Kendras (ASKs) in Chennai, Hisar and Bhopal. Further, it plans to set up a total of 114 ASK over 20 states in the country.

The development was reported by BusinessLine.