(Image source from: BGR India)

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her maiden Budget 2019 speech on Friday eased the waiting time for getting Aadhaar card for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).

Sitharaman proposed to issue Aadhaar cards to non-resident Indians holding Indian passport on their arrival in the country. Under the present rule, NRIs with Indian passport are required to wait for 180 days to get the Aadhaar card.

"I propose to consider issuing Aadhaar to NRIs with Indian passports after their arrival in India without waiting for mandatory 180 days", Sitharaman said in her Budget speech.

The UIDAI is mandated to issue an easily verifiable 12 digit random number as Unique Identity - Aadhaar to all Residents of India.

Aadhar Card for NRIs

According to details of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, every resident can apply for the 12 digits biometric ID. A resident is an individual who has been surviving in the country for 182 days or more in the year immediately preceding the date of application for enrolment. Hence, if a Non-Resident Indian has lived in the country for 182 days or more in the last one year right before the date of application for enrolment, in that case, the NRI can apply for Aadhaar.

If the NRI has not lived in the country for at least 182 days in the past 12 months, although being a citizen of India, the individual will not become eligible to avail Aadhaar. The NRI will have to wait to complete 182 days of stay in India to apply for Aadhaar.

By Sowmya Sangam