NRIs and OCI cardholders
Donor eggs in India for NRIs and OCI cardholders
Yes, NRIs and OCI cardholders can use donor eggs in India, subject to eligibility, which we confirm at your first consultation. The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 applies in the same way to every family. What changes with your passport is the visa you travel on. It does not change the treatment rules.
Zoi Fertility is the registered ART Bank behind the Egg Donor India programme (URN MH/AB/2022/10691/Mumbai/83). Treatment takes place in Mumbai at our registered Level 2 ART clinic (a clinic registered to retrieve eggs and transfer embryos).
Medically reviewed by Dr Yashodhara
Which group are you?
Indian passport
Indian citizen. No visa. You travel on your Indian passport.
OCI card
Foreign national. The OCI card works as a lifelong multiple entry visa. Medical treatment is not on the list of activities that need special permission.
Foreign passport, no OCI
Foreign national. This includes NRIs who hold a foreign passport. Usually a medical visa. Check current rules for your country. Medical visa for donor egg treatment
Mixed passports
Each partner follows the row for their own passport.
OCI cardholders are foreign nationals under Indian law, even though the card gives long stay rights. If you are unsure which group fits you, tell us at the first consultation and we will confirm it.
What stays the same for every family
Each donor is supplied to one couple or woman only. (Act s.27(3))
Everyone gives written informed consent. The donor’s consent is on Form 13, the national consent form for egg donors. (Act s.22(1)(a); Rules r.13)
The couple or woman receiving treatment buys 12 months of insurance for the donor. (Act s.22(1)(b); Rules r.12)
Egg retrieval takes place at a registered Level 2 ART clinic, not at the bank. (Rules r.3(1)(ii))
Details of the couple, the woman and the donor stay confidential. (Act s.21(e))
Donor eggs cannot leave India (Act s.29). The donor is screened and registered by the ART Bank. A known donor, such as a relative, can donate if she meets the same rules and holds an Aadhaar card of India. You travel, and the eggs do not.
Your own frozen eggs or embryos abroad
Where most confusion starts
Cannot be brought into India
Many families abroad already have frozen eggs or embryos. Eggs, sperm and embryos cannot be brought into India (Act s.33(1)(c)).
Rule 19
What Rule 19 covers
Rule 19 does not let you bring them in. It covers your own material moving out of India or between clinics, for personal use, with the prior permission of the National Board, the national regulator under the ART Act.
How we help
Zoi guides families through Rule 19. We cannot apply for you.
The form notes say who may swear the affidavit when you are abroad. We guide you.
How the trip works
Video consultation
A video consultation from home with a coordinator, then Dr Yashodhara.
Documents and registration
Documents and registration, shared online.
Donor matching
Donor matching before you travel.
Your cycle in Mumbai
Your cycle in Mumbai, at our registered Level 2 ART clinic.
Back home
Follow up by video once you are home. We do not give day counts here. Your treatment plan decides how long you stay, and we explain it at the consultation.
Before you travel
Documents
Your passport or OCI card, identity and address proof, and the medical records your doctor already holds. Donor egg IVF in India: steps, consents and insurance
Our clinic
Dr Yashodhara plans your cycle. She gives the prescriptions and medications and fixes the exact dates. Dr Ajja coordinates the visa compliance and the donor documentation, and guides you on the affidavits, so the paperwork does not slow the medical plan.
Partners do not always have to arrive together. Dr Yashodhara confirms the timing in your plan, and it can be built around your work and travel if the medical plan allows it.
Legal advice
We explain the India side only. The legal parentage of the child, the child’s citizenship and the paperwork for bringing the child home depend on the law of your country. Please take advice from a lawyer there before you start.
One programme, many cities
Questions families ask
Do NRIs need a visa to have donor egg treatment in India?
No, if you travel on an Indian passport. You are an Indian citizen. The same Act and Rules apply to you as to families who live here. If you are an NRI with a foreign passport and no OCI, see the foreign passport group above.
Does an OCI card count as foreign?
Yes. OCI cardholders are foreign nationals under Indian law. The card works as a lifelong multiple entry visa, and medical treatment is not on the list of activities that need special permission.
Can we bring our frozen embryos from the US or UK?
No. Embryos cannot be brought into India (Act s.33(1)(c)). Rule 19 does not change this. It covers your own material moving out of India or between clinics, with National Board permission. We guide you; we cannot apply for you.
Can a relative or friend be the donor?
Yes, a known donor is allowed, with the same rules and consents as any donor. She must hold an Aadhaar card of India, be screened and registered by the ART Bank, be aged 23 to 35, and donate once in her life.
Can we do the first consultation from Dubai or London?
Yes. The first step is a video consultation from home.
Is our information confidential?
Yes. Details of the couple, the woman and the donor stay confidential (Act s.21(e)), subject to the exceptions in the Act.
Contact the ART Bank
Start with a video consultation from home, with a coordinator first, then Dr Yashodhara.