EPFO: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) recently launched a new feature for its subscribers. Through this feature, EPF account holders can update several details related to their profile online. Importantly, some of these updates don’t even require uploading documents. These include information such as name, date of birth, address, parents’ names, date of joining and date of leaving, marital status, and nationality. This feature is especially beneficial for those who need to make immediate corrections to their accounts.
In which cases are documents not necessary?
According to the latest EPFO ​​guidelines, nationality can be changed without uploading documents in two specific circumstances. First, if the nationality column in the EPF account is blank and needs to be changed to ‘Indian’. Second, if a subscriber wishes to change their nationality from ‘Indian’ to ‘International’.
For this document-free change, it is essential that their Universal Account Number (UAN) was activated before October 1, 2017, and is verified with Aadhaar. A joint declaration with the employer’s approval is also required. What if the UAN is not linked to Aadhaar? If your UAN is not linked to Aadhaar or the UAN does not exist, the subscriber must fill out a physical joint declaration and submit it to their employer. The employer will then upload this declaration through their EPFO ​​account and send it to the EPFO. What if the company closes?
If the company has permanently closed down, the subscriber will need to have the joint declaration verified by an authorized official, including a gazetted officer, notary public, Member of Parliament (MP), post master, or village panchayat head. The verified joint declaration must then be submitted to the EPFO ​​office along with the required documents. The EPFO ​​advises subscribers to keep their UAN linked to Aadhaar and update their profile details periodically to avoid any future claim-related issues.
