Persons
of Indian Origin Card (PIO Card)
The Persons of Indian
Origin (PIO) Card enables all PIOs settled abroad and
holding foreign passports to avail themselves of a wide
range of privileges, including travel to India without
a Visa. The PIO Card, however, is not available to citizens
of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan,
Nepal, China, Iran and other countries as may be specified
by the Government of India from time to time.
It is available to such
persons who have at any time held an Indian passport
or either of his parents or grand parents or great grand
parents was born in and permanently resident in India
as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935 and
other territories that became part of India thereafter,
provided that the applicant or parents or grand or great
grand parents were at no time citizens of any the countries
mentioned above. Further, the spouse of an Indian citizen
or of an entitled PIO is also entitled to obtain a PIO
card.
The PIO card is valid
for a period of 15 years subject to the validity of
the passport
While the Card does
not confer any political rights in India, PIO cardholders
shall enjoy certain benefits, which include the following:
- No requirement of Visa to visit India.
-
No requirement to register with
the Foreigners Registration Officer if continuous
stay in India does not exceed 180 days. If continuous
stay exceeds 180 days, then Registration is required
to be done within a period of 30 days of the expiry
of 180 days.
- Parity with Non Resident Indians
in respect of facilities available to the latter in
economic, financial, educational fields, etc. These
facilities will include:
- acquisition, holding, transfer and disposal
of immovable properties in India except agricultural/plantation
properties
- admission of children in educational institutions
in India under the general category quota for
NRIs - including medical/engineering colleges,
IITs, IIMs, etc.
- various housing schemes of Life Insurance Corporation
of India (LIC), State Governments and other Government
agencies.
- all future benefits that would be extended to
NRIs would also be available to PIO card holders.
The fee for the Card,
which is of grey colour and similar in shape and size
to an ordinary (Blue) passport is Rs. 15,000
(Rupess fifteen thousand), equivalent to US$
373 (US dollars three hundred and seventy three).
Application form for the issue / renewal of a PIO Card is available in
the Embassy. The application for a PIO card should be
accompanied by documentary evidence to show that the
applicant is a person of Indian origin as defined. For
further details, contact the Embassy directly.
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