Launched on March 30, 1999 by the Government of India, Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) upto the fourth generation (great grand parents settled throughout the world except citizens of countries as may be specified by the govt. of India from time to time) are eligible for PIO cards. The scheme has been re-modified as the “PIO Card Scheme 2002”, effective from September 15, 2002. Basic features of the scheme are as under:
Eligibility
The applicant should meet one of the following conditions:
a) He/She at any time held an Indian passport; or
b) He/She or either his/her parents or grand parents or great grand parents was born in and permanently resident in India; or
c) He/She is a spouse of a citizen of India or a person of Indian origin covered under (a) and (b) above
Benefits available to PIO Card holder
A PIO Card holder shall not require a separate visa to visit India. The PIO card holders will not require “student visas” for undertaking studies in India and similarly no “employment visa” will be required for taking up employment in India. However, they will be required to fulfill other prerequisite conditions and formalities in connection with their studies/employment as prescribed by the concerned authorities from time to time.
A PIO Card holder will be exempt from the requirement of registration, if his stay on any single visit in India does not exceed 180 days. In the event of continuous stay in India (exceeding 180 days), the PIO cardholder shall have to get himself/herself registered within 30 days of the expiry of 180 days with the concerned Foreigners Regional Registration Office.
All PIOs including PIO card holders, shall enjoy parity with NRIs in respect of all facilities available to the latter in the economic, financial and educational fields except in matters relating to the acquisition of agricultural/plantation properties. No parity shall be allowed in the sphere of political rights.
Application
An application for issue/renewal of a PIO card shall be made in the prescribed form (download form) and shall be accompanied by documentary evidence to show that the applicant is a person of Indian origin. Prescribed application form can be obtained from the office of Indian Embassies abroad. An application for issue of a PIO card shall be made to an Indian Mission in the country where the applicant is ordinarily resident. Applicants already in India on long-term visa shall make the application for issue of a PIO card to the following authorities.
Those residing in:
Delhi
FRRO,
Level-II, East Block VIII,
R.K. Puram, Sector-I
Mumbai
FRRO,
Annexe-II,
Commissioner of Police,
Crawford Market,
Mumbai-400001
Kolkata
FRRO,
237, Acharya Jagdish Chandra Bose Road,
Kolkata-700020
Amritsar
Additional Dy. Director,
Bureau of Immigration,
B/123 Ranjeet Avenue, Amritsar.
Chennai
Chief Immigration Officer, Bureau of Immigration,
Shastri Bhavan Annexe,
No.26, Haddows Road,
Chennai-600006
Those residing in areas other than the above shall submit the application to the
Joint Secretary (Foreigners), Ministry of Home Affairs,
Ist floor, Lok Nayak Bhavan,
Khan Market,
New Delhi-110003.
Validity
A PIO Card shall be valid for a period of 15 yrs from the date of issue subject to the validity of the passport of the applicant.
Ineligible categories
Besides the nationals of Pakistan and Bangladesh, the nationals of Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Iran, China and any other country specified by the Govt. of India shall not be eligible for issue of PIO Card. Further, if the applicant himself or either of his parents, grandparents or great grand parents held the nationality of these specified countries at any time, he will not be granted the PIO Card. Stateless persons holding identity/travel documents shall not be eligible for grant of PIO Cards. Iranian nationals of Indian origin can be considered for grant of PIO card after the issuing authority obtains prior clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs, India.
Cancellation of PIO Card
The Govt. of India may by order, cancel the PIO Card, if it is satisfied that:
The PIO card was obtained by means of fraud, false representation or concealment of any material fact; or
The PIO card holder has shown himself by act or speech to be disaffected towards the Constitution of India and other laws of India; or
The PIO card holder is a citizen or subject of any country at war with, or committing external aggression against India; or of any other country assisting the country at was with, or committing such aggression against India; or
The PIO card holder has been sentenced in India for indulging in acts of terrorism, smuggling of narcotics, arms, ammunition etc. or has been sentenced for committing an offence punishable with imprisonment upto one year or fined upto Rupees ten thousand; and
It is not conducive to public interest that the person should continue to hold a PIO card
Fee payable for obtaining the PIO Card
The fee for a PIO card would be Rs. 15000/- (equivalent in local currency of the country) payable along with the application. PIO card to children upto the age of 18 yrs will be issued at a fee of Rs. 7500/- (equivalent in local currency) for a 15-year card. PIO cards issued earlier (as per the PIO card scheme, 1999) for US $ 1000 will continue to remain valid and no refund shall be admissible. However, the validity of such cards shall be extendable by 10 yrs without charging any fee.
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