Persons of Indian Origin Card

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Persons of Indian Origin Card
PIOCARD.png
Date first issued15 September 2002
Issued byFlag of India.svg  India
PurposeIdentification
Expiration9 January 2015
(merged with OCI)
A stamped PIO Card making it de facto an OCI card Pio card oci-stamped.png
A stamped PIO Card making it de facto an OCI card

Persons of Indian Origin Card (PIO Card) was a form of identification issued to a Person of Indian Origin who held a passport in a country other than Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003, made provision for acquisition of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) by the Person of Indian Origin (PIOs) of 16 specified countries other than Pakistan and Bangladesh. It also omitted all provision recognizing, or relating to the commonwealth citizenship from the principle Act. Later, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2005, expanded the scope of grant of OCI for PIOs of all countries except Pakistan and Bangladesh as long as their home country allows dual citizenship under their local law. It must be noted here that the OCI is not actually a dual citizenship as the Indian constitution forbids dual nationality (Article 9).

Afghanistan A landlocked south-central Asian country

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in South-Central Asia.. Afghanistan is bordered by Pakistan in the east and south; Iran in the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north; and in the far northeast, China. Occupying 652,000 square kilometers (252,000 sq mi), it is a mountainous country with plains in the north and southwest. Kabul is the capital and largest city. The population is 32 million, mostly composed of ethnic Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks.

Bangladesh Country in South Asia

Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. While the country is the 92nd-largest in land area, spanning 147,570 square kilometres (56,980 sq mi), it is the world's 8th-most populous with nearly 163 million people, making it one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Bangladesh shares land borders with India to the west, north, and east, and with Myanmar to the east, with the Bay of Bengal to the south. Dhaka, the capital and largest city, is the nation's economic, political and cultural hub. Chittagong, the largest sea port, is the second largest city. The dominant geographic feature is the Ganges delta, which empties into the Bay of Bengal the combined waters of several river systems, including the Brahmaputra and the Ganges, with numerous criss-crossing rivers and inland waterways. Highlands with evergreen forests cover the northeastern and southeastern regions. The seacoast features the longest natural sea beach and most of the world's largest mangrove forest. The country's biodiversity includes a vast array of plants and wildlife, including the endangered Bengal tiger, the national animal.

Bhutan Landlocked kingdom in Eastern Himalayas

Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in South Asia. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it is bordered by the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China in the north, the Sikkim state of India and the Chumbi Valley of Tibet in the west, the Arunachal Pradesh state of India in the east, and the Indian states of Assam and West Bengal in the south. Bhutan is geopolitically in South Asia and is the region's second least populous nation after the Maldives. Thimphu is its capital and largest city, while Phuntsholing is its financial center.

Contents

On 9 January 2015, the Person of Indian Origin card scheme was withdrawn by the Government of India and was merged with the Overseas Citizen of India card scheme. [1] All currently held PIO cards are treated as OCI cards. PIO card holders will get a special stamp in their existing PIO card, saying "lifelong validity" and "registration not required", thus making them equal to existing OCI cards. [2] An extended deadline was given where the card could be converted for free to an OCI until 31 December 2017. [3]

PIO card holders can use their PIO card to travel to India until 31 March 2020. Effective 1 April 2020, PIO card holders' entry to India will be refused. [4] [5]

Conditions

The conditions for issuing a PIO card to a person were: [6]

  1. Any person who has ever held an Indian passport, or
  2. The person's parents, grandparents or great grandparents were born in and were permanent residents of India and never moved to (i.e., were never nationals of) Bangladesh and Pakistan, or
  3. The person is the spouse of a citizen of India or of a PIO and has been so for two years or more, and
  4. The person and his/her parents, grandparents or great grandparents must not have been a national of Bangladesh or Pakistan at any point of time.

The PIO Card programme came into effect on 15 September 2002.

Uses

The various benefits available to a PIO cardholders were:

Persons with a PIO were not:

Inner Line Permit (ILP) is an official travel document issued by the Government of India to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected area for a limited period. It is obligatory for Indian citizens from outside those states to obtain a permit for entering into the protected state. The document is an effort by the government to regulate movement to certain areas located near the international border of India. This is an offshoot of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations, 1873, which protected Crown's interest in the tea, oil and elephant trade by prohibiting "British subjects" from entering into these "Protected Areas". The word "British subjects" was replaced by Citizen of India in 1950. Despite the fact that the ILP was originally created by the British to safeguard their commercial interests, it continues to be used in India, officially to protect tribal cultures in northeastern India. There are different kinds of ILP's, one for tourists and others for people who intend to stay for long-term periods, often for employment purposes.

Registration/Residential Permit

Earlier, PIO card holders needed to register with the appropriate FRRO (Foreigner Regional Registration Office) if they were planning to stay in India for more than 180 days. This requirement was not applicable for minors. [7] However, in September 2014, this requirement was removed.

The FRRO used to issue a "Residential Permit For PIO" which was typically valid till the expiry of the PIO card holder's passport. On 28 September 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at Madison Square Garden (New York) that PIO card holders would be granted lifelong visas [8] .

Notes

It is important to note that while an Indian citizen can enjoy unlimited visa free visits to Nepal and Bhutan, this is not possible for a PIO/OCI card holders.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Website of Consulate General of India" . Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  2. ↑ http://indembassybern.ch/eoi.php?id=PIO
  3. ↑ "Person Of Indian Origin (PIO)". boi.gov.in. Bureau of immigration India, Government of India. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  4. ↑ "Conversion of PIO card to OCI card". Embassy of India. Embassy of India. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  5. ↑ "Office Memorandum" (PDF). IN.CKGS.us. Ministry of Home Affairs. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  6. ↑ "IHC Visa Information - Australia - Home - Persons of Indian Origin(PIO)". vfs-in-au.net. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  7. ↑ "Last sentence of 2nd point under registration". boi.gov.in. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  8. ↑ "PMO India on Twitter" . Retrieved 28 September 2014.
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