Foreign citizen is eligible for "Person of Indian Origin"-card if  

i) he/she at any time held an Indian Passport;          or

ii) he/she or either of his/her parents or grandparents or great grandparents 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 neither was at any time a citizen of any of the aforesaid countries (as referred to in (1) above;              or

iii) he/she is a spouse of a citizen of India or a person of Indian origin covered under (i) or (ii) above.

 

The various benefits available to PIO cardholders are:

• No visa required for visiting India during the period of validity of PIO Card.
• Exemption from the requirement of registration if stay in India does not exceed 6 months. Should the continuous stay exceed six months, registration will be required within 30 days of the expiry of six months with the concerned Foreigners Registration Officer.
• Parity with non-resident Indians in respect of facilities available to the latter in economic, financial and educational fields.
• All facilities in the matter of acquisition, holding, transfer and disposal of immovable properties in India except in matters relating to the acquisition of agricultural/plantation properties.
• Facilities available to children of NRIs for getting admission to educational institutions in India including medical colleges, engineering colleges, Institutes of Technology, Institutes of Management etc. under the general categories.
• Facilities available under the various housing schemes of LIC, State Governments and other Government agencies.
• All future benefits that would be extended to NRIs would also be available to the PIO Card holders

 

A PIO Card shall be valid for a period of fifteen years from the date of issue subject to the validity of the passport of the applicant. In other words, the PIO card shall be valid only if the passport held by the individual is valid on a particular date.

Ordinarily, it takes about 45 business/working days to issue a PIO card, but this schedule does not apply to cases where approval is required from authorities in India. 

Applications for the PIO card should be made to an Indian Mission in the country where the applicant ordinarily resides.