THE much
talked about PIO Scheme has finally been made operational by the Govt.
For issue of PIO Card, an application can be filed by any
person who is of Indian origin but lives in another country and has in the
past held an Indian passport or still holds one, if the persons' parents
or relatives are permanent residents of India or can provide proof of previously
being residents of the country or is the spouse of a person with Indian origin.
The specified countries that are not eligible to apply for the PIO card are
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Afghanistan, China and Nepal.The
application for the PIO can be filed in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai,
Amritsar, Bangalore, and Hyderabad and for those residing in areas the form
can be sent To the Joint Secretary (Foreigners), Ministry of Home Affairs,
Foreigners Division, Jaisalmer house, 26, Mansingh Road, New Delhi.
A
person applying for the PIO card should have documents like the Indian Passport/travel
document of the applicant or either of his/her parents or grandparents or
great grandparents, Proof of previous Indian nationality of the applicant
or either of his/her parents or grandparents or great grandparents, or any
other document satisfactorily proving the previous nationality of the applicant
as an Indian e.g. revenue records / domicile certificate / school / college
leaving certificates, etc. may be considered on proper verification. The
few advantages of owing a PIO card are multiple entries, multi-purpose visa
for visiting India. PIO Card itself is treated as a Visa, Exemption from
registration with local police authorities for continuous stay up to 180
days in India and PIO Card can be used as identity proof for applying for
a (I) PAN card, (II) driving licence and (III) opening of Bank account in
India, if the PIO card holder resides in India.
(See
more details in 'FAQs' in VISA)
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