Person of Indian Origin (PIO) refers to a foreign citizen who held an Indian Passport at any point in time or whose parents, grandparents or great grandparents were citizens of India or were residents in any of the territories that became part of India as per the Government of India Act of 1935. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), states that PIO is a foreign citizen excluding, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, China, Iran and Sri Lanka. The government of India issues PIO cards to PIOs for identification. A PIO card is only valid until a valid passport is acquired by a PIO.
RBI Definition
Person of Indian Origin (PIO) means a citizen of any country other than Bangladesh or Pakistan who had (a) at any time held Indian passport or (b) he or either of his parents or any of his grandparents were a citizen of India by virtue of the Constitution of India or the Citizenship Act, 1955 or (c) the person is a spouse of an Indian citizen or a person referred to in (a) or (b).
Terms and Conditions
After getting a PIO card, it is not necessary to acquire a visa to come to India for the next 15 years from the date of issuance of the card. After the completion of 15 years, the card can be reissued. The limit for their stay in India is 180 days, registering without Foreign Regional Registration Office (FRRO). If their stay exceeds 180 days criterion then they are required to register themselves in FRRO within the next 30 days.
PIO card is an alternative option to visa to travel to India or to travel from India. In other words, PIO cardholders can travel visa-free to or from India. It allows various entries for various purposes. PIO card provides a fast immigration clearance at all international airports.
Benefits of PIOs
The PIOs get financial, educational and economic benefits like NRIs, tax deductions, the right to stay in India and visiting permissions. A PIO cardholder has to stay in India for a minimum period of seven-year and have to give up the current citizenship. As per the provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2015, all the PIO cardholders are ‘deemed to be’ OCI cardholders with effect from January 2016. Ministry of Home Affairs has stopped issuing PIO cards since 2015.
The Government of India does not issue handwritten PIO cards anymore and has directed the existing cardholders to replace their cards with OCI cards. PIO cards were only valid till September 2019 and will not be accepted as a valid document to travel to India, according to the ICAO guidelines. Under the Indian Tax system whatever money is earned by the cardholder in India is subject to taxes.
Rights and Duties of PIOs
They are allowed to work for any private institution in India without acquiring a special visa. But they are not eligible to get employed by the Government of India and can’t hold any constitutional office in India. For activities like mountaineering and related tasks, missionary tasks, research work or visiting restricted areas within the territory of India, prior permission should be acquired by them. PIO cardholders do not hold the right to vote in India. Also, they cannot buy any agricultural land.
