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NON-RESIDENT INDIANS/ NRIs/ PIOs
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Person of Indian Origin (PIO) Card |
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Any person currently holding a foreign passport, who can prove his Indian origin
up to three generations before (i.e. either the person himself or his father or grandfather or great grandfather must have been a citizen and resident of India), is eligible for a PIO card. |
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| PIO cards will give the holder the following benefits- |
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Visa-free entry into India for fifteen years- revised from the earlier validity period of 20 years. |
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Exemption from the requirement of registration at the Foreigners' Regional Registration Office if the period of stay in India does not exceed 180 days. In the event of continuous stay for more than 180 days, the PIO card holder will have to register himself/herself at the concerned FRRO office. |
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PIO card holders shall enjoy parity with NRIs in respect of facilities available in economic, financial and educational fields except matters relating to acquisition of agricultural/ plantation properties. The facilities will include the ability to acquire, hold, transfer or dispose of immovable properties in India (except agricultural/ plantation properties), open rupee accounts in India, lend in rupees to Indian residents, make investments in India etc. |
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Admission of children in educational institutions in India in the general category quota for NRIs including Medical, Engineering colleges, IITs & IIMs. |
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Eligibility for various Housing schemes under Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) or Central/State
Governments. All future benefits extended to NRIs would also be available to PIO card holders. |
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| Possession of a PIO card will not entitle the holder to: |
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Be eligible for the exercise of any political rights |
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Visit restricted/protected areas without due permission |
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Undertake mountaineering, research and missionary work without prior permission |
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Citizens of Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries as may be specified by the Central Government from time to time, would not be eligible for grant of PIO Cards |
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| Fees for the PIO card have been revised as under:- |
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For adults, the fee is S$570 (Singapore Dollars Five hundred and seventy only), and |
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For Children
up to 18 years of age, the fee is S$ 285 (Singapore Dollars two hundred and eighty five only). |
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The PIO cards, issued earlier, will remain valid. No refund will be given. However, the validity of these PIO cards will be extended for another 10 years without any extra fee being charged. Thus the PIO cards issued earlier will be valid for 30 years. |
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To apply for the PIO card, submit the application form duly filled and signed
(Thumb impression in case of minor) and submit along with proof of
erstwhile citizenship such as copy of previously held Indian passport, birth
certificate, domicile certificates etc. If the application is
made on basis of parents documents please submit the relationship
proof. Original documents are to be produced for verification at the
time of submission of application forms and 2 photocopies are to be
submitted. |
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Processing
time is 5-7 working days in case of Singapore passport holders and
10-12 working days in case of nationals non-Singaporeans |
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A website launched targets web-enabled registration and networking of Scientists
and Technologies of Indian Origin Abroad (STIOs) with Indian academia, research
laboratories, industry, entrepreneur and enterprises. |
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The website is: http://stio.nic.in |
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E-mail for consular services : hcifsc@pacific.net.sg
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