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The
Government of India has revised the PIO Card Scheme, which was launched in
1999, aimed at making the journey back to your roots, simpler, easier,
flexible and absolutely hassle free. The PIO Card will entitle you to a set
of privileges.
VALIDITY OF PIO
CARD
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A PIO Card shall be valid
for a period of fifteen years from the date of issue, subject to the
validity of holder's passport, which is endorsed on the PIO Card.
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The PIO Card shall be
valid only if its holder presents it with his/her valid passport that is
endorsed on the PIO Card.
-
To endorse a new passport
number, both passport and PIO Card in original are required.
-
There is no fee for this service.
- There is no form for
this.
- Applicants may submit a request letter with their passports and
PIO Cards.
PROCESSING TIME
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Application FORM, in
DUPLICATE, should be filled in fully, legibly (preferably in BLOCK
CAPITAL LETTERS or typewritten) and accurately.
-
For children, who cannot
sign, a thumb impression may be put in place of signatures in the
application form.
- In case
of an application for PIO Card in lieu of a LOST PIO CARD:
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Application for a duplicate PIO Card be made to the same office that
issued the original PIO Card.
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Police Report for the loss of PIO Card be submitted along with other required documents.
- PIO Cards issued earlier with a fee of US $1,000 were valid for 20 years. Holders of these PIO Cards are eligible for a free renewal for a further period of 10 years without any additional fee.
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In the normal course, it
may take up to FIVE BUSINESS DAYS to process applications that are
complete in all respects and to issue a PIO Card.
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It may take longer
processing time in cases that require approval from authorities in
India.
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Applications received with
incomplete details and documents would remain unprocessed causing
unnecessary delays.
TO ENDORSE NEW PASSPORT NUMBER ON PIO CARD
-
A PIO Card shall be valid
for a period of fifteen years from the date of issue, subject to the
validity of holder's passport, which is endorsed on the PIO Card.
-
The PIO Card shall be
valid only if its holder presents it with his/her valid passport that is
endorsed on the PIO Card.
-
To endorse a new passport
number, both passport and PIO Card in original are required.
-
There is NO FEE for
this service. Applicants may submit a request letter with their passports and
PIO Cards.
INCOMPLETE OR FALSE
INFORMATION
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Application form, in
DUPLICATE, should be filled in fully, legibly (in BLOCK CAPITAL LETTERS)
and accurately.
-
For children, who cannot
sign, a thumb impression may be put in place of signatures in the
application form.
-
Application received with
incomplete details would remain unprocessed causing unnecessary delays.
-
It is an offense to give
false information in the Application or to submit forged documents. PIO
Card facilities can be denied or withdrawn, among others, on grounds of
misuse, suppression of factual information, misrepresentation of the
facts, submission of false particulars, and for making unauthorized
changes in the PIO Cards.
HOW TO APPLY BY MAIL
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When sending by mail, only
notarized copies of the documents that are required to be submitted with
the application may be enclosed. No original documents be sent unless
specifically required by the Embassy.
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Applicants may include
return courier (with complete name, address, telephone numbers, etc), if
delivery of documents is requested by mail.
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The Embassy is not
responsible for delayed despatch of documents or for the loss of
documents in the mail.
______________________________
Applicants
may direct their queries in this regard to Consular Section:
CONS.CARACAS@MEA.GOV.IN
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