The Indian Government has announced that Person of India Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) Schemes have been merged as of January 9, 2015, with the aim to phase out the PIO.
With immediate effect, PIO card holders will automatically be granted OCI status and entitled to OCI benefits, such as receiving lifelong multiple entry with multi-purpose visa with exemption from registration with the local police authority. All pending PIO applications will be treated as OCI applications.
Eligibility for OCI cards:
The Indian Immigration authority may return PIO applications that are still processing. Applicants who are pending result for their PIO applications at the time of official announcement may need to re-submit their application as an OCI card application.