PIO Card

ico3456

Does anyone know if I it is quicker to get a PIO card in India - say Pune ? Here in UK it takes like a month which is quite a long time. I was thinking if they can process such things in a day over there or do I have to do this in my original country

Thanks

nycank

It is easier to get it done outside than in India.

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bade bhaisaheb is outsourced

Nick-H

I got mine done, in India, in a week.

Sometimes these things happen, sometimes they don't

ico3456

Did you go via an agency or have to pay any greasing cash ? Or went directly to the office ? Was it in Mumbai ? How much did it cost ? Did you have to have all your documents with you ?

Thank you

ico3456

Just going by some other posts on this board - it seems embassy officials outside of India seem to have a bit of an attitude - perhaps feeling they are above the rest of the Indians ? Also I'm sure they may also be very under resourced due to the cost of placements (so perhaps overworked) hence I thought about getting this done in India.

Nick-H

Now way! Already had a dreadful experience with an agent not getting X visa and giving nothing but bullshit.
You might very well think that; I couldn't possibly comment*
Went direct; It was Chennai. We were already known to them from getting registration a few months previously.
I'm sure I had every document on the list, plus a few, plus the inevitable "covering letter"! I don't remember the details now.
Never felt that, but then I'm not Indian. Staff in UK were never anything but helpful. Getting an X visa was a several-month debbacle with an agent in India; it was a 10-minute job in London. Now it's outsourced, so it'll be a different experience. Not necessarily worse, of course, but certainly longer and more expensive.


*Do you remember that excellent political satire, House of Cards?

curtdfw

It's all relative. Mine took a month in Houston, but I'm quite pleased with only a month.

Not having to deal with the queues & crowds of Indian government offices is a plus in my book. The process for me was:

1. Send package of documents via Fedex;
2. Wait one month;
3. Accept package with PIO card from Fedex.

If you're not pressed for time, there's much to be said for convenience...

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"Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative" Oscar Wilde

namaste_cat

I have experience with 3 PIO cards for my immediate family members. Took 2 weeks for my husband & 3 weeks for my son & daughter (sent their paperwork in together). I thought that was very fast actually esp the 2 weeks. As for my friends, I don't know of anyone for whom it's taken longer than a month. Seems to be around 3-4 wks in the US, as you know it can vary from consulate to consulate.

With my sis-in-law and others in my friends and family circle in some cases it took 3 months to get PIO in India. For most it took at least as long as a month if not longer. Not to mention for me like Curt it's not worth the hassle of dealing with Indian govt officials and offices in India.
Well you can definitely exclude me from that group because I've had pleasant and smooth experiences here going on almost 30 yrs. No attitudes, and no runaround. I can't say enough good things about the Indians at consulates.

I will say I don't march in there with any sense of entitlement or attitude like I've seen some Indians here (and in India as well) do. I'm polite and professional, not obseqious, and that courtesy has been returned. There's my krackerjack theory for the day - don't behave like a jerk, and in all probability you won't be treated like one at a consulate That's not to say nasty employees don't exist, thankfully I haven't encountered them.

Haylo

WHAT a coincidence!

I'm reading Michael Dobbs' new "Whispers of Betrayal" right now, and was only saying last night that when I've finished it, I'm going to reread the "House of Cards" trilogy.

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The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful - E.E. Cummings, poet (1894-1962)

Nick-H

It was only ever a TV series (and what an excellent one!) to me. Didn't realise it was an adaptation. Will read one day!

Haylo

Ian Richardson was absolutely perfect for the part, the epitome of scheming political ambition. A lesser actor could never have made the series into the timeless classic which it is.

Err... are we off topic yet?

Nick-H

You might think so, Haylo; I couldn't possibly comment

Paleface

I was surprised at the ease of submitting my PIO application and getting a 3 month X visa extension done in one day, a fortnight ago in Delhi. Of course it's all very much helped i reckon by having a well pressed shirt and having one's documentation in full working order,duly stamped up by a notary, with a couple of photocopies and extra pics, just in case. Also it must be common sense to go to Jaisalmer House, together as a married couple, beyond doubt as it were!

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Only a mediocre person is always at his best. Somerset Maugham.

NonIndianResident

I got a PIO card replaced by post within the US a few months ago. Once I had all the proper papers submitted it took under a week. It likewise took only a week when I first got it in 1998.

curtdfw

NIR, could you list docs submitted, if they were originals, notarized copies, or just copies, and which US consulate you dealt with? Could be useful for others in the future...