PIO or OCI

samirofdelhi

Hi. I am interested in getting a PIO card or an OCI card. I want to know from people with them which is better and which one I should get?

Nick-H

Are you entitled to both?

If you are then OCI wins hands down on one factor alone: it is for life. There are other advantages too.

Therefore, if I have to say which is 'best' --- OCI.

See The information on the MHA site for comparisons and all the information you could need

__________________
.


Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

samirofdelhi

Hi there. I think that I am entitled to both. My parents and grandparents were born in India and held Indian citizenship though they became naturalised British citizens. I was born in the UK. The only thing that I am worried about getting a PIO or OCI card is that the British High Commission will not help me in India if there is a problem. Would I still be entitled to consular service?

dzibead

But the OCI wouldn't be an option if the person's country of citizenship doesn't allow dual citizenship "in some form or other", according to the MHA.

dzibead

You remain a British subject. You don't give up your UK citizenship just by getting a PIO card or an OCI card (assuming the UK allows dual citizenship in the first place, which it would have to in order for you to be able to get OCI status under India laws).

Nick-H

Britain does allow dual citizenship, although OCI is not really a form of citizenship as it does not allow the bearer to have an Indian pasport, vote in Indian elections, stnad as a candidate in same, etc. etc.

ISTR something about a list of countries where OIC is available, and Britain is one of them?

It certainly is available to Brits.

dzibead

The U.S. allows it, too, although it doesn't encourage it. Here's a site with some interesting info (I can't vouch for its accuracy, but it looks OK to me). http://www.uscitizenship.info/citize...brary-dual.htm Note that India is listed as a country that does NOT allow dual citizenship - I think that's because when a person becomes an actual citizen of India, he or she is required to affirmatively renounce his or her citizenship in any other country. But becoming an OCI is not the same as becoming a "full-bore" Indian citizen, and so completely renouncing ones actual citizenship isn't required.

Nattusbs

Hello all:

There has been so much confusion about the OCI (and PIO) that we need to make some facts very clear.

Dzibead wrote: But the OCI wouldn't be an option if the person's country of citizenship doesn't allow dual citizenship "in some form or other".

As far as I know, there is no requirement of the other country allowing dual citizenship. India does not allow dual citizenship and although the OCI has been called dual citizenship, it is not the case. Please read this link of the US embassy in New Delhi:

http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov/acsdualnation.html

The US does not prevent one from retaining the previous countries passport, only that one has to "verbally" give allegiance to the US during the citizenship ceremony. The Indian government is using the emotional attachment of dual citizenship to attract NRI's with foreign passport to invest in India - that is my opinion.

SamirofDelhi: What is your reasoning for going for the PIO or OCI? Major difference is that:

OCI is for life, while PIO is for 15 years.
With OCI one needs to register with FRRO office every 6 months. With OCI no registration with FRRO is needed.

PIO processing is done in host country by Indian embassy/high commision (say Britain for British passport holders), while OCI is done in Delhi - the embassy/high commision sends the documents to Delhi. Therefore, PIO can be got faster than OCI. PIO costs about $25 less than OCI.

In my case, I have the PIO and when I go to India, I shall have it converted to OCI in Delhi and pay the additional $25 fees. This should be possible in a couple of days in Delhi.

Cheers

Nattusbs

dzibead

The Ministry of Home Affairs' own website states the following about the conditions for eligibility for OCI status, "A foreign national, who was eligible to become citizen of India on 26.01.1950 or was a citizen of India on or at anytime after 26.01.1950 or belonged to a territory that became part of India after 15.08.1947 and his/her children and grand children, provided his/her country of citizenship allows dual citizenship in some form or other under the local laws, is eligible for registration as Overseas Citizen of India (OCI). Minor children of such person are also eligible for OCI. However, if the applicant had ever been a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh, he/she will not be eligible for OCI." (Emphasis added.)

Which is why I said that OCI status is not "full-bore" Indian citizenship. OCI's can't vote, for one thing. And they don't hold Indian passports. A person who wants to become an actual citizen of India (not just an OCI) is required to affirmatively renounce his other citizenship. The U.S. doesn't actually require this when people become naturalized U.S. citizens. Also, an Indian citizen who becomes a naturalized citizen of another country automatically loses his Indian citizenship, under Indian law. U.S. law doesn't work like that, either; it requires more than taking citizenship in another country to lose U.S. citizenship. But apparently some countries don't allow any form of "dual citizenship," even the diluted form offered by the OCI card, so their rules would be an obstacle to one obtaining OCI status, according to the MHA.

You aren't using the term "NRI" in the same way the MHA does. The Indian government's definition of NRI is an Indian citizen, who holds an Indian passport, but who ordinarily resides outside India. So there's no such thing as an NRI with a foreign passport. The Indian government may be using "the emotional attachment of dual citizenship to attract" PIO's "to invest in India," but they wouldn't need the OCI to attract NRIs, who are already Indian citizens. If an NRI takes citizenship in another country, he ceases to be an NRI, according to the Govt's definition, but he remains a "PIO" (even if he doesn't actually have a PIO card, obtaining which requires an application process) ... and might then want to apply for OCI status.

rajiveanand

Unless you're goin to Bhutan...

I'll tell you the story later...



R.

__________________
www.rajiveanand.com

dzibead

I wanna hear this one!

rajiveanand

iz coing...

Shaktipalooza

Have you ever held an Indian passport? If not and you're over 18 years old I believe you are only eligible for the PIO card.

__________________
IndiaGroove - Train finder now in beta!
Pics from India 2006
Traditional Indian Dance

Nick-H

Dzibead has covered it pretty nicely.

Really, NRIs would be better termed NRICs! Non-Resident Indian Citizens! According to the Indian Government, if you are not an Indian Citizen you are a Foreigner, albeit one of Indian Origin.

Even the Indian government does not claim that OCI gives any kind of citizenship --- except in the title! What a confusing mess, eh? But PIO didn't go down that well, so they had to find something with a better-selling name.

By the way, just to add to the definitions: one can be a person of Indian origin, and have a number of rights (eg investment)as such within India, without holding a PIO card.

People who share Dzibead's and my enjoyment of reading the fine print can see the MHA site for details of rights and definitions.

GoanCanuck

Absolutely true. The PIO card is basically only required while entering and leaving India. You can own property in India if you are a person of Indian origin even if you do not have a PIO card.