Q about PIO applications in UK

kevlar

i have married an indian wife recently and my dad was born in india (have no proof except school leaving cert which i may be able to get a hold of) and my paternal grandad is currently an indian citizen and still alive..........my question whats the best course of action - oic, pio or apply for indian citizenship whilst keeping my status as a british national? - i just dont want to keep paying those damn visa fees - rip off!!!!

Nick-H

--- You cannot keep your status as a British National if you get Indian Citizenship, India does not allow dual nationality.

--- OIC is a better deal as it is for life. Your dad's school-leaving cert should be good, but your grandfather's Indian passport should be just great.

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Candyji

Hi

I am in the UK presently hoping to obtain my PIO card. I have been married for 1 1/2 years currently have an x visa which was obtained in India by converting from a business visa. So am well know to the MHA.

I don't have much time so don't want to make a wrong turn.

Does anyone have experience of the postal system of applying for the PIO card? Or is is safer to go in person?

My husband doesn't have a passport so I will be attempting to try with his election card and school leaving certificate. Does anyone have experience of using this proof of Indian citizenship?


My passport has 11 months validity. Does anyone have an idea of what the minimum validity the Indian high commission is looking for?

Has anyone applied for one recently? How long did it take?

Thanks a million in advance.

Candyji

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abfab

Are you applying based only on your husband being an Indian citizen?

If so, I don't think your husbands election card and school leaving certificate would be sufficient proof for the application. Do you have his birth certificate?

Have you checked out www.hcilondon.net ? You can download a copy of the PIO application form from there which details exactly which documents they would require from you and your husband to process the PIO application.

I applied about a year ago and decided to apply in person as I didn't want to risk posting so many hard to replace original documents.

After having spent the morning queueing, they processed my application very quickly. They checked all my qualifying documentation and forms there and then, and returned the originals to me. They then gave me a date on which to collect my PIO card which was about 2-3 weeks later.

Candyji

Hi abfab,

Thanks for your information regarding time taken in processing. I feel the same way about trusting the post with important documents.

Many Indians don't have birth certificates that is why the date of birth is general from their matriculation or school leavers certificate. Indians can also travel by air to Nepal on an election card. That is why I have chosen these two ID documents. Have checked the application form it doesn't suggest anything else as possible but am interested to know if anyone has managed it. I think forcing him to get a passport is a bit harsh.

shere

For OCI, I think you can apply on the basis of your paternal grandad being an indian citizen. However you will have to show them proof that he is your grandad via birth certificates.

You can apply for PIO card as your wife is indian.

You will not lose your British citizenship. OCI is not even proper Indian citizenship (citizenship only in name).

OCI can take up to a year to process.

abfab

My guess is that the High Commission will probably be very strict about only accepting the proofs of Identity that are on their accepted list, but if you don't have the offical second form of ID from their list it might be worth trying anyhow with what you have.

One problem could be, that as far as I know, they don't completely refund the £215 application fee if your application fails. However hopefully if you apply in person, they won't even accept the application (and the FEE!) unless they are happy with your ID proofs.

One other thing, the PIO card is matched with your passport number, so if your passport only has 11 months left, you are going to have to go through the process to transfer your PIO card to your new passport very soon. Maybe it is worth concidering waiting the 11 months, and in the mean time get your husband to apply for a passport for himself so that you have all your bases covered for the future?

abfab

I would agree with Shere that your best course of action might well be be to apply for PIO card through your wifes citizenship for now.

If in the future you are able to get more certification of your fathers birth status, then you can easily convert your PIO to an OCI for very little additional cost.

You can hold a PIO or an OCI at the same time as your British citizenship, but you cannot hold Indian citizenship and remain a British national at the same time.