Update March 13, 2026: Person of Indian Origin (PIO) cards — including handwritten versions — together with a valid foreign passport, which were permitted for travel until December 31, 2025, are no longer accepted for travel to India with immediate effect. All current PIO card holders must either obtain a new Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card or secure an appropriate visa before travelling. Airlines may deny boarding to passengers attempting to travel using a PIO card, even if it is accompanied by the corresponding foreign passport.
February 7, 2025: The government of India has again extended the deadline to convert handwritten PIO cards to OCI cards until December 31, 2025.
January 19, 2024: The government of India has extended the deadline to convert handwritten Person of Indian Origin (PIO) cards to Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards. PIO cardholders can continue to use their cards as valid travel documents (together with a valid foreign passport) until December 31, 2024. The government announced in 2015 that PIO cardholders must apply for a OCI card in order to continue to preserve their travel rights but has regularly extended the deadline in order to ease the transition. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) reserves the right to announce the invalidation of handwritten PIO cards and require PIO cardholders to obtain the appropriate visa from the Indian consular posts in order to enter India. As such, all PIO cardholders with valid PIO cards from January 9, 2015, should convert their PIO card to an OCI card as instructed by the Ministry of Home Affairs of India.
Fragomen in India is Fragomen Immigration Services India (Pvt) Ltd., operating exclusively as an immigration consultancy and not as a law firm in India. This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].
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