Indians who have settled abroad and living there, do not need a visa stamped on their passports to come to India, all they need to show is the Overseas Citizen of India or the OCI cards. In 2015, the Indian government had changed the Citizenship act and combined the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) and the Persons of Indian Origin (PIO). The “no visa needed” rule was a result of this decision. ![BN-HW834_ipio_G_20150415030416]()
The Hindu confirms that the Indian Government has decided to stop the visa stamping for Indians system ever since they altered the citizenship rules and “after Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) and the Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) were merged in 2015.” No visa affixing for India travel is needed now for the Indians, say the authorities.
In the past, the “U” visa stickers were issued for a life time to the visa applicant and the applicants were also given the OCI cards with it. Since Sept, 2015, the Government had been issuing only OCI cards and there were no ‘U’ visa permits being issued. The Indians will now be granted permission to travel to India, by showing their OCI card and passports. A statement by a Government official confirms “Till now, every OCI card holder also had to get a visa affixed from the Indian High Commission, whenever they planned a visit to India. Now, only the OCI card will be needed.”
The website of the VFS Global which is responsible for the administrative function of the Passport, OCI, Visa, & other Miscellaneous Services application process states “It has been decided by the Government of India to dispense with the requirement of producing foreign passport containing the ‘U’ Visa sticker in the case of OCI Cardholders while they enter/exit India.” The PIO card has been done away with by the authorities and not the OCI and PIO have become one. June 30th is the last day to get your migration from PIO to OCI.
