International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) will accept only machine readable travel documents beginning October 1, 2018. All PIO card holders must obtain a machine readable OCI Card, as the current deadline of September 30, 2018 for conversion of PIO cards to OCI will not be extended. Travelers with PIO cards will be refused entry at the Indian Immigration Counters and sent back. Note that there is a $100 fee for any request to convert PIO card to OCI card. The fees for issuance of fresh OCI cards will remain at $275. Applicants for OCI in lieu of PIO card residing in the U.S. can follow the instructions available here and applicants residing in India can follow the instructions available here.
Benefits of holding OCI card:
- OCI card is a “smart” card;
- Possession of an OCI card will facilitate quicker immigration clearance at the Immigration Check Posts;
- Possession of an OCI card will assist in obtaining various consular services from the Indian Missions;
- For those who reside in India, it will facilitate in availing various services in India.
The above update can be found here. We will continue to bring the latest updates on OCI/PIO card.