On 08-Feb-2016, at 5:33 PM, Badri Natarajan <li...@badri.net> wrote: >>> >>> On the OCI/PIO thing that’s quite interesting because my wife is actually a >>> PIO holder who is not of Indian origin, in a similar position to your >>> friends. The OCI/PIO merger is a mess - from what we can tell (lots of >>> contradictory information), they HAVE merged OCI and PIO statuses together, >>> so that all PIO cards are now treated as OCI cards and PIO basically >>> doesn’t exist anymore. But there’s also a lot of contradictory information >>> saying that it is preferable to get an “official” conversion to OCI just in >>> case..it’s on our list of things for my wife to do. It can’t hurt, is my >>> view. >>> >>> And yes Harry - OCI, despite the name, is roughly the Indian equivalent of >>> having a US green card and grants (broadly similar) rights and >>> restrictions. It is NOT citizenship or nationality and does not entitle the >>> holder to a passport. >> >> >> Babdri, after the merger of PIO/OCI, the Govt has been issuing replacement >> OCI cards. Always best to switch to the OCI card instead of the PIO. Hope >> Annie's got hers. >> > > Yup, this is what we are planning to do but haven’t done it yet. Need to > prioritise although some information suggests that PIO cards will now > automatically be treated as OCI cards (without actually having to switch). > But it’s much safer to switch and avoid confusion..
Yes. Because they do issue a new OCI card in exchange. The only reason I insist on OCI over PIO is because OCI is a legislative creation - thus a lot less amenable to bureaucratic whimsy. As opposed to PIO which I believe is through executive fiat - which is the Alice in Wonderland of bureaucratic whimsy. Regards, Nikhil Mehra Advocate B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) (NLSIU), LL.M (Northwestern) Chambers of Nikhil Mehra E-348 Ground Floor | Greater Kailash - II | New Delhi 110048 +91 98107 76904 nikhil.mehra...@gmail.com > >
