Person of Indian origin , not being a citizen of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China,Nepal,Pakistan and Sri Lanka, are eligible to apply for PIO card, if :

• the person at any time held an Indian Passport; or
• the person or either of his/her parents or grand parents or great grand parents was born in,
  and was permanently resident in India .
• The person is the spouse of a citizen of India or a person of Indian origin

PIO card holders shall not require a separate visa to visit India , but they have to carry their foreign passports along with the PIO Card. He/She is also exempted from the requirement of registration if his/her continuous stay in India does not exceed 180 days.

Fees: 450,000 won for adults and 225,000 won for minors

Documents required : - Indian passport/travel documents of the applicant or either of his/her parents or grandparents or great grandparents. Any other document satisfactorily proving the residence /nationality as Indian

To respond to a longstanding demand of persons of India Origin who are now nationals of other countries, the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India had announced, on the occasion of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2005, the Government of India's intention to grant dual citizenship to such nationals of certain countries, the laws of which permit such facility for their citizens. This has now been given legal backing by the Indian Parliament with the approval of Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2005. The Scheme is called Overseas Citizenship of India.
Under the said scheme, a registration certificate will be issued to the applicant.
A multiple entry multi-purpose OCI visa (Universal Visa) sticker will be pasted on the applicant's foreign passport

A foreign national, who
- was eligible to become a citizen of India on 26-01-1950
- was a citizen of India on or at any time after 26-01-1950
- belonged to territory that became part of India after 15-08-1947

And his/her children and grandchildren are eligible for registration as Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) provided his/her country of citizenship allows dual citizenship in some form or other under local laws. The minor children of such persons are also eligible for OCI However, if the applicant had ever been a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh , he/she will not be eligible for OCI. The application form for the OCI can be downloaded from the Ministry of Home Affairs website at www.mha.nic.in

The applicants can also register themselves online by following instructions given on the above mentioned website.

FEE : 280,000 won for each applicant and 26,000 won for PIO card holders.

• A multiple entry, multi-purpose lifelong visa for visiting India
• Exemption from registration with the local police authorities for any length of stay in India
• Parity with Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in respect of economic, financial and educational fields, except in relation to acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties.

• to vote
• to be member of a Legislative Assembly or of a Legislative Council or of the Parliament of India
• to hold Indian constitutional posts such as that of the president, Vice-President, judge of the Supreme/High Courts etc.

He/She cannot normally hold employment in the Government. For any clarification/query on the scheme, please visit the website www.mha.nic.in or contact consular section of the Indian Embassy, Seoul .

The PIO/OCI card holders are not entitled to undertake any missionary work, mountaineering and research work without prior permission of the Government of India. The PIO/OCI cardholders would require special permission to undertake research work in India.