By: Ajay Hasija

Individuals that hold a PIO (Persons of Indian Origin) card are advised that these travel documents are valid only until September 30, 2019. At that time, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regulations will no longer allow Indian Immigration Check Posts to accept the PIO card, and all persons holding these handwritten travel documents will be refused entry. Therefore, all PIO cardholders are advised to convert their cards to OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) cards as soon as possible.

The deadline for converting PIO cards to OCI cards has been extended several times to allow travelers to obtain the updated and scannable OCI card from India missions and posts abroad. Currently, the fee for conversion is $100. A new OCI card, or a conversion request following the deadline, will encounter a fee of $275.

For more information, please visit the Indian Embassy website.