Conversion Of PIO To OCI Card

The validity for submission of application for OCI card in lieu of PIO card has been extended a number of times and presently such conversion on gratis basis is valid till 31.12.2017.

It is pertinent to mention that erstwhile PIO cards are hand written whereas the new OCI cards are machine readable. However, from October, 2018, International Civil Aviation Organization will accept only machine readable travel documents. The existing PIO cards which are hand written will, therefore, become invalid travel documents. Hence, it will be necessary upon PIO cardholders to obtain machine readable OCI cards in lieu of existing hand written PIO cards before October, 2018 to avoid any inconvenience.

In order to take advantage of getting such PIO cards converted into machine readable OCI cards on gratis basis, it will be advisable to get these converted before 31.12.2017.

To apply for OCI go to the link, https://passport.gov.in/oci/