Consulate General of India
Atlanta
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Press Release
Extension of validity of PIO Cards till December 31, 2025
The Government of India has decided that the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) will continue to accept PIO cards as valid travel document till 31.12.2025 alongwith valid foreign passport and the Indian Immigration Check Post(s) will continue to consider all PIO cards valid for exit/entry into India till December 31, 2023. This extension of timeline is subject to the condition that if in the meantime any deadline is notified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) thereby making hand written PIO Cards invalid, then PIO cardholders may have to obtain appropriate visa from India Missions/Posts.
Further, all the existing PIO cardholders are informed that no further extension will be given and they will have to get their PIO cards converted to OCI card by 31.12.2025 or they will have to get Indian Visa for travel to India and service of ‘New Visa’ from FRROs on the e-FRRO online portal if they are already living in India.
All the PIO cardholders with valid PIO Cards as on January 09, 2015 are strongly advised to apply for conversion of PIO card to OCI card. The relevant link is: https://services.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/ind/apply-oci-services
Atlanta
January 14, 2025
