Deadline extended for conversion of PIO cards to OCI, says Indian minister June 21, 2016 | 9:35 AM By Staff Reporter

Deadline extended for conversion of PIO cards to OCI, says Indian minister

June 21, 2016 | 9:35 AM

 

By Staff Reporter

Muscat: The final date for applying to convert a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card to an Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) card has been extended from June 30 to December 31, the Indian External Affairs minister said.

"I feel that the conversion will not be completed by June 30, so we have decided to extend the last date to December 31," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said.

The government had earlier granted an extension from March 31 to June 30 this year.

"There will be no charge for conversion during this period. So I suggest to those who are seeking to convert their PIO cards to OCI cards, use this timeline. I want this conversion to be completed by December 31," she said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the PIO and OCI cards will be merged and the Indian diaspora will benefit.

Officials said that the simultaneous existence of PIO and OCI cards leads to confusion among people of Indian origin living abroad.