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Apni chaukhat ka diya, giving light to neighbour's house ..Know about NRI, PIO and OCI status

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Yeh jo desh hai tera, swades hai tera, tujhe hai pukara...The song and the movie are one of my all time favourites. The connection shown between the protagonist and the motherland India is truly very heartwarming. I am overwhelmed and flooded with emotions every time I see the movie (which I do quite often). I can go on writing about it, but I am not a movie critic. Here today, I am writing on a topic that has to do with Swades. It is about the NRIs and the PIOs and the OCIs.


What is the difference between NRI, OCI and PIO?

It is said that one will find Indians in every country on planet. Almost every middle class family has someone staying abroad, be it Australia, Middle East, the UK or the USA. NRIs are Indians who have been staying abroad for more than 183 days in a financial year or 365 days during a span of 4 consecutive years. NRIs are not subjugated to taxes in India, provided they are taxed in the nation they reside in. NRIs are eligible for voting, can own land and property in India. However, NRIs can't hold a government job.

OCI and PIO cards are given to people who want to stay connected with India. Swades calling !! Person of Indian Origin (PIO) is a status given to people whose ancestors (parent(s), grand parent(s) or great grand parent) is/was an Indian citizen and who is holding a foreign passport. A person marrying an Indian or a PIO also gets the PIO status as well. However, they don't have the right to vote. A PIO holder is accorded a life long visa-free travel to and from India for any duration. 

OCI or Overseas citizen of India can be given to people who follow one of the below criteria (except to people from Pakistan and Bangladesh):
  • A foreign national, but was or eligible to be a citizen of India at the time of, or at any time after, the commencement of the constitution; or
  • Who is a citizen of another country, but belonged to a territory that became part of India after the 15th day of August, 1947; or
  • Who is an ancestor to such a citizen
OCI card was launched in 2005, and carried certain advantages over PIO card. Initially, with a PIO card, a person could travel and work in India for a period of 15 years; an OCI card imparted the same benefits for the entire lifetime of the holder. This was later revoked and PIO too became valid for lifelong. With a PIO card, a person can apply for Indian citizenship after 7 years, while with an OCI card, people can apply for Indian citizenship after 5 years. 

However, the PIO card has been discontinued from December 2017, and all the PIO cards are being converted to OCI cards. This is done to avoid confusion existing between the two statuses.  

Nerd notes:
  • As per a South Africa based market research agency New World Wealth, 17000 'dollar millionaires' left India in last 3 years (2015 - 2017)
  • Indians account for 30% of the total population in the UAE
  • According to the World Bank, India was the world's largest recipient of remittance ($63 billion) in the year 2016, followed by China at $61 billion
Thanks for reading.
Prakhar

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