OCI or PIO Card -> UK born kid

[AliAla]

Hi there

Sorry if this query has already been answered already, however I couldn't find it.

Case : Me and my wife are on ILR, Most probably by next week, I would be getting British Passport for my 4 years old uk born kid.
My friend told me that I would have to apply for PIO card for my kid to visit India, which later I would need to convert that for OCI, however he himself couldn't justified this statement, like why..

Also few months back, I heard that Mr. Modi has announced something for OCI/PIO. (shame on me, not having exact details)

Experts, could you please throw some light, that what are the option I am having in this case.

Note : I may or may not go for British Passport in future.

Thanks,
Ali

[secret.simon]

Was your child born in the UK after you or your wife got ILR? Or have they been registered with form MN1 after your wife and you got ILR?
If not, they are not British and therefore can not have a British passport. They would of course be eligible for an Indian passport.
On the other hand, if they are British, they would be eligible for only a PIO card at the moment. OCI is only available to people with at least one foreign parent of Indian origin http://www.immihelp.com/nri/pio-vs-oci.html.

[Gnanasekar]

Hi there

Sorry if this query has already been answered already, however I couldn't find it.

Case : Me and my wife are on ILR, Most probably by next week, I would be getting British Passport for my 4 years old uk born kid.
My friend told me that I would have to apply for PIO card for my kid to visit India, which later I would need to convert that for OCI, however he himself couldn't justified this statement, like why..

Also few months back, I heard that Mr. Modi has announced something for OCI/PIO. (shame on me, not having exact details)

Experts, could you please throw some light, that what are the option I am having in this case.

Note : I may or may not go for British Passport in future.

Thanks,
Ali

If your Kid had an Indian passport earlier then you need to apply for OCI card. In a situation where you cannot wait for 4-6 weeks you can always apply for India Visitor visa which turns out in two working days.

One of the announcement made recently is that PIO card is going to be life long validity. There is another recent news that OCI and PIO will be merged but this may take at least few months to come into effect.

[AliAla]

thanks @secret.simon
My Kid was born in 2010 and me and my wife got ILR early this year, later I registered MN1 form and in Oct I applied for British Passport for my kid. Till now my kid is on Indian passport.

thanks @Gnanasekar
This is really helpful information.
What I understood that, if a person born in UK and never had Indian passport (if British By Birth), he/she can apply PIO, while OCI : - If you ever had Indian passport, you must go for this option, no matter where you born.

So I need to apply OCI for my Kid with this logic.

Thanks,
Ali

[ban.s]

while OCI : - If you ever had Indian passport, you must go for this option, no matter where you born.

this is not correct interpretation
(a) it's not a "must", rather a choice between OCI or PIO or just visa
(b) The minor child is not eligible for OCI because both the parents are Indian passport holder. You need to apply for PIO card (preferred option for a minor even if they are eligible for OCI).

Also, if you apply for a PIO for the child, you don't need to to switch that to an OCI at a later date. However, it's likely the OCI and PIO routes will be merged onto a single Overseas Indian Card (OIC) route in near future.

[AliAla]

Thanks a lot Ban.s for making me correct.
I will go for PIO when I will get passport of my kid.
Please correct me if I am wrong again, once will have British passport of my kid, first I would need apply to surrender Indian Passport and after getting certificate, I can apply for PIO.

Thanks for your help.
~Ali

[ban.s]

That's correct.

[gsa09]

Hi ban,

Could you please through some more light on your previous reply?

* (preferred option for a minor even if they are eligible for OCI).

* Why is it so? I understand that PIO holder no need to reapply after every 5 years unlike OCI. (For kids every 5 years a new passport is issued, hence a new OCI application is required once again).
* PIO is now valid for lifelong and also not required to register at police station as per the new government rules.

For OCI: apart from renewal after every 5 yrs, are there any disadvantages with it?

Kindly advise what other points I'm missing on PIO is a better option for kids?

Many thanks.

[ban.s]

PIO application processing time is less and for a minor it costs less money than OCI.
minors were exempted from police registration in the old rule but it has now been abolished.

[gsa09]

thanks a lot ban. Appreciate it.