Person of Indian Origin (PIO)

Person of Indian Origin (PIO) means a person whose ancestors were a permanent Indian resident.

PIO status is for an individual who is a citizen of another country (except Bangladesh and Pakistan) and their ancestors are from India by virtue of the Constitution of India or the Citizenship Act, 1955.

The spouse of Indian citizen will also be considered PIO. A PIO might have been a citizen of India and now has taken citizenship of another country.

Investment by PIO in Indian Securities is treated the same as the investment by non-resident Indians (NRIs) and requires the same approvals and enjoys the same exemptions.

According to the Gazette of India (Part-I, Section-I), all the persons with POI Card Holder under new PIO Card scheme 2002 will be converted to an overseas citizen of India cardholders. All the POI cards were valid till 31st March 2019 to exit/enter into India. PIO scheme is not in existence after 15th Jan 2015.

 

 

Answered on 2019-07-19

1. 1. Who is a person resident outside India?

   A person resident outside India commonly referred to as an NRI is any person who stays out of India for an uncertain period for employment, to carry on a business, vocation, or any other purpose.

   An NRI is defined by FEMA as well as Income-Tax Act. Both definitions differ a bit as the intent for both of them is different. The FEMA governs the investment criteria for NRI whereas the Income -Tax Act decides the taxation of various income of NRI and thus looks at it more mathematically. Click here for more details.

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2. 2. Who is a person of Indian origin?

   A person of Indian Origin (PIO) is a foreign citizen who:

   • Is an Indian by birth;
   • held an Indian passport at any time;
   • is an Indian by descent; or
   • is a spouse of an Indian citizen or PIO.

   In 2015, the PIO card scheme was withdrawn by the Government of Indian and was merged with the Overseas Citizen of India card scheme.

   Investment by PIO in Indian Securities is treated in a similar manner as the investment by non-resident Indians. Further, they require the same approvals and enjoy the same exemptions.

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