How to Get a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) Card in Ottawa
The High Commission of India, in order to better serve their clients has elected to outsource several of their services to VFN International. These services include the application processes for Visas, Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards and Person of Indian Origin (PIO) cards.
The PIO card, valid for 15 years, is allowed for anyone who was born in India (or had their parents, grandparents or great grandparents permanently reside in India) as long as none of those individuals was at any time a citizen of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka. In order to be eligible, you must be of Indian origin.
The OCI card allows anyone who was born in India (or their parents or grandparents) to gain entry into India for any length of time without the need to register for a visa, acting essentially as a lifelong visa.
Step by Step Guides for applying for Tourist Visas, and OCI Cards can be accessed below.
Instructions
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1
Eligibility
Every person of Indian origin who is not a citizen of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and other countries whenever it is specified by the Central Government will be eligible to apply for PIO Card, if:
- The person at any time held an Indian Passport; or
- Either of his/her parents or grandparents or great grandparents was born in, and was permanently resident in India, provided neither was at any time a citizen of any of the aforesaid excluded countries; or
Spouse of a citizen of India or a person of Indian origin covered under (i) or (ii) above. -
2
PIO Checklist
The following check list of items is required for a PIO application, see here.
All the documents mentioned in the checklist need to be submitted in original. -
3
Application Form
The application form to be printed and submitted to the Consular Services Office in Ottawa can be found here. -
4
PIO Fee
The following fees apply for the PIO card:
PIO Card for person 18 years or above $ 330 CAD
PIO card for children below 18 years $ 165 CAD
An additional fee of $19.25 ( excluding taxes ) payable to VF services (Canada) Inc. is applicable per passport. Please note that the fees / processing charge is non-refundable and non-transferable.
If you plan on submitting the application at the Consular Services Centre, payment can be made by cheque, cash, Visa, MasterCard as well as bank drafts. If electing to go with a draft, it must be made out to VF Services (Canada) and have two cheques, one for the PIO and one for the VF fee.
Postal applicants are required to use a bank draft with the same conditions as above. Cash should not be sent via mail.
Note: applications will not be processed until the correct visa fees and service charges are paid. -
5
Location and Mailing Address:
Indian Visa and Consular Services Center, Ottawa
Suite 220-384 Bank Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2P 1Y4 (view map)
Submission of Application: 8:00 AM - 2:30PM
Passport pickup: 3:30 PM - 7:00 PM Monday-Saturday
Contact: 1-877-599-8071
8:00 AM - 7:00 PM (Monday – Saturday)
 cards and Person of Indian Origin (PIO) cards.
The PIO card, valid for 15 years, is allowed for anyone who was born in India (or had their parents, grandparents or great grandparents permanently reside in India) as long as none of those individuals was at any time a citizen of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka. In order to be eligible, you must be of Indian origin.
The OCI card allows anyone who was born in India (or their parents or grandparents) to gain entry into India for any length of time without the need to register for a visa, acting essentially as a lifelong visa.
Step by Step Guides for applying for Tourist Visas, and OCI Cards can be accessed below.
Tourist Visa
OCI
Comparison of OCI and POINext%20stop%3A%20Pinterest "Pin It")
