Q.1249 Is my PIO card valid for

travel to India in June 2019?

Question: Please help. Is my PIO card good for travel to India in July end 2019. I have heard that PIO card is now cancelled. Kindly let me know what the true situation is on PIO cards today or are they now useless. Look forward to a speedy response. thanks for your time Answer: The latest information as of today April 16, 2019, that I am aware of is that the PIO cards will now continue to be valid until September 30, 2019. After September 30, 2019 PIO cards that are handwritten will NOT be considered as valid travel documents and the holders of handwritten PIO cards would have to obtain a visa to travel to India from October 1, 2019. Unless of course the government extends the date. Previously the date was set to March 31, 2019 and then on March 28, 2019 the date was extended to September 30, 2019. Click Here to see announcement. The best option for all PIO holders is to convert their PIO cards to OCI and avoid ambiguity of their PIO cards being accepted as travel documents. Options for PIO Card Holders Previously The government had announced that all persons having valid PIO cards as on 9th January, 2015 were deemed to be OCI. However the conversion from PIO to OCI was not automatic and PIO card holders need to apply for OCI using the OCI in Lieu of PIO form.