Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has announced that the Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) cards and the Overseas Citizen of Indian (OCI) cards will be merged. As a result of this change, processing will be streamlined and holders of PIO cards will now receive lifetime Indian visas. PIO cardholders staying in India for a long period of time will not have to register with the local police. However, OCI cardholders younger than 21 and older than 50 are required to reapply for a new OCI card upon the issuance of a new passport. An additional change announced by Prime Minister Modi also included that U.S. nationals will be permitted to receive visas on arrival at the border, facilitating easier trips to India. Implementation date and time frame for the aforementioned changes have not yet been announced.
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