Where is it said that the holders of PIO will be entitled for Visit Visa only ???? This might be applicable to the persons who did not officially apply for the official PIO or OCI Cards !!!! Goans/Indians holding foreign Passports are either given PIO or OCI Cards/booklets after official scrutiny by the Ministry of Home affairs, Government of India from Delhi as a part of the dual Citizenship procedure. A PIO holder is given a visa valid for a certain number of years e.g. 10 or 15 years which can be renewed on payment of the prescribed fee. An OCI holder is given a LIFELONG visa by the Ministry of Home Affairs of Government of India in Delhi on payment of the prescribed fee. During my visit to Goa in July, I had written an e-mail to the Editor of Heraldo on this subject after watching an interview of the NRI Commissioner on the local TV but regretfully this letter never saw the light of the day in "Letters to the Editor". Where does the question come of someone's recommendation and acceptance by the Government of India when the rules are already laid down and implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in New Delhi !!!!! Are the next elections or recommendation to the prestigious positions in Goa around the corner ????
Peter Fernandes Message: 3 Date: Wed, 29 Sep 2010 09:35:25 +0100 From: "Eddie Fernandes" <eddie.fernan...@gmail.com> To: "Goa's premiere mailing list, estb. 1994!" <goanet@lists.goanet.org> Subject: [Goanet] 'Relief for PIOs, to be allotted extendable visas only' Message-ID: <009701cb5fb1$44277dc0$cc7679...@gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" 29 Sep. 2010. IANS. Persons of Indian origin (PIO) visiting India will now be issued only long-term extendable visas and not tourist visas, Goa's Non-Resident Indian (NRI) commissioner Eduardo Faleiro said Wednesday. Faleiro, a former union minister of state for external affairs, told reporters here that the union government's visa manual has been revised to ensure that PIOs do not face hardships when they visit their home country. "Goans holding foreign passports were being given tourist visas and asked to leave the country as soon as the rather short period of the tourist visa expired. But that has changed for the better now," Faleiro said. "As per the revised visa manual, all Goans as well other PIOs holding foreign passports will henceforth be issued only long-term 'X' visas (extendable visas) and not tourist visas," he said, adding that the earlier conditions were inhuman and unfair to PIOs, who had roots in India. "I had earlier received several complaints from Goans holding foreign passports that some of our embassies and high commissions abroad, issue them tourist visas (valid for three to six months) at the end of which they have to leave the country though they have property matters to deal with and have families here," Faleiro said. Source: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/business/relief-for-pios-to-be-allotted- extendable-visas-only_100436327.html Has there been any official Govt. of India announcement about this?