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A PIO cardholder can stay in India for a period of 180 days. Still, if they want to stay in India longer, the PIO cardholder needs to register with the jurisdictional FRRO or FRO 30 days before the 180-day period expires. However, the PIO cardholder cannot have access to visit a protected or restricted area.
Person of Indian Origin is a document that is issued to an Indian origin individual who has a foreign passport except Afghanistan, China, Bangladesh, Iran, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan. On 9 January 2015, all the PIO cards were merged with the OCI cards, and all the PIO cardholders needed to fill PIO to OCI conversion application. However, PIO cardholders can travel to India visa-free until 31 December 2025, and after that, all the PIO cards will become invalid.
As a PIO cardholder, I do not require a visa to visit India for a period of 15 years from the date of the PIO card issued. For a stay in India of more than 180 days, I have also gone to my nearby FRRO and registered myself to extend the duration of stay in India.
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A PIO cardholder can travel to India visa-free for 15 years with a valid passport, and can stay in India for a period of 180 days. Additionally, they can also extend their duration of stay in India for up to 6 months by registering themselves through the FRRO or FRO jurisdiction.
I have also registered at the FRRO portal to extend the duration of stay in India, though a simple process, by filling out the application, uploading all the essential documents, after the approval, paying the required fees, and then submitting my application and tracking the status of my application, and getting my RC/RP in my registered email.