The Union home ministry had been working to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 to merge the PIO and OCI schemes and instructions had been issued to embassies and consulates that apart from special circumstances, US nationals should get visas for 10 years.
Further, PIO cardholders were eligible for only 15-year visas in comparison to life-long visas given to those having OCI cards. The changes do away with the discrepancies allowing PIOs to hold life-long visas as well, the officials said. It may be recalled that the Union home ministry had introduced the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2014 in the Lok Sabha earlier this month, but it could not be taken up due to frequent disruptions.
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