Home Banking NRI Banking Who is a Person of Indian Origin? (PIO)

Who is a Person of Indian Origin? (PIO)

Who is a Person of Indian Origin?

A person is said to be person of Indian origin if he is a foreign citizen, but had an Indian passport in some time of his or her life. Moreover, if either of his or her parents or grandparents were Indian citizens. Even if his or her spouse is an Indian citizen or a person of Indian origin, then that person is also deemed to be a person of Indian origin.

Mostly, the term person of Indian origin is found while going through the banking regulations of Non-resident Indians. Basically, non-resident Indians include the persons resident outside India. Such persons can be citizens of India or a person of Indian origin.

Let us explain in detail the term of person of Indian origin in detail.

What are the requirements for declaring a person of Indian origin?

For declaring an individual as a person of Indian origin, two primary requirements are:

You must be a foreign citizen
You should not be the citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh

These primary requirements are very important to understand. If you are a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh, then you cannot be covered under the purview of person of Indian origin. You can be the foreign citizen of any nation such as USA, Canada, Trinidad, and so on.

Another set of secondary requirements for declaring an individual as a person of Indian origin are as follows:

At any time of your life, you had an Indian passport. Here, passport must have been valid and enforceable during that period.
If either of your parents or grandparents were citizens of India. The determination of citizenship of India is decided by the Indian Constitution or the Citizenship Act of India, 1955.
If your spouse is an Indian citizen according to the Indian Constitution or the Citizenship Act, 1955. Or if your spouse is a person of Indian origin. However, he or she should not be a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh.

Types of bank accounts available for persons of Indian origin

The banks of accounts available for persons of Indian origin are similar to those provided for non-residents of India:

FCNR or Foreign Currency Non-Resident accounts
NRE or Non-Resident External accounts
NRO or Non-Resident Ordinary accounts
RFC or Resident Foreign Currency accounts

In addition to these accounts, the persons of Indian origin are also provided with banking facilities such as demat services for trading purpose and International Debit Card for convenience.

Persons of Indian origin are also allowed to purchase immoveable property in India. But this property should not be used for agricultural plantation or a farmhouse.

Thus, for determining the status of person of Indian origin, certain requirements are provided. You need to check with it properly. If you are deemed to be person of Indian origin, then you are entitled to open term and deposit accounts in the Indian banks. However, you are required to approach banks with the relevant and valid documentation. Your documents must prove that you are person of Indian origin.

Disclaimer : The information provided above is for educational purpose only. Please visit RBI website for more information about this topic

2 COMMENTS

rkadakia October 31, 2015 at 7:05 pm

Are there any special interest rates for NRIs when they open bank accounts?
Can someone on the behalf of Person of Indian Origin open an NRI account? If not, then what is the exact procedure?
Are their any special tax benefits for PIO?
If one of the partners is POI, can a joint NRI account with another partner be opened where partner stays in India?
Do all banks offer NRI banking facilities? Are there any special provisions which a bank needs to make before offering NRI facility?
Vandana Agarwal June 20, 2016 at 7:43 am

A very informative article indeed. There was a lot of misconception about the pio. One can hold bank accounts, voting card, carry on business in share market. But then he should not be a Pakistani or Bangladeshi. This historical enemity is carried here too. This term was usually confused with NRI’s .