Can PIO Card Holder become Indian Citizen later?

[gagandeep0412]

I am in US on H1 with my wife on H4. We had twins last month. I have read the discussion about getting an Indian passport and US visa OR getting US passport and PIO card. I seem to bent towards the getting US passport and PIO, which also seem to be recommended way by both US and Indian Immigrations to avoid travel hassles.

My plan is to move to India in 5 years permamnently, but in this time kids will travel to and fro to India. My question is that whether after moving to India, can I aply for Indian citizenship. Will Indian authorities grant the kids the Indian passport then?

[amadineni]

I am in US on H1 with my wife on H4. We had twins last month. I have read the discussion about getting an Indian passport and US visa OR getting US passport and PIO card. I seem to bent towards the getting US passport and PIO, which also seem to be recommended way by both US and Indian Immigrations to avoid travel hassles.

My plan is to move to India in 5 years permamnently, but in this time kids will travel to and fro to India. My question is that whether after moving to India, can I aply for Indian citizenship. Will Indian authorities grant the kids the Indian passport then?

Path to Indian citizenship after 5 yrs and one year of stay as ordinary resident for OCIs and 7 years of ordinary resident for PIOs.

Which, I think, means that if you have a OCI, you can go back to India after 4yrs, spend a year as a resident, and then you are eligible for an Indian citizenship.

If you have a PIO, you need to spend 7 years as an ordinary resident in India before applying for Indian citizenship.

Hope this helps.

Amar

[raviteli]

Can a PIO holder child get Indian Citizenship before the age of 18 ?

As per the following link, it seems like PIO card holders can acquire indian citizenship by registration.

http://www.mha.nic.inhttps://www.imm...cquisition.htm

However, I have a couple of questions with regards to a PIO card holder child.

Question:
1) If PIO card holder is a minor (3 months old baby) and parents are say returning to India for good in a year's time. Roughly, at the age of 8 the child will be able to apply for Indian citizenship (after staying for 7 years in succession). However, will it be necessary for child to renounce his US citizenship in order to acquire Indian citizenship ? If it is so, we are in a loop here. A minor child can not renounce US citizenship until he reaches 18 neither can his parents on his behalf. So, can the child acquire Indian citizenship before he reaches age of 18 in this scenario ?

2) How long it takes to acquire Indian citizenship after applying for it ?

Thanks,
Ravi