Applying for a PIO card (Person Of Indian Origin) at the Indian Embassy in Warsaw

So what is a PIO card you may ask ?

Well, PIO card means that you are a Person Of Indian Origin. A PIO (Person of Indian Origin) Card allows visa free travel and gives several benefits to the card holder.

A little bit more about this, taken from a leading website.

A "Person of Indian Origin" means a foreign citizen not being a citizen of Bangladesh, Pakistan or other countries as may be specified by the Central Government from time to time if;

1. he/she at any time held a Indian passport; or

2. he/she or either of his/her parents or grandparents or great grandparents was born in and was a permanent resident in India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935 and other territories that became part of India thereafter provided neither was at any time citizens of any of the aforesaid countries (as referred above) ; or

3. he/she is a spouse of a citizen of India or a person of Indian origin covered under (i) or (ii) above.

So I live in Poznan, and my wife is a Polish citizen, therefore I decided to apply for a PIO card for her, and that is when I began to fully understand the complexities and hurdles thrown in my way while dealing with the officials at the Indian Embassy in Warsaw ( God Bless them All )

This post is intended to warn all of you out there who are contemplating taking this path.

Be warned that the Official information regarding the list of documentary evidence listed currently on the Embassy website is not up to scratch, as when one finally turns up for submission of documents, the officials at the Embassy ( God Bless them ) pull out a completely different list of documentary evidence, and demand for evidence such as ; joint photograph of you and your wife / husband ( surprise) and whatever.

My initial reaction to this was of dismay and confrontation with the Embassy officials, and when i queried as to why the documentation list is different from the one that they require, I was given a typical Indian bureaucracy answer that the information contained on the official web-site is ascertained by someone sitting in India ! WOW !

The time frame for delivery of the PIO card was supposed to be 2-3 weeks from the date of submission, ----- and guess how many days it actually took for it to be delivered ?

2 months and at least 15 phone calls, with reminders and many polite requests thrown in. Disgusting to note that despite the heavy documentation fees the speed of processing and delivery does not match up .

Lastly a note on final delivery of documentation: There is no indication on the web site or a reference by the officials in the Indian Embassy that they will not dispatch the documents to you, as they ASSUME (MAKE an ass of you and me ) that every one applying for Embassy/ Consular services lives within spitting distance from the Embassy and is free most of the days in the week to personally come and collect documents ( I was amused with a heart burn when a Polish chap who works for the Embassy said with some irony in his voice that the Embassy prefers to deal with people physically, rather than emails or phone calls, AND WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE LIVING IN THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY !!! )

To sum it up, if you ever have the misfortune to deal with the hole in the wall so called Embassy of India where one can't even be offered a cup of Masala Chai or smell the perfume of incense, or even be shown the toilets when you are bursting to go, then please be prepared for a Karmic penitence, as the only thing that will save you is Ram Ram Ram Hari Ram Siya Ram ( this mantra needs to be chanted a thousand fold times to avoid a severe heart burn, agonizing wait, a swollen urinary bladder and completely unbridled temper )

I HOPE SOMEBODY FROM THE EMBASSY READS THIS INFORMATION :

THIS IS WRITTEN FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC IN POLAND IT IS WRITTEN FOR THE GENERAL GOOD, I CORDIALLY INVITE THEM( THE EMBASSY STAFF) FOR A HEARTY INDIAN MEAL, AND RECOUNT MY EXPERIENCES IN GRAPHIC DETAIL. MY HOME IS POZNAN :-) WELCOME AND ENJOY TRUE INDIAN HOSPITALITY !

UNLIKE THE INDIAN EMBASSY WHERE EMAILS SENT ARE NOT EVEN ACKNOWLEDGED BY A BOT PROGRAM, I REPLY TO ALL EMAILS AND IF YOU HAVE ANY ADVENTURES WITH THE INDIAN EMBASSY PLEASE CARRY THIS THREAD FORWARD FOR THE NOTICE OF THE CURRENT AMBASSADOR, WHO KNOWS YOU MAY BE INVITED TO A CUP OF MASALA CHAI AND SOME CURRY, RICE AND A SONG !

JAI HIND AND BHARAT MATA KI JAIJAI HIND AND BHARAT MATA KI JAI

You are very lucky bud! The NY consulate takes minimum of 6 months,no matter what they say on website.Oh! all phone calls are automated as well.And a NYC police car is always parked in the vicinity if called by the embassy to arrest people who try to argue with them..

I would rather deal with a bot or robot, than not having the option of dealing with any one at all :-)
The phone line for the Consular services at the Indian Embassy in Warsaw is for ever UNANSWERED !
I wonder why do they have a phone line at all !!

I however feel sorry for people dealing with the NY consulate :-(

Satyanam
Satyanam:
2 months and at least 15 phone calls, with reminders and many polite requests thrown in. Disgusting to note that despite the heavy documentation fees the speed of processing and delivery does not match up

I believe you are Indian and you should know better about the process, India is one of the countries who got terrorist threats in the world. Every application will be sent to India and the decision will be taken based on many factors. If you are in hurry to travel apply for visit Visa instead of PIO.

Show your love on your country from the heart not in
"JAI HIND AND BHARAT MATA KI JAI JAI HIND AND BHARAT MATA KI JAI"

I hope this will help you.

You really missed the point that I was trying to make. Sorry please read post again.

Oh boy! I wish i read this before i started my loooooong and ardous journey to get a PIO.

Im an Indian origin born in a south east asian country... yes there are many Indians there.

I travel to India a lot for holidays/temple visits/shopping etc.
After years of spening so much on visa applicaiton, i decided to embark on the PIO application.

Apparently, i need ot prove Im of Indian decent...so i took that journey to Kerala 2 months ago to get my NAtivity CErtificate.
Its been 2 months, still no news on my certificate.
I have finally given up, and hired a lawyer to help chase my applciation.
Now the District Office says, i need to go to an Embassy and attest a authorisation letter for my lawyer to act on my behalf.

I live in Wroclaw, Embassy is 500km away.
Unbelivable.

The beuracraxy is unimaginable.
And to think my friend's husband who is a German is a PIO.
But me an Indian origin have to go through all this hassle to prove I had a grandfather from India :)

Now i fear to think whats the PIO applciation gonna be like. Thanks Satyanam for the warning :P

No worries pal, forewarned is forewarmed :-)

Hi Satyanam
I live in the UK but was born in Africa and am thinking of applying for one of these and am full of trepidation. Your posting has crystallised all the worries I have. Many people I speak to confirm the rudeness of staff at the Indian Embassey. Wish me luck!!!

Really Good Information.

Hi Satyanam,

Can you list what are the "extra documents" that were required from you by the Embassy (except a picture together with your wife :).

Were you applying with a polish marriage certificate or indian? I have both, but have no clue if these guys will validate an indian marriage certificate... at least for the polish one I can get the apostile in the Ministry in Warsaw...

Your response will be much appreciated, as I am trying to call these guys for couple of days now, and no response :) I don`t live in Warsaw, so it sucks in general to travel 500km just to know that your documents are not enough :)

Thanks,
Marysia Ashwin

Hi Marysia, so very sorry it has been a long long time I have come back to the forums. The "extra documents " needed by the indian embassy staff can be anything that they wish to pull out of their hat, the morning that you arrive at the Embassy.

It all depends upon your attitude: say if you arrive at the hole in the wall Indian embassy thinking that the staff should be polite, responsive, empathetic, etc etc you got it all wrong. Truly what You need, is an attitude where you can show that you can grovel, bend forwards and backwards many times to a clerk or petty official of the Indian Government, ( who got this position in an Embassy after brown nosing and licking many shoe soles, and many more sifarish and grovels ) call him or her sahib, huzoor, sarkar, etc etc then you have a slight chance of getting your PIO in one attempt. You see, the Indian officials are well and truly indoctrinated in a system of corruption, inefficiency, neglect, and the motto Sarkari Naukri. ( means one cant get thrown out, unless you have committed a criminal offence ) left by the Brits. The bureaucractic system is like a cancer, can't be treated, can't be rooted out, one just has to learn to live with it. Good luck