Renunciation of Indian Passport

What if you have got the citizenship of the USA or any other foreign country?

The Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) cannot retain Indian passport in such condition. They have to surrender it for complying with the Indian Citizenship Act, 1955. The ignorance of this Act is treated as an infringement, as India constitution does not allow ‘Dual Citizenship’.

In the nutshell, the person with an Indian passport can obtain the passport of another country provided that he has surrendered the former passport immediately after getting the nationality of another country.

Therefore, the non-resident of India should be in the know about this provision that necessitates applying for the ‘Surrender’ or ‘Renunciation Certificate’.

Does the passport carrying “cancelled stamp” define renunciation?

It’s noteworthy that your passport may carry only a “cancelled stamp”. It does not define that your citizenship has been surrendered automatically. The stamp must read-“cancelled due to acquiring foreign nationality”. This cancellation text on the stamp determines the surrender.

Any consular service for visa or OCI requires a proof of cancelled Indian passport. In the case of non-availability of that proof, the applicant will have to apply for the renunciation certificate. For it, he ought to follow the defined procedure for the same.

Is it necessary to travel with the ‘Certificate of Renunciation of Indian Citizenship’ in India?

No, the travellers need not come along with this certificate in India. In addition, they should bear the fact in their mind that it is illegal to use the Indian passport after surrendering the Indian citizenship. Such individuals will be considered as defaulters who have to pay penalties against this violation.

What is the renunciation fee for Indian passport?

The fee for renunciation may vary according to the area of jurisdiction and service centers. Therefore, you should inquire about it first.

The fee will depend on the type of services that you select and you as being minor, or major. For example, the renunciation fee for the Indian community welfare fund is $3, whereas the same for CKGS is $17 apart from courier charges.

How long does it take for renunciation of Indian passport?

The procedure to apply for renunciation may be different in various countries. But more or less, the process would be similar segmented under these categories:

1. Standalone renunciation, wherein you can apply for surrendering the passport only.
2. Visa + Renunciation, wherein you opt for visa and passport surrendering together.
3. OCI + Renunciation, wherein you select OCI together with passport renunciation.

Indian passport surrender checklist:

• Indian passport surrender form
• Original current passport
• Notarized affidavit, if the passport is lost
• Last Indian passport
• Address proof
• Current photographs
• Citizenship certificate etc.

The aforementioned checklist will be supporting at the time when you apply online for surrendering the passport and applying for OCI or another NRI services. This procedure will mandate filling the form duly and uploading the supporting documents.

However, the applicant can directly visit the immigration office or embassy to carry out this application process. Make sure that you have all necessary documents along with. It will help to get through this processing seamlessly. Otherwise, you may have to spend months for getting through this renunciation process.