INFO-Dual Citizenship for children under 18

[vrp]

Just to add to this I called the Bangalore FRRO today wishing to know the procedure to apply for OCI for my two sons. I got similar advice. My situation is:

Son 1 was born in the UK in 2010 and travelled to India in 2011 on an Indian passport issued by the Consulate General in Edinburgh. We applied for a British passport from the High Commission in Delhi for him in January and received it today.

Son 2 was born in Bangalore in December 2012 and we applied for a British passport for him in January (both applications were sent off together), which we are still awaiting.

The FRRO official told me that for Son 2 the procedure is to apply for a visa and then OCI, which is what I expected from reading around various fora.

For Son 1 he said one option was to surrender the Indian passport, apply for a visa to remain in India and then for OCI. However, he instead recommended keeping both the Indian passport and the British passport until my son was 18. He couldn't apply for OCI unless he surrendered his Indian passport though.

This was totally unexpected as I was aware that my son was considered a dual citizen until 18 (at which point he would have to renounce his British citizenship to retain his Indian citizenship) but wasn't aware that the Indian government allowed holding travel documents from another country whilst retaining an Indian passport. The snag is that his Indian passport will expire in 2015 and I'm not clear that we could renew it as the form asks for a declaration that a travel document of another country has not been obtained.

So, to avoid any future unforeseen issues I'm probably going to go with the first option (surrender Indian passport) but I'll be travelling to the FRRO soon to clarify.

[ukcitizen13]

Hello vrp,
Thanks for the update.
I am also in same boat. My son got both Indian and British passport.
We are expecting India travel soon so I have to return his Indian passport but I would be very happy if I can keep both as we may go back to India and then being on British passport will have other issues especially for studies.

Could you please share the information on this as soon as you get the clarity about this ?

[vrp]

OK. Went to the Bangalore FRRO in person today. The Duty Officer there confirmed that my son can retain both his British and Indian passports until he is 18. I told him that the Indian passport will expire in 2015 and he won't be 18 until 2028. He said it would be up to the passport office whether they would renew it when it expires. I told him that the passport renewal form specifically requires signing a declaration that he has not voluntarily acquired the citizenship (no, since he was a British citizen by birth) or travel document of another country (yes). He told me that we would have to declare his British passport to the regional passport office when renewing and it would be up to them whether they would renew his Indian passport. I told him that we don't want the uncertainty of perhaps not having his passport renewed in two years and him having to leave the country at very short notice as he would no longer have leave to remain in India, so I enquired about how to surrender his Indian passport. He told me to contact the passport office and once I've got a surrender certificate from them to return for a dependent X visa and then after I've got that for an OCI.

I went to the regional passport office to ask whether we could renew his passport in two years or alternatively the procedure to surrender it in Bangalore but having reached there at 11am it was clear after I'd sat there for 30-40 minutes that the pace of the line meant that I would not get to the desk before 4 or 5 pm. I'll see if I can return early another day. If I do I'll post more info. However, I'm now clear that my son can keep his passport for at least the entire term of its current validity so I'm thinking of returning to the UK next year, surrendering it to the consulate there (I think they do it in about 2 days) and applying for an OCI (hopefully no more than 6-8 weeks) before returning to India with him.

[visaforv10]

Son 1 was born in the UK in 2010 and travelled to India in 2011 on an Indian passport issued by the Consulate General in Edinburgh. We applied for a British passport from the High Commission in Delhi for him in January and received it today.

vrp,

If you don't mind asking me
What was your visa status at the time when your son 1 was born? Was your ILR done before that?

[vrp]

British citizen with OCI. My wife has ILR.

[vinny]

Just to add to this I called the Bangalore FRRO today wishing to know the procedure to apply for OCI for my two sons. I got similar advice. My situation is:

Son 1 was born in the UK in 2010 and travelled to India in 2011 on an Indian passport issued by the Consulate General in Edinburgh. We applied for a British passport from the High Commission in Delhi for him in January and received it today.

Son 2 was born in Bangalore in December 2012 and we applied for a British passport for him in January (both applications were sent off together), which we are still awaiting.

The FRRO official told me that for Son 2 the procedure is to apply for a visa and then OCI, which is what I expected from reading around various fora.

For Son 1 he said one option was to surrender the Indian passport, apply for a visa to remain in India and then for OCI. However, he instead recommended keeping both the Indian passport and the British passport until my son was 18. He couldn't apply for OCI unless he surrendered his Indian passport though.

Why can Son 1 keep renewing his Indian passport until he is 18 while Son 2 cannot apply for an Indian passport? Seems inconsistent.

[vrp]

As I said in my later post I'm still trying to find out if son 1 can actually renew his Indian passport when it expires and if he can keep doing so each time it expires until he is 18 as the FRRO officer wasn't sure and referred us to the passport office for advice about this. I'm writing to the regional passport officer to see if he concurs with the FRRO and to get something in writing about what happens at passport renewal.

Son 2 was also eligible for either an Indian or British passport as he is also a dual citizen at birth according to the nationality laws of both countries (British by descent and Indian by birth). We chose to apply for a British passport for him instead of an Indian passport and I only asked the FRRO about his position in that regard. I don't know if there are obstacles preventing him from also applying for an Indian passport. I suspect there are but we are not interested in going down that route.

[ashpan23]

May be this will help

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... -31l4MkA1A

[anandh79]

Still I haven't got correct information.But we can keep Indian passport as well but I am not sure whether we can travel with Indian passport or not.
My daughter is still in India .I can confirm after she come back to UK.

Read this, it explains clearly.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

[lovekirankumar]

Still I haven't got correct information.But we can keep Indian passport as well but I am not sure whether we can travel with Indian passport or not.
My daughter is still in India .I can confirm after she come back to UK.

Even i called FRRO office, Hyderabad, they confirmed in the phone that minor can hold two passports until age of 18.

[ukcitizen13]

Hello Everyone,

pardon my knowledge on this whole topic but after going through this post I am confused on my case proceeding.

My son born in UK and we got Indian passport for him and travelled to India. we both were on Tier 1 Visa that moment.
Then we both (me and my wife) moved to ILR and got British passport for my son via naturalization process.

Now we both are also moving to British citizenship and planning to return our Indian passport but is there any way if we can keep both passports for my Son.

Please advise.

[ukba2536]

Still I haven't got correct information.But we can keep Indian passport as well but I am not sure whether we can travel with Indian passport or not.
My daughter is still in India .I can confirm after she come back to UK.

Hi nsrisri

My daughter is in hyd, India now and registered as a British citizen in Aug'13. Now we are thinking to apply for British passport to bring child back to uk.

I read somewhere in the forums that we should surrender indian passport and get surrender certificate and send it to British embassy with the passport application form. Is that true. What documents have you submitted with British passport application form.

How long did it took for the whole process?
Where is your baby now? Have you surrendered the indian passport?
Please update any news

Best Regards

[Gols]

As I said in my later post I'm still trying to find out if son 1 can actually renew his Indian passport when it expires and if he can keep doing so each time it expires until he is 18 as the FRRO officer wasn't sure and referred us to the passport office for advice about this. I'm writing to the regional passport officer to see if he concurs with the FRRO and to get something in writing about what happens at passport renewal.

Son 2 was also eligible for either an Indian or British passport as he is also a dual citizen at birth according to the nationality laws of both countries (British by descent and Indian by birth). We chose to apply for a British passport for him instead of an Indian passport and I only asked the FRRO about his position in that regard. I don't know if there are obstacles preventing him from also applying for an Indian passport. I suspect there are but we are not interested in going down that route.

[Gols]

As I said in my later post I'm still trying to find out if son 1 can actually renew his Indian passport when it expires and if he can keep doing so each time it expires until he is 18 as the FRRO officer wasn't sure and referred us to the passport office for advice about this. I'm writing to the regional passport officer to see if he concurs with the FRRO and to get something in writing about what happens at passport renewal.

Son 2 was also eligible for either an Indian or British passport as he is also a dual citizen at birth according to the nationality laws of both countries (British by descent and Indian by birth). We chose to apply for a British passport for him instead of an Indian passport and I only asked the FRRO about his position in that regard. I don't know if there are obstacles preventing him from also applying for an Indian passport. I suspect there are but we are not interested in going down that route.

Hi Vrp, Kindly could you pls update abt your son 1's PP ?
Have you got any written confirmation from FRRO? My situation is exactly the same. my son was also born in 2010 and having both the(Indian &UK ) PP. I want to keep my son's both PP till 18. What do they do when it comes to renewal?

i HAVE ONE MORE QUERY is my son allowed to enter india on his Indian PP?or does he need any OCI or indian Visa on his Indian PP?


I need to travel India urgently. any help would be appreciated.

many thanks

[Gols]

As I said in my later post I'm still trying to find out if son 1 can actually renew his Indian passport when it expires and if he can keep doing so each time it expires until he is 18 as the FRRO officer wasn't sure and referred us to the passport office for advice about this. I'm writing to the regional passport officer to see if he concurs with the FRRO and to get something in writing about what happens at passport renewal.

Son 2 was also eligible for either an Indian or British passport as he is also a dual citizen at birth according to the nationality laws of both countries (British by descent and Indian by birth). We chose to apply for a British passport for him instead of an Indian passport and I only asked the FRRO about his position in that regard. I don't know if there are obstacles preventing him from also applying for an Indian passport. I suspect there are but we are not interested in going down that route.

I kindly could you please please please update the status about your son1 passport renewal status.


Thanks

[gauravbj]

Still I haven't got correct information.But we can keep Indian passport as well but I am not sure whether we can travel with Indian passport or not.
My daughter is still in India .I can confirm after she come back to UK.

Hello Nsrisri,

Please can you update if your daughter has been able to travel to / from India / UK with just the 2 passports and not needing anything else OCI, exit permit, visa.

Thanks,
Gaurav

[Gols]

Still I haven't got correct information.But we can keep Indian passport as well but I am not sure whether we can travel with Indian passport or not.
My daughter is still in India .I can confirm after she come back to UK.

Hi, My 3yr old came to London from Delhi without surrendering his Indian PP and enters in London on his UK PP in June 2013.

I hope it helps.


What is your current situation?

[CSK12]

Hi VRP could you please update what happend to your son 1 indian passport , as I am having same problem for my daughter

[CSK12]

Hello Nsrisri,

could you please update whether your child holds 2 passports now ?