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time gap between naturalisation approval & ceremony/pass

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:53 am
by v3
Hi,

me and my daughter just received approval of naturalization application. the next steps for me is

1. taking ceremony
2. apply for british passport

question I have is

a. is there a minumum time frame to do ceremony ?
b. after getting ceremony whats the latest time i need to apply for british citizenship.

I am asking because I am travelling to India in december first week and i think its highly optimistic to get british passport and then OCI on time. So i am wondering if i can travel to india on indian passport n apply for citizenship in new year

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:59 am
by neoseal
A. I think there is max 3 months allowed for ceremony, however may differ.

B. You mean to ask "to apply for british passport", There is no requirement to apply for British passport if you dont want to. However after getting citizenship you are just allowed 3 months grace period to travel on Indian passport.

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 11:25 am
by v3
Hi,

thanks for quick reply

so I will time my application this way then

1. apply for ceremony just before leaving to india and then come back and apply for british passport


how do i get grace period ? do i need to apply for it

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 11:30 am
by neoseal
Automatically, from the date on your certificate. When you surrender your Indian passport for OSCI, they will check if you have travelled after 3 months from the date of your certificate.

Someone else who has done this will be able to confirm.

Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 12:42 pm
by v3
awesome thanks ...

one last question...can i still do this

> get british passport and before applying for OCI and then travel to india on indian passport > come back from india and apply for oci and surrender indian passport