hk1234 wrote:Hello,
We got out ILR in October and we applied for our daughter to be registered as British using MN1 form on 28 Oct 2013.
While apply for her MN1 form she didn't have an Indian passport.
Since processing of MN1 form is taking so long,
1. so I was wondering if we can apply for her Indian passport so that she can go to India.
2. If it is possible then what happens if her MN1 form got processed and we got the certificate while she is still in India. Can we then apply for her British Passport in India?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
How old is the child? A quote from the India Citizenship Act:
India Citizenship Act wrote:
A child born outside India on or after 03.12.2004 shall be a citizen of India by descent, if either of the parents (father or mother) is an Indian citizen at the time of birth of the child and the birth of the child has been registered with the concerned Indian Mission abroad within one year of the birth and the parents of the child have to submit a declaration that the child does not hold passport of another country. Approval of the Central Government is necessary in all such cases where the request for such registration is made after the expiry of the said period.
1. India has rules in place such that children can only apply for a passport (and thus effectively claim Indian citizenship via parental heritage) if they have never acquired any other citizenship, and no attempt has been made (by the parents) to acquire or simply assume any other citizenship. Technically, the child ceased to qualify the moment you sent the MN1 application.
2. MN1 application is independent of any other nation's rules on their respective citizenship
edit, just checked something: and the child is generally required to be in the country whilst the application is in process. However things get a bit sticky here. In order to have gotten the child a passport in the first place, you will have had to sign a document swearing and affirming that you have not attempted to get the child any other citizenship. Once that MN1 registration goes through, the child technically has lost Indian citizenship (which was obtained fraudulently anyway), and has no legal right to be in India without a visa. You could apply for the passport and get it, but if it is found out on the way out of the country... I think you would have a boatload of trouble and fines to deal with.
There is a loophole here though. The specific wording in Indian law almost always refers to a passport, NOT citizenship. Technically, by that wording of the law, you might be ok.
This technicality arises due to a bit of confusion about the fact that a person can be a citizen of a country and never hold a passport of that country, and likewise have a passport of a country and, atleast in the case of the UK, not necessarily be a citizen.