Surrender Indian passport in India and apply for OCI in India

[SPILR]

Hi members - I wanted to understand whether it is possible that once I have obtained British citizenship, I travel to India, renounce my Indian passport in India, obtain the surrender certificate and then apply for OCI in India (Given I surrender my Indian passport within 90 days of acquiring British citizenship). My questions are:

1) My understanding is that it is possible to renounce Indian passport in India at the regional passport office, however, I wanted to understand the next step after this and prior to applying for OCI (in India; i.e. once I have surrendered my passport in India, will I not need an Indian visa to continue my stay in India, and subsequently be able to apply for OCI?

2) If an Indian visa is required in the above case, what will be the process of obtaining an Indian Visa in India after I have surrendered my Indian passport in India. Which visa category would this be?

3) Or, is it permissible that once I obtain the surrender certificate in India, I could use this to apply for OCI in India, WITHOUt the need of an Indian visa for the interim period?

I have searched the forum for a relevant answer however I wasn;t able to find one. So, any responses will be much appreciated. Thanks.

[venomby]

Hi members - I wanted to understand whether it is possible that once I have obtained British citizenship, I travel to India, renounce my Indian passport in India, obtain the surrender certificate and then apply for OCI in India (Given I surrender my Indian passport within 90 days of acquiring British citizenship). My questions are:

1) My understanding is that it is possible to renounce Indian passport in India at the regional passport office, however, I wanted to understand the next step after this and prior to applying for OCI (in India; i.e. once I have surrendered my passport in India, will I not need an Indian visa to continue my stay in India, and subsequently be able to apply for OCI?

2) If an Indian visa is required in the above case, what will be the process of obtaining an Indian Visa in India after I have surrendered my Indian passport in India. Which visa category would this be?

3) Or, is it permissible that once I obtain the surrender certificate in India, I could use this to apply for OCI in India, WITHOUt the need of an Indian visa for the interim period?

I have searched the forum for a relevant answer however I wasn;t able to find one. So, any responses will be much appreciated. Thanks.

It is illegal by Indian law to travel to India if you hold another nationality. When you try to surrender your passport there you will have to pay a fine of £160 equivalent.
Even after surrender, you will have to apply for an exit permit which is done through foreigners registration centre in the place you reside. Generally in the capital city of the state.

[takdeerwala]

Why dont you surrender it here only? 8-9 days. You get British Passport, travel to India on British passport with Indian visa, take surrender cetificate with you and get OCI work done in India.
It is better to spend some weeks here instead of hassles/delay in India.

[SPILR]

Thanks for taking the time in reading my query, and posting a response.

Surrendering passport in UK and then going to India on Visa seems logical. Can I please ask how long will it usually take to obtain 12 months indian visa? As I think to be able to apply for OCI in India one would need to have their visa valid for 3 months?

Thanks

[takdeerwala]

Before applying for Indian Visa, you will need to complete your Surrender of Indian Citizenship process. Once you get your surrender certificate, you can apply for long term visa of India. 3 to 5 business days they say for Indian Visa. By the way, in less then 1 month you can get OCI card itself in UK. If it is your wish, then you can get OCI process done in India though it takes a bit longer there.

[SPILR]

This is really helpful. Thank you all.

[sandyfab]

What if you surrender in India after a year or so? Do they charge fine as well? if yes, how much?

[SPILR]

Hi all,

I had applied for my British citizenship on May 2018. I then traveled to India using my Indian passport to work for a UK firm on a 1 year project assignment.I traveled back to the UK using my India passport and attended my citizenship ceremony in the UK on 18 January 2019, and obtained my naturalization certificate, and then traveled back to India (using my Indian passport) the following day to resume work in India. I have requested HM Passport office to post my UK passport to my Indian address which they said they will do.

Query - I understand that as I obtained my UK citizenship on 18 Jan 2019, I should surrender my Indian passport my 18 April 2019. I also understand that I can surrender my Indian passport in India, and apply for OCI in India. However, as I am presently on a work assignment in India, I won't be able to stay in India on a visit visa after I surrender my Indian passport in India. Does anyone know whether there is any way that I won't need to travel back to the UK and go through the entire exercise of surrendering Indian passport and applying for OCI from the UK because I need to be physically present at work in India, and I cannot stay in the UK for a number of weeks to obtain OCI. My company won't agree for me to come back to the UK, and apply for Indian work/business visa.

So ideal scenario for me would be if I can remain in India, surrender my Indian passport in India, Apply for OCI in India itself, but still be able to continue work in India after surrendering my Indian passport, All this without me needing to travel to the UK.


Could someone please advise?

Thanks.

[rmanudhane]

Did you manage to find a solution for this?

[rmanudhane]

Hi all,

I had applied for my British citizenship on May 2018. I then traveled to India using my Indian passport to work for a UK firm on a 1 year project assignment.I traveled back to the UK using my India passport and attended my citizenship ceremony in the UK on 18 January 2019, and obtained my naturalization certificate, and then traveled back to India (using my Indian passport) the following day to resume work in India. I have requested HM Passport office to post my UK passport to my Indian address which they said they will do.

Query - I understand that as I obtained my UK citizenship on 18 Jan 2019, I should surrender my Indian passport my 18 April 2019. I also understand that I can surrender my Indian passport in India, and apply for OCI in India. However, as I am presently on a work assignment in India, I won't be able to stay in India on a visit visa after I surrender my Indian passport in India. Does anyone know whether there is any way that I won't need to travel back to the UK and go through the entire exercise of surrendering Indian passport and applying for OCI from the UK because I need to be physically present at work in India, and I cannot stay in the UK for a number of weeks to obtain OCI. My company won't agree for me to come back to the UK, and apply for Indian work/business visa.

So ideal scenario for me would be if I can remain in India, surrender my Indian passport in India, Apply for OCI in India itself, but still be able to continue work in India after surrendering my Indian passport, All this without me needing to travel to the UK.


Could someone please advise?

Thanks.

Did you manage to find a solution for this?

[arjun8602]

Hi , did you find solutions, can you surrender Indian passport in india and get OCI WITHOUT applying visa ?
Please let me know .Thanks.