Consulate General of India, Birmingham

 

Renunciation of Indian citizenship and Surrender of Indian passport

 

Indian nationals considering acquisition of foreign citizenship are reminded that the Indian Citizenship Act does not provide for dual citizenship. Thus Indian nationals who have acquired foreign citizenship are required to apply for ‘Renunciation of Indian Citizenship/ Surrender Certificate’ by surrendering their Indian Passport. Under Section 12(1A) of the Passports Act, possession of Indian passport by foreign nationals is a cognizable offence. This equally applies to Indian nationals who have acquired foreign nationality.

 

Consequently, in any instance where an Indian national seeks to renounce Indian citizenship, the case will now be processed under the following categories:

 

(A) Adults who acquired foreign citizenship on or after 1st June 2010 

 

(B) Minors who acquired foreign citizenship on or after 1st June 2010

 

(C) Adults and minor applicants (at the time) who acquired foreign citizenship before 1st June, 2010.

 

How to apply

 

2. Details of the procedure in each case are given below:

 

(A) Adults who have acquired foreign nationality on or after 01/06/2010:

 

Indian nationals who have acquired foreign nationality on or after 01/06/2010 are required to apply for the following services:

 

(i) Surrender Certificate: Please apply for Surrender Certificate at URL: ‘https//portal3.passportindia.gov.in/Online/index.html’

 

Fee:

 

A fee of £69 for Surrender of Indian Passport is to be deposited at VFS service centre. Appointments for VFS services are available online.

 

(ii) Renunciation of Indian Citizenship: Please also simultaneously apply for renunciation of Indian citizenship by making a declaration of intention to renounce Indian citizenship, in Form XXII, as specified in Rule 23 of The Citizenship Rules, 2009.

 

This form has to be completed on the online portal of Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India at ‘https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in’. 

 

Note: Once the application form is submitted online by the applicant, no further modifications are allowed. Therefore, applicants are requested to carefully verify the details before submitting the online application. Instructions and details regarding the application are available on the weblink: https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/Renounce

 

Fee: 

 

Fee for this service is INR 8000 (£79) which covers the following:

 

 

This fee of INR 8000 can be paid online by the applicant. This will be charged in Indian rupees. In case applicant is not able to pay online, payment can be made at a VFS service centre in foreign currency (£79).

 

Both (i) and (ii) above are mandatory and must be sought by any person renouncing Indian citizenship. Therefore both processes’ fees must be paid.

 

A person renouncing Indian citizenship and surrendering Indian Passport is thus required to provide personal details online in the respective forms, upload relevant documents, take a print-out, and visit the VFS centers along with the following documents: 

 

• Print-out of the MHA Renunciation application (Form XXII) submitted online.

 

(URL: https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in) 

 

• Print-out of application submitted online for Surrender Certificate 

 

(URL: https//portal3.passportindia.gov.in/Online/index.html)

 

• Copy of foreign passport

• Copy of Naturalization Certificate

• Indian Passport in original

• Copy of Indian Passport (front, last and all non-blank pages)

• One photograph

• Total fees for Surrender Certificate Fee (£18) + Renunciation Certificate Fee (£79) = £97

• After submitting the requisite fees at a VFS service centre, applicant should sign the application/declaration in presence of Consular officer at HCI, London.

 

(B) Minors who have acquired foreign nationality on or after 01/06/2010:

 

Minor applicants are not required to fill an online declaration for Renunciation of Indian citizenship through the MHA portal. They are only required to complete the online application for Passport Surrender Certificate at URL: https//portal3.passportindia.gov.in/Online/index.html and submit a print-out of this application at a VFS service centre along with the following documents: 

 

• Copy of foreign passport

• Copy of Naturalization Certificate

• Indian Passport in original

• Copy of Indian Passport (front, last and all non-blank pages)

• One photograph

• Prescribed Fee: £18

 

(C) Applicants who acquired foreign nationality before 01.06.2010:

 

All those who acquired foreign nationality (whether adult or minor at the time) before 01.06.2010 may apply for Surrender Certificate at the URL: https//portal3.passportindia.gov.in/Online/index.html and submit their applications at VFS centers along with the following documents: 

 

• Copy of foreign passport

• Copy of Naturalization Certificate

• Copy of Indian Passport (front, last and all non-blank pages)

• Indian Passport in original

• One photograph

• Prescribed Fee: £ 18

 

Kindly note that the fees prescribed for any cases under categories (A), (B) or (C) above does not include ICWF as well as the outsourcing service provider’s service charges. These will be levied on site by our service provider.
 

 

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High Commission of India, London
Renunciation of Indian citizenship- FAQs

 

Question: Is the Surrender Certificate different from a Renunciation Certificate?

 

Answer: Renunciation of Indian citizenship and Surrender of Indian Passport are two different processes. A Renunciation Certificate and a Surrender Certificate will be issued separately to the applicant. Both processes are mandatory for those Indian nationals who acquire foreign citizenship.

 

As Indian Constitution does not permit dual citizenship, Indian nationals who acquire foreign citizenship are required to renounce their Indian citizenship by submitting a declaration, to be filled online through MHA portal: https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in. The printout of the declaration is to be submitted by the applicant at the Outsourced Service Provider (VFS Service Centre). Separately, they are also required to surrender the Indian passport because possession of Indian passport by a foreign citizen is a cognizable offence according to the Passport Act, 1967. Online application for Surrender Certificate can be filled through portal: https://portal3.passportindia.gov.in and printout of the application is to be submitted at Outsourced Service Provider (VFS service centre) along with requisite documents. 

 

Question: Is it mandatory to have the Renunciation Certificate to apply for OCI?

 

Answer: Yes. Applicant can submit the application for OCI with the service provider along with the proof (payment receipt) showing that he/ she has submitted the application/ declaration for Renunciation Certificate.

 

Question: Can application/ declaration for Renunciation Certificate be submitted and paid via the Outsourced Service Provider (VFS Service Centre)?

 

Answer: Yes. If the applicant is not able to pay the fee online, he/ she can pay at the Outsourced Service Provider. In both the cases, the application/ declaration is required to be submitted through Outsourced Service Provider (VFS service centre).

 

 

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