The Indian constitution and laws do not allow DUAL CITIZENSHIP.

As per the Indian Passport Act, it is mandatory for all Indian passport holders to surrender their last Indian passport to the relevant Consulate in their jurisdiction immediately after the acquisition of a foreign nationality. After the Renunciation of Indian Citizenship, it is necessary to apply for Surrender or a Renunciation certificate. Once an Indian passport is surrendered, it is cancelled & returned to the Passport holder along with the Renunciation/Surrender Certificate.

A “Renunciation Certificate” must be applied for within 3 years of the acquisition of foreign citizenship by an individual. Upon acquiring foreign nationality, an individual may be allowed a grace period of 3 months (from the date of foreign registration/naturalisation certificate & not from the date of foreign passport) to use his/her Indian Passport for travel.

A stamp saying “cancelled due to acquiring foreign nationality” is required on your passport. It should be noted that Indian passports that carry only a “cancelled stamp” are not considered renounced of their Indian citizenship.

It is an offense under the Citizenship Act and the Passports Act for foreign nationals to hold Indian passports, and defaulters will face penalties.

If you ever held an Indian passport, then you must while applying for OCI or any Indian visa, mandatorily provide proof of your Cancelled Indian Passport, Renunciation Certificate or declaration of renunciation of Indian Citizenship Certificate. Consulates will not be able to render services like OCI, Visa, etc. until the Renunciation/Declaration Certificate acquired on the acquisition of foreign nationality is submitted. However, you do not need to submit any such documents if you are of Indian origin but have never held an Indian passport. It should also be noted that both the applications (Renunciation & OCI) cannot be submitted at the same time. But you can apply for renunciation & an Indian visa together.

Travellers don’t need to carry a Certificate of Renunciation of Indian Citizenship during their travel to India.

Some important points relating to Renunciation of an Indian Passport:

• Consulates cannot accept your renunciation application without a copy of your foreign passport.
• Expired passports too can be presented for surrendering. However, a Renunciation/Surrender Certificate will not be issued for Impounded, Revoked, Suspended, and/or Cancelled (against Re-issue) passports.
• A person who has ceased to be an Indian citizen is required to surrender the documents which he had acquired on the basis of his Indian citizenship such as the Voter ID Card, Aadhar Card, etc. to the authorities concerned.
• Where a person ceases to be a citizen of India on renunciation of citizenship, every minor child of that person shall thereupon cease to be a citizen of India. However, such a child may, within one year after attaining full age, make a declaration in the prescribed form and manner that he/she wishes to resume Indian citizenship.
• The process of issuance of the “Renunciation Certificate” may take 15-60 days from the date of uploading of signed hard copies of the declarant, depending upon the concerned Indian Mission/Post.

Migratesmart helps individuals and families with respect to the following:

• Renunciation of Indian passport
• Application for OCI
• Application for all Indian visas
• Application for Indian citizenship

Contact us to know more.