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Under Indian law, Persons of Indian Origin, who have acquired foreign citizenship, are required to surrender their Indian passports to the nearest Indian Mission/Post immediately after acquisition of foreign citizenship. Person of Indian Origin who have already acquired foreign citizenship till 31.5.2010 are required to surrender their passports whether valid or expired to the respective Indian Mission. They will now have to pay £14(Pound fourteen) only towards Miscellaneous service charge and would not be required to pay any fee under Citizenship Act. However, those Indian citizens who acquire foreign citizenship from 1.6.2010 onwards will have to pay Rs.7,000/- (to be collected in local currency at official rate of exchange fixed by Government of India from time to time) along with a declaration of renunciation of their Indian Citizenship. The information regarding applicable fee could be viewed at www.mha.nic.in/uniquepage.asp?ID_PK=77.
2. The Indian Citizenship Act, 1955, does not allow dual citizenship. Holding Indian passport/acquiring Indian passport/travelling on Indian passport after acquisition of foreign citizenship constitutes an offence under the Indian Passport Act, 1967, and attracts penalties. The Government of India has prescribed imposition of penalty on a graded scale, depending on number of trips made on Indian passport after acquiring foreign nationality, for the violation of Passport Rules and retention of Indian Passport for more than 3 years after acquiring of foreign nationality. The fee structure is as given below:-
S.No. |
Service rendered |
Fee in Rs. |
1. |
Misc. Service fee for surrender of passport/renunciation of citizenship(for applicants who have already acquired foreign citizenship till 31.5.2010 |
£14/- |
2. |
Fee for surrender of passport/ renunciation of Citizenship (for applicants who acquire foreign citizenship with effect from 1.6.2010) |
Rs. 7000 |
3. |
Travel each time on Indian Passport after acquiring foreign citizenship subject to maximum of Rs.50,000/- |
Rs. 10000 |
4. |
Retention of Indian Passport for more than 3 years after acquiring foreign citizenship |
Rs. 10000 |
5. |
Renewal/Reissue(each time) |
Rs. 25000 |
6. |
Misc. Service obtained on Indian Passport after acquisition of foreign citizenship for each occasion |
Rs. 10000 |
The fee/penalty will be collected at official rate of exchange fixed by the Government of India for each month and rounded off to the next number.
3. In view of these provisions, Persons of Indian Origin, intending to apply for OCI/PIO Cards, should surrender their Indian passports and then apply for these services. In case they do not have the Indian passports in their possession for any reason (loss/misplacement/submission to Home Office long time back, etc.), they are required to furnish duly notarised affidavit in this regard. If the Indian passport is still valid but has been misplaced/lost, then Police report should be submitted additionally (to rule out any misuse). The fee of Rs.7000/- will be charged from these applicants at the time of their application for PIO/OCI.
4. Persons of Indian Origin applying for Indian visa for the first time after acquiring foreign nationality are required to first renounce/surrender their Indian passports.
5. All applications for renunciation/surrender of Indian passports are to be made at the High Commission of India, London or respective Indian Consulates at Birmingham and Edinburgh.
6. For applications made at the High Commission of India in London, tokens will be issued to all applicants without limit from 0830 hrs to 1200 hrs at the token counter of the High Commission.
Application Form
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