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 considering
acquisition of foreign citizenship are required to apply for ‘Renunciation
of Indian Citizenship and Surrender Certificate’ by surrendering their Indian
Passports. 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.
I.
General Instructions:
1. Indian citizens desiring to renounce
their citizenship of India may please note that if any person (either
FATHER OR MOTHER) ceases to be a citizen of India under sub - section (1) of
Section 8 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, every minor child of that person shall
cease to be a citizen of India under sub - Section(2) of Section 8 of the
Citizenship Act, 1955. However, such 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.
2. Application for Renunciation has to be
applied online in the Ministry of Home Affairs (Foreigners Division) website: https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in
3. User Guide for the Renunciation of
Indian Citizenship may be perused at
https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/Renounce/Documents/PublicUserGuide/RenunciationPublicUserGuide.pdf
4. FAQs
on Renunciation of Indian Citizenship are available at
https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/Renounce/Documents/Notice/ic_faq_16092021.pdf
5. The applicant has to click
on “Declaration of Renunciation of Citizenship under Section 8 of the
Act Made by a Citizen of India who is also a Citizen or National of another
country”
6. The renouncer would fill all
his/her details and upload relevant documents in above mentioned website, take
a print-out and visit the Consulate General of India's external
application service centre, managed by M/s BLS International Services
Limited) located at: Room 2302,
Olympia Plaza, 255 King’s Road, North Point, Hong Kong
for
submission of application along with supporting documents. The submission of
application in person is only possible by prior appointment at BLS (available
at https://blsinternational.co/hongkong/bls_appmnt/instructions).
Later,
the Consular Officer would call applicant for interview and the applicant is
requested to sign the declaration before him/her at the Consulate.
7. Applicants have a choice to pay
applicable Fees (INR 8,000/-) at MHA website or pay (HKD 746) at BLS (Excluding
BLS Service Charges).
If payment done at MHA
website:
Payment proof
corresponding to the MHA application reference number MUST be provided along
with the application form. If application is found erroneous after review
by BLS/ Consulate, then no change is possible on that application and a new
application form with correct details and new payment proof corresponding to
the new application reference number is required. Hence, applicants are
advised to fill up application carefully (the information provided in the
application for renunciation needs to be exactly the same as it appears in
applicant’s Indian passport) as there cannot be any refund possible
from BLS or Consulate for any payment(s) done on MHA website.
If Applicant is unable to pay online at MHA website and chooses to pay
offline then an amount equivalent of 746
HKD (Excluding
BLS Service Charges) is to be paid at the BLS.
8. Once the application form is submitted
online by the applicant, then no further modifications are allowed. Hence
applicants are requested to carefully verify the details before submitting the
online Application form.
9. Instructions and
details regarding the application can be seen in the website link https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/Renounce
10. Processing Time: Issuance
of Renunciation Certificate (MHA portal application) will take 60 to 90 days from the date of receipt
of application at the Consulate, followed by issuance of Surrender Certificate
within next 4 to 6 working days, after issuance of Renunciation Certificate.
II.
Categories:
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.
III.
How to apply
2. Details
of the procedure for renunciation of Indian Citizenship and Surrender of Indian
passport in each case are given below:
(A) Adults
who have acquired foreign nationality on or after 01/06/2010 or Who are in the process of acquiring HKSAR/MACAUSAR Passport.
Indian
nationals who have acquired foreign nationality on or after 01/06/2010 or who are in the process of acquiring HKSAR/MACAUSAR Passport are
required to apply for the following services:
(i) Surrender Certificate: Please
apply for Surrender Certificate at URL: ‘https://embassy.passportindia.gov.in’
Fee:
A fee of HKD 211 (Fee 195 + ICWF 16) for Surrender of Indian Passport is to be deposited at BLS Service
Centre.
(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
A fee receipt
of INR 8000 of
the MHA website OR an amount equivalent to HKD 746 at the time of
submission at BLS (Excluding BLS Service Charges) for Renunciation
of Indian Citizenship.
Both the
fees of (i) and (ii) i.e. for renunciation of Indian Citizenship and Surrender
of Indian passport are mandatory and must be sought by any person renouncing
Indian citizenship. Therefore, fees for both processes 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 BLS centre along with the following
documents:
·
Personal presence of the applicant is required
·
Copy of Self-attested HKID/Macau ID with original
·
Print-out of the MHA Renunciation application
(Form XXII) submitted online. (URL: https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in) in
duplicate
·
Print-out of application submitted online for
Surrender Certificate (URL ‘https://embassy.passportindia.gov.in)
·
Copy of Foreign Passport, Original approval letter from
Hong Kong/ Macau Immigration and its copy, Copy of
Naturalization Certificate
·
Indian Passport in original
·
Copy of Indian Passport (front, last and all
non-blank pages)
·
Two recent Passport size photographs of the
applicant
·
Total fees for Surrender Certificate HKD 211 + Renunciation Certificate INR 8000 (MHA) or HKD 746 (Excluding BLS Service Charges).
After
submitting the application and the requisite fees at the BLS service centre,
applicant would be informed to visit the Consulate to sign the
application/declaration in presence of Consular officer at CGI, Hong Kong.
(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://embassy.passportindia.gov.in and submit a print-out of this application at
a BLS service centre along with the following documents:
·
Personal presence of the applicant with the parents
is required
·
Attested Copy of HKID/Macau ID of the parents and
applicant (in any) with original
·
Print-out of application submitted online for
Surrender Certificate (URL ‘https://embassy.passportindia.gov.in)
·
Copy of Foreign Passport, Original approval letter from
Hong Kong/ Macau Immigration and its copy, Copy of
Naturalization Certificate
·
Indian Passport in original
·
Copy of Indian Passport (front, last and all
non-blank pages)
·
Two recent Passport size photographs of the
applicant
·
Prescribed Fee: HKD
211 (Excluding BLS Service Charges).
(C)
Applicants who acquired foreign nationality on or before 01.06.2010:
All those
who acquired foreign nationality (whether adult or minor at the time of
acquiring the foreign nationality) before 01.06.2010 may apply for Surrender
Certificate at the URL: ‘https://embassy.passportindia.gov.in and submit their applications at BLS center
along with the following documents:
·
Personal presence of the applicant is required
·
Copy of Self-attested HKID/Macau ID with original
·
Print-out of application submitted online for
Surrender Certificate (URL ‘https://embassy.passportindia.gov.in)
·
Copy of Foreign Passport, Copy of
Naturalization Certificate
·
Indian Passport in original
·
Copy of Indian Passport (front, last and all
non-blank pages)
·
Two recent Passport size photographs of the
applicant
·
Prescribed Fee: HKD
211 (Excluding BLS Service Charges).
