Renunciation of Indian citizenship and Surrender of Indian passport

Renunciation of Indian citizenship and Surrender of Indian passport

Indian nationals considering acquisition of foreign citizenship are reminded that the Indian Citizenship Act does notprovide 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:

1. Adults who acquired foreign citizenship on or after 1 June 2010
2. Minors who acquired foreign citizenship on or after 1 June 2010
3. Adults and minor applicants (at the time) who acquired foreign citizenship before 1 June, 2010.

How to apply

            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://embassy.passportindia.gov.in 

Surrender Fee:Euro 23

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 athttps://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/- (Euro 88/-)

Both (i) and (ii) above are mandatory and must be completed by any person renouncing Indian citizenship. Therefore, both processes’ fees must be paid along with one-time ICWF charges of Euro 02/-.

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 Consular Wing of the Embassy of India along with the following documents:

1. Print-out of the MHA Renunciation application (Form XXII) submitted online. (URL: https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in )
2. Print-out of application submitted online for Surrender Certificate (URL: https://embassy.passportindia.gov.in )
3. Copy of foreign passport
4. Copy of Naturalization Certificate  (Bescheid)
5. Indian Passport in original and Copy of Indian Passport (front and last page)
6. Address proof (Meldezettel)
7. Particulars Form (To be signed by a witness who should be an Indian national and should be other than the applicant/the family member of the applicant)
8. Documents in Original of the above stated must be presented for physical verification process.
9. Copies of nationality certificate /passport other than Austrian nationality, must be apostilled and translated accordingly before being submitted at the embassy.
10. 02 photographs (51x51 mm size)
11. Total fees: Euro 113/- (Euro 111 + Euro 2)

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

Minor applicants are not required to fill an online declaration for Renunciation of Indian citizenship through the MHA portal as of now. They are 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 the Consular Wing of the Embassy of India along with the following documents:

1. Original Indian Passport and copy(front and last page).
2. Austrian/Foreign Passport and copy.
3. Address proof: Meldezettel
4. Nationality document/naturalisation certificate (Bescheid).
5. Copies of nationality certificate /passport other than Austrian nationality, must be translated and apostilled accordingly before submitting the documents at the Embassy.
6. Renunciation and surrender certificates of both parents / parent who had already renunciated their Indian nationality.
7. Copies of Meldezettel& Passport of both parents.
8. 01 photograph (51x51 mm size)
9. Total fees: Euro 25/- (Euro 23 + Euro 2)

C)         Adults and minor applicants (at the time) who acquired foreign citizenship before 1 June, 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://embassy.passportindia.gov.in  and submit their applications at Embassy of India along with the following documents:

1. Original Indian Passport (even expired) and copy of front and last page of Passport
2. Copy of Austrian/Foreign Passport.
3. Address proof: Meldezettel
4. Nationality document/naturalisation certificate (Bescheid)
5. Please note, in case of Minor applicant, copy of Surrender certificate and first &last page of passports of both parents.
6. 01 photograph (51x51 mm size)
7. Fee of Euro 23/- and ICWF (Euro 2) which is equal to Euro 25/-

Important thing to note

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 Embassy of India in Vienna. 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://embassy.passportindia.gov.in  and printout of the application is to be submitted at Embassy of India in Vienna along with requisite documents.