Surrender of Indian Passport, OCI, PIO and Renunciation of Indian Citizenship
As per Government of India regulations, Persons of Indian Origin who have acquired foreign nationality are required to surrender their Indian Passports at the nearest Indian Mission/Post immediately after acquisition of foreign citizenship. Further, they should not travel on the Indian Passport after acquisition of foreign citizenship. Under Section 12(1A) of the Passports Act, possession of Indian Passport by foreign nationals (including Indian nationals who have acquired foreign nationality) is a cognizable offence.
Fees
Renunciation Fee KD 30.000
ICWF Fee KD 1.00
Requirements for issue of Surrender Certificate
Applicants are required to fill online applications for Renunciation of Indian
Citizenship on the online citizenship module of IVFRT
(https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in)
• Photocopy of the foreign Passport.
• Photocopy of the Indian Passport with all visa pages.
• Original Indian Passport.
• Civil ID.
• Naturalization Certificate.
• Photocopies of Passports and Civil ID of the witness with original passport.
Please Note:
• All copies of documents should be self attested (signature & date).
Renunciation of OCI Card
Applicants are required to fill online application for declaration of the Renunciation of OCI Card under OCI Miscellaneous service on OCI Portal.
Extension of Deadline to Convert PIO Cards to OCI Cards
The Government of India had been issuing PIO Cards to Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) living abroad. However, the PIO Scheme was phased out by the GoI in the year 2015 and the persons holding PIO Cards were requested to get their PIO Cards converted to OCI Cards. Guidelines in this regard had been widely circulated earlier.
2. There are still a large number of PIOs who have not converted their PIO Cards to OCI. Therefore, the Government of India has now decided to extend the deadline for conversion of PIOs to OCIs till 31 December 2023. All Indian Immigration Check Post(s) will continue to consider PIO Cards valid for exit/entry into India till 31 December, 2023, along with valid foreign Passport.
3. Please also note that the above extension of timeline till 31December 2023 is subject to the condition that if any new deadline is notified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), making hand-written PIO Cards invalid, then PIO Card holders may have to obtain appropriate Visa from the Indian Embassy.
4. PIO Card holders who have not done the conversion to OCI Cards so far, are again requested to apply for the conversion at the earliest, by making an online application at https://ociservices.gov.in/welcome(OCI Registration in lieu of Valid PIO Card). After submission of online application, a copy of the application form may be printed with an Online Registration Number. Application form, complete in all respects, along with all relevant enclosures and requisite fee (KD 32.000) may be submitted to the Indian Embassy (Consular Section).
Benefits for OCI card holder
(i) Multiple entry, multi-purpose life long visa to visit India;
(ii)Exemption from reporting to Police authorities for any length of stay in India; and
(iii) Parity with NRIs in financial, economic and educational fields except in the acquisition of agricultural or plantation properties.