Do I have to surrender Indian passport before applying for e-visa to India ?

[evolver10]

Hello everyone,

I recently acquired Canadian citizenship and applied for Canadian passport . I have a trip planned to India in June for two weeks . I'm planning on applying for Indian E-Visa after I received my Canadian passport since I'm only gonna be there for two weeks.
My question is that do I absolutely have to surrender the Indian passport before I apply for e-visa which is essentially an online application ?
Or can I also surrender it upon my return from India at the end of June ?

I received my citizenship certificate on April 23, 2019 .

Thanks very much !

 

[21Goose]

By Indian law, you have to surrender your passport immediately after becoming a citizen of another country and get a certificate of renunciation.

https://blsindia-canada.com/renunciation_ppt.php

The Indian Citizenship Act, 1955, does not allow dual citizenship. It is a punishable offence under the Indian Passport Act, 1967, to apply for an Indian passport, continue to hold an Indian passport, get an Indian passport re-issued or travel on an Indian passport after acquiring foreign citizenship. Extant rules prescribe penalties for holding Indian passports by foreign nationals.

Under Indian law, Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), who have acquired foreign citizenship are required to surrender their Indian passports to the nearest Indian Mission/Post immediately after acquisition of foreign citizenship.

Production of Surrender Certificate endorsement is essential while applying for Indian visa, PIO/OCI card or any other miscellaneous consular services, in case Canadian citizenship was acquired on or after 1 June, 2010.

---
If you weren't traveling to India I don't think a few days here or there would make that much difference in practice. But you're going to travel to India and you're applying for an Indian ETA...

No point taking a chance, just surrender it now. It's a quick and easy process.

 

[evolver10]

Thanks for your response. I was hoping to see if somebody had similar experience and they were successfully able to travel on e-visa without surrendering their Indian passport. I understand what the Indian Law says .

 

[21Goose]

Thanks for your response. I was hoping to see if somebody had similar experience and they were successfully able to travel on e-visa without surrendering their Indian passport. I understand what the Indian Law says .

There are plenty of cases of Indian citizens getting citizenship of another country and not surrendering their Indian passports. They are breaking the law, of course, but until they get caught, nothing much happens.

Successfully traveling on e-visa doesn't really say anything other than the fact that they didn't get caught. If you get caught, you can't really say that other people have traveled so you shouldn't be penalized.

What you're suggesting is a clear violation of the law, and if you're willing to take the risk, sure, more power to you.

 

[Jayson]

Thanks for your response. I was hoping to see if somebody had similar experience and they were successfully able to travel on e-visa without surrendering their Indian passport. I understand what the Indian Law says .

I am sure your country would penalize you for breaking the law. Just spend what you have to and scrap your dodgy move.

 

[_KK8512_]

Thanks for your response. I was hoping to see if somebody had similar experience and they were successfully able to travel on e-visa without surrendering their Indian passport. I understand what the Indian Law says .

It's clear you don't understand what Indian law says. Which part of "Persons of Indian origin are required to surrender their Indian passports immediately after acquisition of foreign citizenship" do you fail to understand ? Your laws are pretty clear.

 

[xylene]

I just edited my post.

It says it is illegal to travel you have your foreign passport already says on the CGI website. So it is legal to travel with your Indian passport only if you haven't got your Canadian passport.
https://www.cgitoronto.gov.in/eoi.php?id=surrender_certificate

"""'
Even after acquiring the Canadian citizenship, the Indian passport can be used to travel for 3 months from the day of getting the Canadian citizenship. The grace period is only for such cases where foreign citizenship has been acquired but a foreign passport is not available to the person. It is also mentioned that it is illegal to travel on an Indian passport, where a person has obtained a foreign passport.
"""

 

[xylene]

To everyone's point just because some people are doing it doesn't mean it's legal.
It's like people who drive at 120 kmph on the 401.

 

[Jayson]

To everyone's point just because some people are doing it doesn't mean it's legal.
It's like people who drive at 120 kmph on the 401.

Soon the speed limit will change to 120km; debates happening at queens park.

 

[Praspirant22]

Hello everyone,

I recently acquired Canadian citizenship and applied for Canadian passport . I have a trip planned to India in June for two weeks . I'm planning on applying for Indian E-Visa after I received my Canadian passport since I'm only gonna be there for two weeks.
My question is that do I absolutely have to surrender the Indian passport before I apply for e-visa which is essentially an online application ?
Or can I also surrender it upon my return from India at the end of June ?

I received my citizenship certificate on April 23, 2019 .

Thanks very much !

im in the same boat....if you receive your canadian passport and you are travelling using canadian passport then its not illegal. You can surrender indian passport as soon as you can. I think in this thread everyones understanding is that you are trying to travel with indian passport which i dont think is the case.

 

[21Goose]

im in the same boat....if you receive your canadian passport and you are travelling using canadian passport then its not illegal. You can surrender indian passport as soon as you can. I think in this thread everyones understanding is that you are trying to travel with indian passport which i dont think is the case.

No, this is not true. It's not about travelling with the Indian passport. You are misunderstanding the law if you think that. India does NOT have a concept of dual citizenship and it is illegal to have an Indian passport when you are a citizen of another country. There's nothing ambiguous about this.

It's a law that may be hard to enforce - what is the Indian government going to do if you become a Canadian citizen and never tell India? They can't come to your home in Canada and take away your passport.

However, hard to enforce doesn't make it legal, and if you put yourself in a position where you can actually have the law enforced against you - say by flying to India - you may be in trouble.

 

[Praspirant22]

No, this is not true. It's not about travelling with the Indian passport. You are misunderstanding the law if you think that. India does NOT have a concept of dual citizenship and it is illegal to have an Indian passport when you are a citizen of another country. There's nothing ambiguous about this.

It's a law that may be hard to enforce - what is the Indian government going to do if you become a Canadian citizen and never tell India? They can't come to your home in Canada and take away your passport.

However, hard to enforce doesn't make it legal, and if you put yourself in a position where you can actually have the law enforced against you - say by flying to India - you may be in trouble.

Yes i understand what you meant and the law. If i travel without surrendering and caught there is a penalty and also max limit for penalty amount based on number of travels.. In my case i don't have time to wait for the surrender letter before i travel to India.

 

[kot81]

Yes i understand what you meant and the law. If i travel without surrendering and caught there is a penalty and also max limit for penalty amount based on number of travels.. In my case i don't have time to wait for the surrender letter before i travel to India.

Hello everyone,

I recently acquired Canadian citizenship and applied for Canadian passport . I have a trip planned to India in June for two weeks . I'm planning on applying for Indian E-Visa after I received my Canadian passport since I'm only gonna be there for two weeks.
My question is that do I absolutely have to surrender the Indian passport before I apply for e-visa which is essentially an online application ?
Or can I also surrender it upon my return from India at the end of June ?

I received my citizenship certificate on April 23, 2019 .

Thanks very much !

evolver,
I am in a similar situation where I have to travel soon to India after getting the Citizenship. 1) We’re you able to travel without having surrendered the India passport? 2) Were you able to apply for eVisa/Travel visa for India without the surrender certificate?
Pls let me know what course of action you took

thanks in advance,
Kot81

 

[ABS_1382]

Hello, I am also in the same boat...one of my friend called the Indian consulate here in Toronto and they confirmed that till the time you are not using the Indian passport (after acquiring the Canadian Citizenship/Passport), you are good....
So as per them the process is:
1) Get ur Citizenship
2) Get you Canadian Passport
3) Apply for eVisa
4) Travel on Canada Passport with Inidian visa (make sure if oblige the rules for indian e visa)

 

[sahil7789]

Hello, I am also in the same boat...one of my friend called the Indian consulate here in Toronto and they confirmed that till the time you are not using the Indian passport (after acquiring the Canadian Citizenship/Passport), you are good....
So as per them the process is:
1) Get ur Citizenship
2) Get you Canadian Passport
3) Apply for eVisa
4) Travel on Canada Passport with Inidian visa (make sure if oblige the rules for indian e visa)

So you can come back and then surrender the indian passport ? Or can you surrender in india itself ?