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Indian passport surrender

WelCanada

Star Member
Feb 7, 2022
130
48
So I am confused now. Can we surrender the Indian passport in India or not?
Will India/ BLS give us an eVisa (Entry or Tourist) if we are still holding a non-cancelled Indian passport?

Question - The day you read the oath in Canada you become a canadian citizen. However Canada has nothing to do with your Indian citizenship. Now, India doesn't allow dual citizenship, I get it. I also get it that India gives you 3 years to surrender it. So my question is - what is your status in those 3 years. You are an NRI but what's your citizenship status? Are you a dual citizen in those 3 years or is it an implicit rule that "since, India doesn't allow dual citizenship, the day you read canadian oath, that's the day you become canadian citizen and you are NO LONGER an Indian citizen"?
OR
Is it that - Till you go to VFS/ BLS and surrender your passport - until then you are Indian citizen?
you already have the answer-----"Till you surrender your passport - "until then you are Indian citizen"

By calling BLS, you will confirm your answer.
 

OldH1B

Star Member
Nov 20, 2017
135
27
you already have the answer-----"Till you surrender your passport - "until then you are Indian citizen"

By calling BLS, you will confirm your answer.
If this is true then you are technically dual citizen, but I think when India says - it doesn't allow dual citizenship, I think it means, we won't let you travel with your IN Passport while you also hold the CA passport and thus the fines.

The only thing you can do with your IN PP is to surrender it. Now coming to my original question. Is it possible to do it in India?
 

WelCanada

Star Member
Feb 7, 2022
130
48
If this is true then you are technically dual citizen, but I think when India says - it doesn't allow dual citizenship, I think it means, we won't let you travel with your IN Passport while you also hold the CA passport and thus the fines.

The only thing you can do with your IN PP is to surrender it. Now coming to my original question. Is it possible to do it in India?
If you want to travel to India with your Canadian passport, you need a visa. Technically, you can not get a visa if you are a citizen of that country. If you can use Indian passport to enter India and surrender it then use a Canadian passport for the exit with an Indian passport surrender certificate, it looks technically correct. However, the moment u surrendered your Indian passport, you need a visa to stay in India and when you exit with your Canadian passport, they will ask for your visa. Hence, you need to confirm with the Indian embassy whether u can apply for OCI when u surrender your Indian passport in India. They may say yes if you are an ordinary resident, again, plz make sure the definition of this word before traveling. By the way, if you use an Indian passport when you are a citizen of another country, you just need to pay the fine when you surrender your passport in addition to the surrender fee.

Let me share my Indian partner expereince:

He is a PR of country "X" and become Canadian with an Indian passport. He traveled to country "X" with an Indian passport as his PR is connected with his Indian passport. Once he landed in country "X", he updated his PR of X country with a Canadian passport. Later, he went to the Indian embassy to surrender his Indian passport along with this updated PR card of "X" country to prove he can use the indian embassy of the country "X" and his Canadian passport. He surrendered it without any problem. He was not interested to apply for OCI, so I do not know about it.
 
Last edited:
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johnjkjk

Champion Member
Mar 29, 2016
1,059
426
Sorry if this has been covered before but could someone please share the outline of procedure for surrender via mail:
What documents to include and how long does it take? Any advantage of doing it in person (I live far away)?
 

rizwan23arif

Star Member
Sep 19, 2020
66
46
you already have the answer-----"Till you surrender your passport - "until then you are Indian citizen"

By calling BLS, you will confirm your answer.
This is the wrong answer. 100%. As soon as you get another citizenship, you lost your Indian Citizenship.
You can surrender your Indian passport even after 5 years.
 

akhileshtekchand

Star Member
Aug 17, 2016
175
78
Category........
CEC
Visa Office......
CPC-O
AOR Received.
20-02-2020
Med's Done....
03-02-2020
Hi Has anyone recently submitted for surrender certificate from Toronto jurisdiction or Winnipeg ??

what is the timelines looking like??
I had applied for Toronto (in person) on the morning of June 9th. I got a message that it's now with purolator, to be delivered to me tomorrow June 21st.
Sadly, they are not giving out appointments anymore and forcing you to opt for their pickup drop off service worth $84.
 
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nishant872

Star Member
May 28, 2018
149
28
I had applied for Toronto (in person) on the morning of June 9th. I got a message that it's now with purolator, to be delivered to me tomorrow June 21st.
Sadly, they are not giving out appointments anymore and forcing you to opt for their pickup drop off service worth $84.
84$ for pickup and drop off both?

Why where you in person then? Just curious
 

abbas.pasha

VIP Member
Sep 17, 2016
3,605
2,023
So I am confused now. Can we surrender the Indian passport in India or not?
Will India/ BLS give us an eVisa (Entry or Tourist) if we are still holding a non-cancelled Indian passport?

Question - The day you read the oath in Canada you become a canadian citizen. However Canada has nothing to do with your Indian citizenship. Now, India doesn't allow dual citizenship, I get it. I also get it that India gives you 3 years to surrender it. So my question is - what is your status in those 3 years. You are an NRI but what's your citizenship status? Are you a dual citizen in those 3 years or is it an implicit rule that "since, India doesn't allow dual citizenship, the day you read canadian oath, that's the day you become canadian citizen and you are NO LONGER an Indian citizen"?
OR
Is it that - Till you go to VFS/ BLS and surrender your passport - until then you are Indian citizen?
This may help: https://eoi.gov.in/eoisearch/MyPrint.php?0834?001/0005
Indian citizenship has to be formally renounced which will provide you the surrender certificate and will cancel the previous held Indian passport.
Having said that, like I said in my previous post, India does not allow dual citizenship. The day you take the Oath as a Canadian citizen your Indian citizenship will cease. GoI allows you to formalize the process by asking you to Surrender the Indian citizenship.
 
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WelCanada

Star Member
Feb 7, 2022
130
48
This may help: https://eoi.gov.in/eoisearch/MyPrint.php?0834?001/0005
Indian citizenship has to be formally renounced which will provide you the surrender certificate and will cancel the previous held Indian passport.
Having said that, like I said in my previous post, India does not allow dual citizenship. The day you take the Oath as a Canadian citizen your Indian citizenship will cease. GoI allows you to formalize the process by asking you to Surrender the Indian citizenship.
" The day you take the Oath as a Canadian citizen your Indian citizenship will cease." From my Indian partner's experience, this is incorrect. Until you surrender your passport, you are an Indian citizen as Canada does not send information to India. After receiving a Canadian passport, my partner used an Indian passport to travel to the country where he is a PR to access the Indian embassy to surrender his Indian passport, Even one of my partner's friends got "X country" citizenship 2 years before and last year he went with an Indian passport to enter India. When he returned to "X country", he was stopped at Indian airport as he uses his "X country" passport to exit. He was warned and instructed to surrender his Indian citizenship at the nearest embassy. With warning, he flew back. I don't think everyone is lucky like him.
 

akhileshtekchand

Star Member
Aug 17, 2016
175
78
Category........
CEC
Visa Office......
CPC-O
AOR Received.
20-02-2020
Med's Done....
03-02-2020
84$ for pickup and drop off both?

Why where you in person then? Just curious
I was there for passport surrender, next step is OCI for which I need another appointment or pickup drop service
 

abbas.pasha

VIP Member
Sep 17, 2016
3,605
2,023
" The day you take the Oath as a Canadian citizen your Indian citizenship will cease." From my Indian partner's experience, this is incorrect. Until you surrender your passport, you are an Indian citizen as Canada does not send information to India. After receiving a Canadian passport, my partner used an Indian passport to travel to the country where he is a PR to access the Indian embassy to surrender his Indian passport, Even one of my partner's friends got "X country" citizenship 2 years before and last year he went with an Indian passport to enter India. When he returned to "X country", he was stopped at Indian airport as he uses his "X country" passport to exit. He was warned and instructed to surrender his Indian citizenship at the nearest embassy. With warning, he flew back. I don't think everyone is lucky like him.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/entry-ban-on-man-who-used-indian-passport-after-belgian-citizenship-upheld-by-high-court-3869205
 
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isitmeyourelookingfor

Full Member
Oct 7, 2022
48
31
Hi guys, do we need to send our 'original' Canadian passport along with our surrender application, in addition to a self-verified copy of the picture page of the Canadian passport?

On going through the "Checklist-and-Information-Booklet-for-Surrender-Certificate.pdf" document from the BLS website, the checklist on the first page lists this (e) Canadian/Foreign passport* (Copy)
However, on scrolling down that document and reading in the Information booklet section, it mentions
"Please enclose photo page of your Canadian / Foreign Passport having photographs and details of your passport. Original Passport is required to be submitted for verification, it will be returned back after verification. Copies must be self-attested (signed) by the applicant."

This is so confusing because they could have mentioned (Original and Copy) on the first page itself like they did for Indian passport (Indian Passport (Original and Copy) – last held)

I did not plan on getting a Canadian passport till later this year, but I assume that it is now required with the surrender application? They don't accept letter of explanation for not having a Canadian passport anymore? Thank you for your responses.