Travel back to India and apply for Canadian Passport/OCI

[naidusid]

Hello Esteemed members,

I was hoping to gather some information on a predicament as there seem to be conflicting opinions or viewpoints on this:
We are currently in the process of acquiring our citizenship, we have given the online test from outside the country and are awaiting the dates for oath ceremony.
Due to some personal situations, we will need to stay in India for extended amount of time.
So, we are looking at options to travel to Canada for the Oath Ceremony and then travel back to India on Indian Passport and apply for the Canadian Passport, surrender our Indian Passport & apply for OCI. I realize that in this scenario I mentioned that there is a grey area on the stay in india without any documentation.

As per documentation provided on CGI Toronto website and anecdotal evidence from multiple sources, this seems to be possible, but I want to ensure the legality of this process and confirm if there are any nasty surprises to be aware of?

 

[akbardxb]

Hello Esteemed members,

I was hoping to gather some information on a predicament as there seem to be conflicting opinions or viewpoints on this:
We are currently in the process of acquiring our citizenship, we have given the online test from outside the country and are awaiting the dates for oath ceremony.
Due to some personal situations, we will need to stay in India for extended amount of time.
So, we are looking at options to travel to Canada for the Oath Ceremony and then travel back to India on Indian Passport and apply for the Canadian Passport, surrender our Indian Passport & apply for OCI. I realize that in this scenario I mentioned that there is a grey area on the stay in india without any documentation.

As per documentation provided on CGI Toronto website and anecdotal evidence from multiple sources, this seems to be possible, but I want to ensure the legality of this process and confirm if there are any nasty surprises to be aware of?

This has been discussed on various threads. You may want to search a little on the forum. There are not many cases reported here of people surrendering their passports in India but theoretically it is possible to do so. The challenge would not be to 'stay in India without documentation', rather the arrival and at a later point exit from India!

In theory, your can travel back to India on your Indian passport, apply for a Canadian passport in India, surrender your Indian passport in India (and possibly pay a penalty for using your Indian passport to travel after acquiring Canadian citizenship based on the date of your certificate) AND then get a stay / exit permit to stay in India and leave India on your Canadian passport.

The nasty surprise would possibly be dealing with Indian bureaucracy or airport immigration when you land there - what if they ask about your status in Canada? Are you a PR? What if they want to see your PR card, (which you would have cut up at the Oath)? You won't have dates of arrival in Canada or exit from Canada stamped on your passport as PR when you arrive in Canada for your Oath, so won't be able to prove when and how were you in Canada.

Another one could be the Foreigners Registration office in India. I am certain they don't get many cases of passport surrender there so may not necessarily be familiar with the protocol of dealing with such cases and could drive you in circles.

Lastly, the process is likely to be complicated even further if you belong to any minority group in India. and could face additional challenges.

Anyway, if you are brave enough for this, please do come back to the forum and share your experience. I am certain people would benefit from it.

From a practical perspective, I would not suggest this to anyone. You are anyway coming to Canada for the Oath. Can you not extend your stay for a month or so? Get your passport on an urgent basis, get an Indian visa (should take 2-3 weeks) and get back to India avoiding all hassles.

 

[naidusid]

This has been discussed on various threads. You may want to search a little on the forum.

Apologies, I did try but I think my searching skills are not up to the mark.
The immigration seems to be the biggest blocker for thus process.
Thank you for the detailed response. I will have to read up on the Stay/Exit permit.
I will try to reach out to the foreigner's registration office and see if they have any history with such cases.
Thank you for your advice on this, the last point would be our last resort trying to see if there are any other options to avoid personal situation issues.

 

[akbardxb]

Apologies, I did try but I think my searching skills are not up to the mark.
The immigration seems to be the biggest blocker for thus process.
Thank you for the detailed response. I will have to read up on the Stay/Exit permit.
I will try to reach out to the foreigner's registration office and see if they have any history with such cases.
Thank you for your advice on this, the last point would be our last resort trying to see if there are any other options to avoid personal situation issues.

Good luck! As I said, please do share your experience here post your oath.

Also, while searching the forum, you might find a post about someone who was contemplating something similar by travelling to Nepal then 'slipping' into India. Not a great idea at all. Wonder what happened to them. LOL.

 

[BoxOfCrayon]

Hello Esteemed members,

I was hoping to gather some information on a predicament as there seem to be conflicting opinions or viewpoints on this:
We are currently in the process of acquiring our citizenship, we have given the online test from outside the country and are awaiting the dates for oath ceremony.
Due to some personal situations, we will need to stay in India for extended amount of time.
So, we are looking at options to travel to Canada for the Oath Ceremony and then travel back to India on Indian Passport and apply for the Canadian Passport, surrender our Indian Passport & apply for OCI. I realize that in this scenario I mentioned that there is a grey area on the stay in india without any documentation.

As per documentation provided on CGI Toronto website and anecdotal evidence from multiple sources, this seems to be possible, but I want to ensure the legality of this process and confirm if there are any nasty surprises to be aware of?

I recommend hiring an immigration lawyer specializing in Indian laws for your question. Based on my interaction with Indian officials, a minor mistake may become a big issue for you. It is better to get expert advice than to get in trouble with Indian immigration.