378. Renounce foreign

citizenship when Indian

citizenship is approved

Question Respected Sir, I have a query on reclaiming Indian Citizenship. I live in New Zealand and planning on applying for NZ Citizenship and OCI shortly for myself and my family. I have plans to return permanently to India in future and apply for Indian Passport. I know that a OCI has to wait for 5 years including a year stay in India to get back Indian Citizenship. Currently to renounce a NZ Citizenship in order to get back the Indian Passport the following has to be satisfied. *"He/she has the citizenship of at least one other foreign country at the time of applying for renunciation of New Zealand citizenship"* My question is Does India allow OCI's to apply for Indian Citizenship while they are holding Foreign Citizenship as i cannot surrender NZ Citizenship until i get Indian Citizenship. NZ internal affairs ministry will need the evidence of Indian Citizenship in order to process renunciation of New Zealand citizenship. Hope i'm clear with my question. I dont want to get stuck in a catch-22 situation. Can you please advise ? Thanks, Senthil Answer: Yes! India will allow you to apply for Indian citizenship before you renounce your foreign citizenship. This make sense because merely applying for Indian citizenship does not guarantee that the application will be approved. When you fill the application form to apply for Indian citizenship, the form will specifically state that the applicant will renounce their foreign citizenship if their application is approved. To quote from the form: "I hereby declare that my intention is to make India my permanent home and I undertake that I shall renounce the citizenship of my country in the event of my application being sanctioned." To view a sample of the form click HERE Check item number 14 on the form.