Q528. UK Citizen, how to get Surrender Certificate if old Indian Passport not available as it was surrendered to home office several years

Question: Dear Sirs,

I came to England in 1964 and in 1971 I became a naturalised citizen of the UK.

I believe my parents surrendered my passport to the Home Office as per the criteria for obtaining British citizenship at the time.

However I do not have any documentary proof.

My OCI application was knocked back by the Indian Embassy in London due to not having this surrender certificate.

Any advice in resolving my problem would be greatly appreciated.

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,

M Patel

Answer: Since you became a UK citizen way back in 1971, you should be eligible to apply for a ‘DEEMED SURRENDER CERTIFICATE’ Deemed Surrender Certificate is issued in lieu of a Surrender Certificate, to those who do not have a passport to surrender as they have either lost or as in your case, surrendered their passports to the Home Office. The condition here appears to be that the applicant for a Deemed Surrender Certificate, must have acquired foreign citizenship before 2001. A notarized affidavit explaining the reason why previous passport is not available is required in such cases.