420. Apply for OCI while

waiting for foreign citizenship

Questions: Hi, I have got Europe citizenship card and soon will get passport. Can you answer below questions. 1. How can i surrender my Indian passport ? What is the procedure ? 2. Can i apply for OCI before i get the Portuguese Passport ? 3. I want to be open to come back in INDIA, will it be any problem after i get OCI ? Thanks. Answer: Regarding your three questions, let me start with your second question that refers to whether you can apply for OCI before you get a Portuguese Passport. • The answer is, that you cannot apply for OCI until you get your foreign passport. Those who have already been granted foreign citizenship and have not received passports from the country of which they have acquired citizenship, cannot apply for OCI. The reason for this is, only foreigners can apply for OCI and when filling in the OCI application, all applicants MUST enter their current citizenship information which includes the foreign passport number. Hence, unless you get your Portuguese passport, you cannot apply for OCI.

How to Surrender your Indian

Passport

To surrender your Indian passport after acquiring foreign citizenship you will have to fill the appropriate application form referred to as APPLICATION FOR THE SURRENDER OF INDIAN PASSPORT/ CITIZENSHIP. These forms may appear in a different format depending on the country, however the information required is usually the same. You can view a sample form of UK HERE and Canada HERE The following is a list of documents that are required when surrendering your last Indian passport to comply with passport surrender rules.

Documents Required for Surrender

of Indian Passports

1. Duly filled application form 2. Original Indian Passport (Last/Valid Indian passport at the time of Naturalization)Self 3. attested photocopy of Indian passport (Used Pages) 4. Self attested photocopy of British / Foreign Passport 5. Self attested photocopy of British / Foreign Naturalization certificate I believe in Portugal applications for passport surrender applications along with the required documents must be submitted to the Indian High commission in Portugal. In UK all such applications must be submitted at India Visa Applications Centers that have been setup across UK for this purpose. Regards to fees payed when surrendering Indian passport after acquiring foreign citizenship, you will find the information on our passport surrender rules page. You can access this page from the navigation links on top of the page, under Indian Visa. • As OCI is a lifelong visa, you should not face any problems returning to India. When in India as an OCI, you will be limited to benefits available to OCI holders, you will no longer be an Indian citizen and will not be able to vote in Indian elections etc.