523. Passport Surrender Certificate

in India . . .

Question: Dear Mr. Chand, I am PIO card holder currently residing in Bangalore, India. My Indian Passport does not have "Cancelled" stamp however it is cut on for corners when I obtained my PIO card in Washington DC. Now I am trying to apply for OCI, FRRO in bangalore is asking for the cancelled stamp or surrender certificate. When I went tried applying for Surrender Certicicate online via Travisa website, there is no provision for people residing out side US. Can you please let me know where I can obtain the Surrender Certificate in India? Thx, -Prasad. Answer: Passport surrender of old Indian passport procedure was apparently framed with the idea that the surrender process would be done at Indian consulates abroad. Obviously applicants acquire foreign citizenship when the are abroad. Hence they can contact the Indian consulates in the foreign country the reside in, to formerly give up their Indian citizenship, surrender their last Indian passport held and get a surrender certificate. Situations such as yours where you want a surrender certificate in India probably have not been addressed by the authorities yet. Since the FRRO cannot issue a surrender certificate and by law they cannot process your application for OCI without a surrender certificate, my suggestion would be to contact the Ministry of Home Affairs, Foreigners Division, Jaisalmer House, 26 Man Singh Road New Delhi. Depending on when you acquired US Citizenship, you may have to pay the required passport surrender fee and any penalties that may be accessed.