Travelling to India after naturalisation

[kejriwalm]

Hi

I know similar discussions have happened before but my situation is a bit different for which I haven't found an answer.

I have got my British passport today (17th April) and would be travelling to India on 30th (April). I would stay in India for a month (May month) and come back to UK in June and then go back permanently to India in July.

If I travel to India in April end as a British national on existing Indian Passport (90 days grace period) and surrender the Indian Passport and apply for OCI there, will it be an issue while coming back to UK (during Indian Immigration) as I believe I have lost legal right to stay in India as soon as I have surrendered the Indian passport and also do not have OCI (assuming I haven't got my OCI card by then). Does it mean it makes sense to travel to India on an Indian visa (for a month) so that I am eligible to stay even after surrendering my Indian passport.

I don't know if anyone has encountered this issue but any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Regards
Manoj

[dontringthebell]

Please refer to point 4 under clarifications on

http://www.vfsglobal.com/india/uk/Surrender.html

I.e. There is a grace period of three months after acquisition of foreign nationality (to be counted from the date of registration / Naturalisation Certificate and not from the date of foreign passport) for using Indian passport for travel. It is further clarified that as far as UK is concerned, the three months grace period is mainly given to physically take possession of the Foreign Passport. Once Foreign Passport has been obtained, the grace period is no longer applicable. Any travel on Indian Passport after obtaining Foreign Passport is liable for penalty and Indian passport will be seized by Immigration authorities

Also, as per gov.uk https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advic ... quirements

From 1 April 2017, the length of stay on an e-visa has been increased from 30 days to 60 days with double entry on tourist and business e-visa and triple entry on medical e-visa. The 60 days start on the date of your first entry into India on your e-visa. When you arrive at the airport, your passport will be stamped and an expiry date for your e-visa will be handwritten by an Immigration Officer. Please be aware that 60 days is not automatically equal to 2 calendar months. Check the date that is written on your passport and make sure you leave the country before your visa expires.

Best option is to travel on evisa and apply for OCI. As mentioned above you can enter twice within 60 day period, hopefully you would have received your OCI by then.

[nba2017]

Hi I would greatly appreciate any advice
I am in the same situation as Manoj. I will get my British passport soon.
I am planning to move back permanently to India.
Can I travel to India on my Indian passport and then surrender my Indian passport in India? I presume I can use the 3 months grace period to travel to India with Indian passport.
Will I face any problems when I apply for an OCI card in India?

[supernova]

You should travel to India on e-Visa or Tourist Visa and then can surrender your Indian Passport in India itself. I have done this and there are no issues. It was actually cheaper to do (surrender of passport costs Rs. 5000 in India)
However, I then traveled back and applied for OCI in UK.

Looking at the rules, e-visa allows you to stay for 60 days in India, which should hopefully be enough for you to receive OCI.