Keeping both passports!!

[mountaingirl]

I was planning to apply for my OCI as I have just aquired my British passport. But I am told by a colleague at work that many people are not renouncing their Indian passports. Infact they leave from here on their Red passport and once in India use their Blue one.

**Has anyone on this board done it??
*** Are the computer systems of the Home Office linked with the Indians.?
***How can the Indian govt know that I have aquired a British passport if I dont call them up and renounce my blue one??
***
OR What if I get my Red passport but dont use it for travelling -- continue to use my Blue one-- The British govt does allow dual citizenship so it wont bother them???

Why should I let the India govt from hoodwinking me of my birthright by the OCI!!!

[PASS]

The moment you registered as BC, you automatically lose your IC'ship. It is illegal to keep (active) rather use blue passport after that point.

Your emotional statement about Birth right to India, doesn't count much - you are giving-up the right, it is not taken away from you.

This issue has been discussed several times here.

[Wanderer]

Why should I let the India govt from hoodwinking me of my birthright by the OCI!!!

You relinquished your 'birthright' when you accepted British Citizenship.

[badhorse]

It is illegal to keep rather use blue passport after that point.

According to the law in which Country? British law? Plz enlight. Thanks!

[Dawie]

It is illegal to keep rather use blue passport after that point.

According to the law in which Country? British law? Plz enlight. Thanks!

I totally agree with you, it is outrageous that any country can deny it's citizen's citizenship, but unfortunately the Indian government is rather outdated on the issue of dual citizenship.

By definition a birthright cannot be taken away from you as it is a right bestowed upon you by virtue of your birth. Therefore you have conclude that Indian citizenship is not a birthright, it is something that some Indian beaurocrat can take away from you when law says it can.

I'm not going to go into any detail on this issue as it has been discussed at length several times on this forum. I suggest you do a search for "indian citizenship".

[JAJ]

According to the law in which Country? British law? Plz enlight. Thanks!

Indian law.

[PASS]

It is illegal to keep rather use blue passport after that point.

According to the law in which Country? British law? Plz enlight. Thanks!

JAJ answered your Qn.

Note:
If any Indian takes BC'ship, he/she is eligible for IOC, which comes with all rights other than vote in Indian election (who bothers to vote in election anyway!). Fair enough, at least for me, what else an Ex-Indian Citizen expects from it's homeland!.

Birth right: Is any one born here allowed to enter the UK without any restriction? Each government has its own policies to deal with the existing dynamic world.

We may acquire ‘n’ number of citizenships (by paper) but ultimately we are known or referred only by (y)our origin (Indian American, British Asian/Indian, etc….).

Thanks

[ppron747]

According to the law in which Country? British law? Plz enlight. Thanks!

Indian law.

I think a point to bear in mind is that, given that a person is, according to Indian law, no longer an Indian citizen once he has acquired the citizenship of another country, he is breaking the law of every country in which he uses his Indian passport. By using the passport, he is claiming to be an Indian citizen when he is no such thing.

[Kayalami]

mountaingirl,

At worst you would be prosecuted by both:

1. The Indian government for fraudelent use of its national passport to which you no longer have entitlement to and

2. The relevant country to which you have used the above passport to enter.

What would you do then?

[Mafia]

At worst you would be prosecuted by both:

Ah, the keyword to notice is … “at worst”.

I think the more likely scenario is that the Indian authorities will serve you or attempt to serve you with a notice to withdraw your blue Indian passport if they know or suspect that you have another citizenship. I very much doubt that the Indian authorities will prosecute in this instance.

Until this happens, I don’t see why you can’t use your Indian passport.

Ultimately I guess the decision bogs down to whether you are prepared to take the risk or not.

The Mafia …
(who sleeps very well every night)

[lemess]

What is the point of taking this risk ?

I really do not see what you have to gain by doing it and on the debit side of the ledger, a spell in jail could well be likely if you try to enter India at a particularly security conscious time.

There is no scope for ambiguity in this. The Indian passport clearly states that it is the property of the government and must be surrendered if you acquire another citizenship. Whether you do that or not, it is invalid and no different to carrying a forged passport. Given that travel restictions on an Indian passport are much more stringent than a UK one, why would you want to risk falsely representing your 'legal' nationality ?

Some people normally will try to chance it but I do think trying stunts like this is an exceptionally stupid idea where there is no reward for the foolish risks you would have to take.

Re: birthright, as others have said, you made a conscious decision to take up the citizenship of another country knowing that this removes your entitlement to a full passport from your country of birth. No one has hoodwinked you. You just made a judgement of the rewards of UK citizenship vs Indian and made the call. This is the case with many countries. On the other hand, you can easily take a PIO or OCI card that gives you full rights ( other than voting ) in India so it's not as if there are massive personal or professional problems that you are likely to face should you want to live your life back in India.

[PASS]

Here is an example of shooting on their own foot

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... 7872#67872