Child Indian Passport Surrender and travel to India Plan

[sumitt]

Hi Guys,

My daughter recently got her UK citizenship and passport. So i am thinking of applying for Indian Passport surrender and OCI. The timelines mentioned by VFS states that it may take 6-8 week (+). However, my family is planning to travel to India on 6th December.

Can somebody please advise me what are the options with me.
1) Should i start the process or not ?
2) If i start the process, is it possible to apply for a separate e-Visa in case OCI does not come through
3) can i apply for e-VIsa now (without applying) and surrender the passport after coming back.
4) Get the penalty (i think this is last option).

Please help. Is there wa way out (with minimal financial Impact).

Thanks and Regards
Sumit

[rmukherjee]

I would not apply for OCI now. It takes 7-8 weeks easily even for a smooth application. They specifically warn against making travel plans on the basis of OCI as it can take several months in the worst case.

As discussed in other threads, Surrender Certificate is essential for OCI and also tourist visa. Even if the e-Visa does not explicitly call for it you should have it to avoid breaking Indian laws.

In your position I'd advise:

- surrender the passport. Takes 2-3 to a week max after submission to get the certificate back. This is a compulsory cost so you cannot escape it
- get an e-Visa (cheaper). You can also get a standard tourist visa (bit more expensive and have to apply at VFS) if the e-Visa restrictions don't work for you. However for short trips e-Visa is probably better.

Here is a link outlining the OCI process. Note the documents are sent to Delhi, that's what takes time.

[sumitt]

Thanks A lot.

Apologies for late reply. There was something unexpected happened. I never lose a paper but somehow lost daughter citizenship ceritifcate with my bag. So i have just got a replacement now.

Can i work the opposite way.
1) I am applying for e VISA now Since i have to only go for 22 days in India from 6th dec to 28th dec so 30 days restriction work for me fine.
Query in eVISA Application: What should I fill in the section where it is asking if she has to gone to india before and asking to fil previous VISA information? this is not valid but the information section id mandatory.
2) Then going for surrender of passport on 11th Nov.

Queries:
1) what documents i have to hand-over during surrender. Would they ask for British passport and nationality certificate? would they keep it with them or return immediately?

2) Since it is close to travel date now. can my daughter travel only on British passport if Indian passport does not come back ? or should i surrender after coming back and incur a penalty?


Please help
Sumit

[rmukherjee]

Thanks A lot.

Apologies for late reply. There was something unexpected happened. I never lose a paper but somehow lost daughter citizenship ceritifcate with my bag. So i have just got a replacement now.

Can i work the opposite way.
1) I am applying for e VISA now Since i have to only go for 22 days in India from 6th dec to 28th dec so 30 days restriction work for me fine.
Query in eVISA Application: What should I fill in the section where it is asking if she has to gone to india before and asking to fil previous VISA information? this is not valid but the information section id mandatory. You can answer "no" as she has never been to India as a visa holder before. See this question.

2) Then going for surrender of passport on 11th Nov.

Queries:
1) what documents i have to hand-over during surrender. Would they ask for British passport and nationality certificate? would they keep it with them or return immediately?

The list of documents is given here (see 'Documents Required' section). Essentially the key items are self attested photocopies of new UK passport and citizenship certificate (for minors attestation can be done by parents). But you should take the original UK passport and citizenship certificate along also, in case they want to see. As far as I remember they don't take the originals though.

2) Since it is close to travel date now. can my daughter travel only on British passport if Indian passport does not come back ? or should i surrender after coming back and incur a penalty?

Getting a surrender certificate for the Indian passport takes 2-3 days to a week max after visiting VFS. After that you can get an eVisa instantly. That is the safest option because if you go to India with a British passport while your Indian passport is still valid, immigration officers can detect that (and holding Indian passport after acquiring a foreign passport is not allowed). Whether they will penalise you for it depends on the immigration officer -- I would expect that after a bit of begging and pleading they'll let you in but it's not worth the risk.