India Citizenship - Section 8 Confusion

[thevar]

Hello all - I have applied for UK naturalisation and waiting for the outcome. My spouse and 10 year old boy are still on Tier 2 dependent visa. They both will be eligible for their respective ILRs next year in March 2025.

Assuming my naturalisation outcome is positive and if I renounce Indian citizenship after that, here are my questions:
1. Will my son’s Indian citizenship automatically be cancelled as per Clause 2 of section 8 of the Citizenship Act, 1955?

2. Or will he still be India citizen as my spouse (and his father) will still be holding Indian citizenship at that point in time?

3. If my son's Indian citizenship is cancelled due to my UK naturalisation, then his Tier 2 and subsequent ILR will be affected. Is that a right assumption?

4. If the answer to Q1 is YES, should I wait till he gets his ILR and UK naturalisation to renounce my Indian citizenship? Or is it too late now since I have already applied for my UK naturalisation?

5. Stupid question - Once I get my UK naturalisation, can I keep having Indian passport or do I have to mandatorily surrender passport, renounce citizenship etc.?

In hindsight, looks like I should not have applied for UK naturalisation so early! Am I stuck now?

Thanks in advance for all your inputs!

[CR001]

If you dont want british citizenship now, simply withdraw your application or just dont attend your ceremony. You are only british once ceremony has been attended. Either way, you lose the fee paid.

And no, you cannot keep an indian passport and indian citizenship if you become British.

[thevar]

If you dont want british citizenship now, simply withdraw your application or just dont attend your ceremony. You are only british once ceremony has been attended. Either way, you lose the fee paid.

And no, you cannot keep an indian passport and indian citizenship if you become British.

Yeah, I am clear about myself...I was asking about my son. Will his Tier 2 visa become invalid due to my naturalisation?

[CR001]

Why would it?

[thevar]

Why would it?

Because his Tier 2 is based on his India passport which in turn is based on his Indian citizenship....and his indian citizenship will be lost if I become naturalised UK citizen. ... Or am i getting this all wrong?

[thevar]

Why would it?

Oh so are you saying that as he is Indian citizen by birth and NOT by descent, his citizenship is protected? Just super confused at the moment

[shwetatandel]

@thevar Have you got any answer to your question? I am about to apply for my naturalization and my minor daughter is not eligible for ILR for another year. So I am too worried that her Indian citizenship would be revoked after I get my British Citizenship.

[thevar]

@thevar Have you got any answer to your question? I am about to apply for my naturalization and my minor daughter is not eligible for ILR for another year. So I am too worried that her Indian citizenship would be revoked after I get my British Citizenship.

No I have not got a conclusive answer so far but i would like to believe that if the minor is Indian citizen by birth and if the other parent is still an Indian citizen, then the citizenship is NOT revoked.

However, if the minor is Indian citizen by descent, and then you apply for British citizenship for yourself, then the minor's citizenship is revoked.

Please note the above is a speculative understanding that i could gather and assume from reading several threads on this forum. No one has vouched for this understanding so far. Please take this with a pinch of salt!

[BashirB]

Hello all - I have applied for UK naturalisation and waiting for the outcome. My spouse and 10 year old boy are still on Tier 2 dependent visa. They both will be eligible for their respective ILRs next year in March 2025.

Assuming my naturalisation outcome is positive and if I renounce Indian citizenship after that, here are my questions:
1. Will my son’s Indian citizenship automatically be cancelled as per Clause 2 of section 8 of the Citizenship Act, 1955?

2. Or will he still be India citizen as my spouse (and his father) will still be holding Indian citizenship at that point in time?

As long as one parent is still an Indian citizen, the minors do not automatically lose theirs. But if both parents naturalise to British, then the child loses theirs as they have acquired by birth. (Assuming they have custody etc)


3. If my son's Indian citizenship is cancelled due to my UK naturalisation, then his Tier 2 and subsequent ILR will be affected. Is that a right assumption?

See above. Separately, there is no formal communication between HO and HCI to pass list of naturalised/renounced people, so how will they know


4. If the answer to Q1 is YES, should I wait till he gets his ILR and UK naturalisation to renounce my Indian citizenship? Or is it too late now since I have already applied for my UK naturalisation?

HCI won't know you got naturalised till you tell them. You can wait till your spouse and child get naturalised to renounce. It's not that you have to get OCI immediately.


5. Stupid question - Once I get my UK naturalisation, can I keep having Indian passport or do I have to mandatorily surrender passport, renounce citizenship etc.?

It is prohibited to use the Indian passport after obtaining foreign passport. If you use it, it will incure a penalty if they find out and catch you.

Technially you must surrender and renounce. But once you are a British citizen, those rules arent enforceable to you out of India. You have automatically lost your Indian citizenship. What are they going to do?

Yes, in good faith you should at some point, especially if you plan to apply for OCI. However some people know they will rarely visit India and opt to go on visit visa as needed, so they don't renounce or surrender.


In hindsight, looks like I should not have applied for UK naturalisation so early! Am I stuck now?

Nothing to worry about. If it's stressing you too much, they should not travel to India between now and their naturalisation. It won't flag anywhere.


Thanks in advance for all your inputs!

[thevar]

Hello all - I have applied for UK naturalisation and waiting for the outcome. My spouse and 10 year old boy are still on Tier 2 dependent visa. They both will be eligible for their respective ILRs next year in March 2025.

Assuming my naturalisation outcome is positive and if I renounce Indian citizenship after that, here are my questions:
1. Will my son’s Indian citizenship automatically be cancelled as per Clause 2 of section 8 of the Citizenship Act, 1955?

2. Or will he still be India citizen as my spouse (and his father) will still be holding Indian citizenship at that point in time?

As long as one parent is still an Indian citizen, the minors do not automatically lose theirs. But if both parents naturalise to British, then the child loses theirs as they have acquired by birth. (Assuming they have custody etc)


3. If my son's Indian citizenship is cancelled due to my UK naturalisation, then his Tier 2 and subsequent ILR will be affected. Is that a right assumption?

See above. Separately, there is no formal communication between HO and HCI to pass list of naturalised/renounced people, so how will they know


4. If the answer to Q1 is YES, should I wait till he gets his ILR and UK naturalisation to renounce my Indian citizenship? Or is it too late now since I have already applied for my UK naturalisation?

HCI won't know you got naturalised till you tell them. You can wait till your spouse and child get naturalised to renounce. It's not that you have to get OCI immediately.


5. Stupid question - Once I get my UK naturalisation, can I keep having Indian passport or do I have to mandatorily surrender passport, renounce citizenship etc.?

It is prohibited to use the Indian passport after obtaining foreign passport. If you use it, it will incure a penalty if they find out and catch you.

Technially you must surrender and renounce. But once you are a British citizen, those rules arent enforceable to you out of India. You have automatically lost your Indian citizenship. What are they going to do?

Yes, in good faith you should at some point, especially if you plan to apply for OCI. However some people know they will rarely visit India and opt to go on visit visa as needed, so they don't renounce or surrender.


In hindsight, looks like I should not have applied for UK naturalisation so early! Am I stuck now?

Nothing to worry about. If it's stressing you too much, they should not travel to India between now and their naturalisation. It won't flag anywhere.


Thanks in advance for all your inputs!

BashirB - Star response like always! Thanks much for your guidance

[kalcc]

Hi,

We are also facing a similar issue, I got my British passport 3 months ago. When we were in the process of renuncing my Indian citizenship, we came across section 8(2) Indian Citizenship Act 1955, where a minor also loses Indian citizenship when any parent renounces it.

My 6-year-old kid came to the UK along with my wife just 7 months ago they both carry Indian citizenship, it is a very long way to go for my kid's British citizenship.


We have been trying to contact the authorities, 2months ago, we received a reply from OCI that if the kid is under the legal custody of both parents, the kid will continue to be an Indian citizen as the mother is still an Indian citizen.


However, when we tried to contact the high commission from all three regions London, Birmingham, and Edinburgh they said in such cases the decision is pending from the Ministry of External Affairs India. This is the latest communication from them.


Now

1. Can we wait to renounce the father's Indian citizenship until we hear the decision? What is the impact of this?
2. In the worst case what happens to kid's stay, education, and travel?
3. Which country citizenship the kid will have?

Any guidance from you is much appreciated and helpful to the family to understand and deal with the situation better.

[Sivaquery]

Hi,

We are also facing a similar issue, I got my British passport 3 months ago. When we were in the process of renuncing my Indian citizenship, we came across section 8(2) Indian Citizenship Act 1955, where a minor also loses Indian citizenship when any parent renounces it.

My 6-year-old kid came to the UK along with my wife just 7 months ago they both carry Indian citizenship, it is a very long way to go for my kid's British citizenship.


We have been trying to contact the authorities, 2months ago, we received a reply from OCI that if the kid is under the legal custody of both parents, the kid will continue to be an Indian citizen as the mother is still an Indian citizen.


However, when we tried to contact the high commission from all three regions London, Birmingham, and Edinburgh they said in such cases the decision is pending from the Ministry of External Affairs India. This is the latest communication from them.


Now

1. Can we wait to renounce the father's Indian citizenship until we hear the decision? What is the impact of this?
2. In the worst case what happens to kid's stay, education, and travel?
3. Which country citizenship the kid will have?

Any guidance from you is much appreciated and helpful to the family to understand and deal with the situation better.

Hi Kalcc,

Have you rec'd any updates / information about your child's situation.
We have 3+ yrs for my kid's BC and are worried about the child's legal situation.


Thanks
Siva