Help: Right of Abode Expired

[Kopper99]

Need advice on the following as both the Home Office and the Foreign Embassy are not helping.

My mother has been living in the UK for almost 50 years and currently in the UK. She has a Right of Abode through her British Citizen husband (my father).

Every 10 years her Indian Passport gets renewed and her Right of Abode gets transferred to her new passport without issues. But unfortunately, we left it late this time to renew her Indian passport when it was due to expire which means that the passport has now expired 5 days ago along with ROA Certificate of Entitlement sticker as it had the same expiry date as the Indian passport

The Indian embassy is now refusing to renew her Indian passport due to the expiry date on the ROA and need proof she has a valid UK visa.The Home Office is also saying they have no issues renewing the ROA as long as she has a new Indian passport but the Indian embassy cannot process the renewal without a valid UK visa.

Has anyone come across this situation before?
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks

[vinny]

The Home Office is also saying they have no issues renewing the ROA as long as she has a new Indian passport

Get the Home Office’s reply in writing and present it to the Indian High Commission in lieu of a valid UK visa.

Note that her CoE-RoA doesn’t confer her RoA status, but it represents confirmation of status (27). I suspect she has the RoA under s.2(1)(b), by virtue of s.2(2).

[Kopper99]

Thanks.

I initially called the Home Office helpline and explained the situation to them but they advised me to contact an Immigration Advisor through their Gov.uk even though I just need a confirmation letter. They said they have not come across this situation before so cannot advise.

[vinny]

I think the Indian High Commission’s refusal to issue an Indian passport to an Indian citizen is unreasonable. How do they expect them to travel and return home? Get written confirmation from them that they will not issue her an Indian Passport.

I think she may also try a few things:

• make a subject access request (free); or
• Ask the Home Office to check your immigration status is correct (free); or
• apply for a Home Office’s Status letter. I suspect the fees may be equivalent to NS fees (£429) as she has RoA; or
• apply for a Certificate of travel (£280), if she wishes to travel.

[secret.simon]

I think the Indian High Commission’s refusal to issue an Indian passport to an Indian citizen is unreasonable. How do they expect them to travel and return home?

I think (I'm not sure) that the Indian High Commission would issue an Indian passport only to Indian citizens legally resident in the UK. So it would not issue a replacement passport to Indians who are visiting the UK, for instance. So, essentially the sticking point is that the OP's mother needs to prove that she is currently legally resident in the UK.

Most likely, the Indian High Commission would issue an Emergency Certificate for a one-way trip to India for Indian citizens to whom it won't issue a passport.

The OP's mother has at least two options.
(a) Get an Emergency Certificate, return to India, apply for an Indian passport in India and then apply for a CoE-RoA in that new passport, then return to the UK.
(b) Apply for naturalisation as a British citizen, get a British passport and then OCI.

[vinny]

I think (I'm not sure) that the Indian High Commission would issue an Indian passport only to Indian citizens legally resident in the UK.

She is legally resident in the UK (but has difficulty in confirming it due to the Indian High Commission’s misunderstanding of her expired CoE-RoA).

[secret.simon]

She is legally resident in the UK (but has difficulty in confirming it).

At the end of the day, a legal status only has the same strength as its proof. If she can't prove it, that legal status effectively does not exist.

[vinny]

Yes. That’s a problem that exasperated the Windrush scandal.

[vinny]

I think the Indian High Commission has misunderstood the nature of a CoE-RoA. An expired CoE-RoA is similar to an expired British passport. Both do not confer the holder’s RoA status. Both confirm the holder’s RoA status. Their expiry do not actually change the holder’s RoA status.

[Kopper99]

I think the Indian High Commission’s refusal to issue an Indian passport to an Indian citizen is unreasonable. How do they expect them to travel and return home?

I think (I'm not sure) that the Indian High Commission would issue an Indian passport only to Indian citizens legally resident in the UK. So it would not issue a replacement passport to Indians who are visiting the UK, for instance. So, essentially the sticking point is that the OP's mother needs to prove that she is currently legally resident in the UK.

Most likely, the Indian High Commission would issue an Emergency Certificate for a one-way trip to India for Indian citizens to whom it won't issue a passport.

The OP's mother has at least two options.
(a) Get an Emergency Certificate, return to India, apply for an Indian passport in India and then apply for a CoE-RoA in that new passport, then return to the UK.
(b) Apply for naturalisation as a British citizen, get a British passport and then OCI.

My mother has been living in the UK for 50 years and never applied for a British passport because of family property she has in India. The Indian government can change laws restricting foreign passport holders to hold certain land or assets so she kept her Indian passport to avoid complex situations.
She only visits India for holidays and that's not even every year.
Vinny is right, the Indian authorities are just being difficult to its own national. It should not really matter to them whether of not she has a valid UK visa or not as it will not impact them.
I will have to submit a Immigration Status request to the Home Office as proof of Visa status for the time being as I can't see no other way around this Indian bureaucracy towards it own national.

[secret.simon]

It should not really matter to them whether of not she has a valid UK visa or not as it will not impact them.

Ultimately it is the choice of the issuing country as to whom it issues its passports and under what conditions. Keep in mind that the passports (and national IDs) are the property of the issuing authority, not the person to whom it is issued.

For instance, see this thread where a Sri Lankan family resident in the UK lost their Sri Lankan passports on a holiday in Norway and the Sri Lankan embassies refuse to issue them a replacement passport, but require them to return to Sri Lanka and get a replacement there.

India is free to impose any requirements it sees fit on how their passports are issued, whether in India or abroad.

[Kopper99]

After speaking to another area of the Home Office, I was given a number for the Windrush department. When I spoke to them, they said we will need to complete an application form and send to them which will then confirm her immigration status.
So going through this route as well

[vinny]

Great. Hopefully, she will get multiple written confirmations of her RoA without any expiry dates.

Windrush Scheme: get a document showing your right to be in the UK