India Visit on Indian Passport (BC)

bubbles · Post by **bubbles** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 2:08 pm

Hiya,

I have query about visiting India. I was recently granted BC and I got British passport as well. I haven't cancelled my Indian Passport. One of my close relative just past away, I will have to be there ASAP. Can I still use my Indian Passport to go and on the way back I can show my British Passport ?

Please reply/help quickly.

Thanks in advance.

Post by **JAJ** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 4:25 pm

bubbles wrote:Hiya,

I have query about visiting India. I was recently granted BC and I got British passport as well. I haven't cancelled my Indian Passport. One of my close relative just past away, I will have to be there ASAP. Can I still use my Indian Passport to go and on the way back I can show my British Passport ?

Please reply/help quickly.

Thanks in advance.

Your Indian passport is now invalid.

TintinHerge · Post by **TintinHerge** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 4:48 pm

That would be illegal - Your Indian passport is invalid from the day you got BC. You will need a Visa from the Indian Embassy - just takes a couple of hours in London. Also, when you get time, you MUST go to the Indian Embassy to have your Indian passport cancelled and declared void.

You have worked hard to get BC - DONT make silly mistakes like this to jeopardise it.

Hope this helps

Christophe · Post by **Christophe** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 4:58 pm

TintinHerge wrote:You have worked hard to get BC - DONT make silly mistakes like this to jeopardise it.

Hope this helps

Well, it wouldn't as such jeopardise the British citizenship, but it would be likely to cause difficulties with the Indian authorities, since, as noted above, your Indian passport is no longer valid: this is as a result of Indian law (not British).

TintinHerge · Post by **TintinHerge** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 5:04 pm

Agreed - I shud have said "Dont do anything which will get you in trouble unnecessarily"

ishameeque · Post by **ishameeque** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 9:08 am

You should have applied for a POA card, or for IOC as soon as you bacame a british citizen. It is never too late though.

bubbles · Post by **bubbles** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 7:28 pm

Thanks for the replies.

I think it will better for me to go London to get Visa.

Dawie · Post by **Dawie** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:35 am

Just shows you how ridiculous the Indian citizenship laws are! You need a visa to visit your own country. Crazy....

TintinHerge · Post by **TintinHerge** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 11:10 am

Dawie wrote:Just shows you how ridiculous the Indian citizenship laws are! You need a visa to visit your own country. Crazy....

Dawie, If you havent read bubbles questions again, I suggest you read it again. He/She has clearly mentioned that he/she is a British citizen. How do the Indian citizenshop laws come into the picture ? From India's perspective, he/she is a foreigner who will need a Visa if they want to visit India - plain and simple.

Dawie · Post by **Dawie** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 11:16 am

Do you think I'm stupid? Of course I've read his question, you patronising little worm. Indian citizenship laws come into the picture because these laws have involuntarily stripped him of his Indian citizenship which now result in him requiring a visa to visit the country of his birth!

Contrary to your misinformed statement, Indian citizenship laws very much come into play here.

It seems Indians are in an unfortunate position. When you are an Indian citizen you require a visa for almost every country in the world and as soon as an Indian aquires another country's citizenship he suddenly requires a visa for his own country which has stripped him of his birthright.

TintinHerge · Post by **TintinHerge** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 11:25 am

Dawie wrote:Do you think I'm stupid? Of course I've read his question, you patronising little worm.

Mind your language,mate - Lets keep this cordial.

Dawie wrote:now result in him requiring a visa to visit the country of his birth!

A person's birth in a particular country may or may not give him an automatic citizenship, and so your argument IS indeed stu...

Post by **JAJ** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 12:58 pm

Dawie wrote:Just shows you how ridiculous the Indian citizenship laws are! You need a visa to visit your own country. Crazy....

But it's not his country any more, is it?

Dawie · Post by **Dawie** » Thu Sep 07, 2006 1:08 pm

JAJ wrote:
Dawie wrote:Just shows you how ridiculous the Indian citizenship laws are! You need a visa to visit your own country. Crazy....
But it's not his country any more, is it?

Only because his citizenship was involuntarily taken away from him. I suppose if you agree with the draconian Indian citizenship laws then you would agree that it's not his country anymore. However if, like me, you think that it's perfectly legitimate and right to hold as many citizenships as you like without jeapardizing your other citizenships, ESPECIALLY the citizenship of your home country, then you would agree that the Indian citizenship laws are draconian and unjust and have no place in the 21st century.

I can assure you that even after I become a naturalised British citizen I will still continue to be a proud citizen of my home country.

Post by **JAJ** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 12:17 am

Dawie wrote:
JAJ wrote:
Dawie wrote:Just shows you how ridiculous the Indian citizenship laws are! You need a visa to visit your own country. Crazy....
But it's not his country any more, is it?
Only because his citizenship was involuntarily taken away from him. I suppose if you agree with the draconian Indian citizenship laws then you would agree that it's not his country anymore.

I'm not making a statement of opinion (either way). I'm making a statement of fact.

I can assure you that even after I become a naturalised British citizen I will still continue to be a proud citizen of my home country.

If you're South African you'll need to ask for permission to naturalise first,otherwise you lose your citizenship automatically.

Dawie · Post by **Dawie** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 10:45 am

If you're South African you'll need to ask for permission to naturalise first,otherwise you lose your citizenship automatically

In theory yes, but in practise most of the South Africans who I know who have naturalised don't do it because firstly, it's none of the South African government's business, and secondly there is no way for the South African government to find out that you aquired the citizenship of another country.

In reality and practise there's nothing "automatic" about automatically losing your citizenship. They first have to find out that you've naturalised and one thing you can absolutely be sure of is the incompetence of the South African government. Therefore most people don't bother.

saffaboy · Post by **saffaboy** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 11:55 am

Dawie, remember that when you do try and renew you SA Passport when it has expired or full, and if you have been living here more than five years, you need to show them proof that you have not aquired a foreign citizenship. I know of cases where dual SA/British citizens have gone to renew their SA Passport, and when found out that they are naturalised British citizens, they had there SA passports taken away from then then and there.They were told that they were no longer SA citizens, but retained their residency rights so could move back any time.

Much easier I think to fill in the Retention of Citizenship form, and get official permission to hold 2 passports. Thats what ill be doing next month.

Proud Saffa

Post by **JAJ** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 12:58 am

Dawie wrote:In reality and practise there's nothing "automatic" about automatically losing your citizenship.

Sorry, but if the law of a particular country makes it automatic then it's automatic and that's that. People do sometimes manage to conceal their loss of nationality from the authorities and continue to use the passport of that country - but at best this is using an invalid passport and at worst is illegal.

There are cases where former Australians and Canadians discover they lost their nationality many years ago in the same circumstances. Having continued to use Australian/Canadian passports in the meantime does not help them at all.

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