ADVISORY ON RENUNCIATION OF INDIAN CITIZENSHIP

11 October 2021

Declarants/ applicants for renunciation of Indian citizenship (residing in Philippines, Palau and Federated States of Micronesia) may kindly note the following:

1. Henceforth, the renunciation of Indian citizenship has to be applied only on the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) portal: indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in
2. The renouncer would fill all the details and upload relevant documents in the above-mentioned website and pay the fee online while filing the application. The online form should be filled in Block/ Capital letters. Once the application form is submitted online then no further modifications are allowed. Hence applicants are requested to carefully verify the details before submitting the online application form.
3. File number would be generated automatically after the submission of online application and the same will be communicated by e-mail. Applicant can track the status and refer this file number for any future correspondence.
4. Separate application has to be filed for each applicant.
5. After submitting the application online, the applicant is required to visit the Embassy of India, Manila for submitting the print-out of the application along with supportive documents and for signing the declaration form before the Consular Officer.
6. Applicant will be provided acknowledgement (Form XXIII) after his/ her signed application/declaration is successfully uploaded by the Embassy. This would be sent to the applicant through e-mail.
7. The decision of the competent authority on declaration of renunciation of Indian citizenship shall be conveyed to the applicant through e-mail.
8. A person who has ceased to be Indian citizen is required to surrender the documents which he had acquired on the basis of his Indian citizenship (e.g. Voter ID card, passport etc.) to the Embassy at the time of submission of application.

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1. Renunciation of Indian Citizenship

   Persons of Indian origin who have already acquired foreign citizenship until 31 May 2010 will not be required to pay renunciation fees of PHP 4630/-; he/ she will be required to pay Miscellaneous fees of PHP 1490/- when getting the old Indian passport cancelled/ surrendered.

   In future those Indian citizens who acquire foreign citizenship on or after June 1, 2010 will have to submit declaration of renunciation of their Indian citizenship and fees of PHP 4630/-.

   If the applicant has already renounced Indian citizenship, he/ she should have one of the following as proof:

   1. A Certificate of Renunciation issued by Embassy of India or,
   2. An Indian Passport that contains a stamp that specifically renounces the citizenship.

   If the applicant has NOT renounced his/ her Indian citizenship, or does not have proof, the following must be provided:

   1. Two (2) copies of the completed renunciation form. The application for renunciation may be made on the Form 17 in the Embassy.

   For payment of fees please go through the following advisory: Important Advisory for Payment of Fees for Consular Services

   To be provided only in cases where foreign passport is issued on or after 1 June 2010 while naturalization took place on or before 31 May 2010: Copy of the Naturalization Certificate. For minors who were not issued naturalization certificates, the parents must write a statement that the minor's citizenship was obtained through the parents, and provide a copy of the parent’s naturalization certificate.

   Most recent Indian passport that was issued in India/abroad. Applicant must provide photocopies of the first three pages of the passport and the last two pages of the passport. In case passport has been lost, a police report must be filed which specifically mentions loss of passport and submit the same. Passport particulars will be verified from Passport Issuing Authority (PIA) before OCI/ PIO Card application is processed.

2. Surrender of Indian Passport

   SURRENDER OF INDIAN PASSPORT AFTER ACQUISITION OF FOREIGN PASSPORT

   1. Indian passport holders are required to surrender their passports to the nearest Indian Mission/Post immediately after acquisition of foreign nationality. Indian Citizenship Act does not allow dual citizenship (there is sometimes misconception that OCI card is dual citizenship). However, it has been observed that many individuals continue to retain their Indian passport and some travel on them; there are yet others who get fresh passports issued by suppression of information even several years after they acquired foreign citizenship. Such persons surrender their passports only when they need to take OCI cards, etc.
   2. Since the misuse of Indian passports as described above constitutes offences under Section 12(1A) of the Passports Act 1967, which states:

      “Whoever, not being a citizen of India-

      1. makes an application for a passport or obtains a passport by suppressing information about his nationality, or
      2. holds a forged passport or any travel document shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to five years and with fine which shall not be less than ten thousand rupees but which may extend to fifty thousand rupees”, It has been decided by the Government of India to impose penalty on a graded scale for such violations as per details given below:

         Sl. No.	Scenario	Penalty	Section
         I	Passport not surrendered up to three years and not used for travel after obtaining foreign passport.	No penalty	-
         II	Passport not surrendered up to three years and travelled once after obtaining foreign passport.	No penalty for retention of passport, but penalty of PHP 7,651/- for travel on Indian passport.	12 (1A)
         III	Passport not surrendered up to three years and travelled more than once after obtaining foreign passport.	No penalty for retention of passport, but penalty of PHP 7,651/- for each travel on Indian passport (aggregate penalty on travel not to exceed PHP 38,251/-)	12 (1A)
         IV	Passport not surrendered for over three years and used for travel after obtaining foreign passport.	Penalty of PHP 7,651/- for retention of passport and penalty of PHP 7,651/- for each travel on Indian passport (aggregate penalty on travel not to exceed PHP 38,251/-)	12 (1A)
         V	Renewal / re-issue of Indian passport and travelling on it after acquiring foreign nationality.	(i) PHP 19,126/- for each renewal/re-issue (ii) PHP 7,651/- for each travel on Indian passport (aggregate penalty on travel not to exceed PHP 38,251/-)	12 (1A)

      3. The question of levy of penalty for retention/travel on Indian passports after acquisition of foreign nationality arises only for passports whose final validity expired on or after 1 June 2005.
      4. A grace period of three months is allowed from the date of acquisition of foreign citizenship, for the purpose of travel on Indian passport. Therefore, no penalty will be leviable for travel on Indian passport within three months of acquisition of foreign passport.

Duration for grant of service: 30 Working Days (subject to approval by the concerned Indian Ministry)

For consular fee, please visit the link below: