Indian Passport Blues
Breaking News: The petitioners score big! The Indian Government has relented on the surrender fees after the massive outpouring of protest from NRIs across the diaspora. Below are the details.
Fees for Obtaining Surrender / Renunciation Certificate Waived
In view of a large number of representations received from Persons of Indian Origin, it has been decided that the fees for obtaining Renunciation/Surrender Certificate from applicants who have acquired US citizenship before June 1, 2010 will be waived. However, a miscellaneous service fee of US$ 20/- will be charged for surrender of passport for cancellation. No penalties will be charged. Already decided cases will, however, not be reopened.
Indian passport holders who acquire US/foreign citizenship on or after June 1, 2010 will, however, be required to pay the fees of US$ 175/- for obtaining Renunciation/Surrender certificate.
48 Comments from readers – add yours.
Planning to visit India this summer? If you’re not an Indian citizen, be prepared for some mighty long lines at the Indian Consulate. If you gave up your Indian citizenship, the pigeons are coming home to roost – you now have penalties to pay. According to new rules, persons of Indian origin who acquired foreign citizenship, must surrender their Indian passports immediately after the acquisition of foreign citizenship and also obtain a Surrender Certificate – and pay a price.
Else, no visa and no travel to India!
There’s a $175 fee for the surrender of the passport for each member of the family and that’s on top of the regular visa fees, and the $275 for the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card.
The Indian Citizenship Act of 1955 does not allow dual citizenship, but there was no enforcement of the rule that the Indian passport must be surrendered before a travel visa to India could be given. Now strict new rules have been posted on the websites of Indian consulates worldwide, a surrender certificate must be acquired, and this has got the NRI community quite worked up.
Penalties are being levied by Mother India, instead of the tantalizing Dual Citizenship that had earlier been dangled before NRIs as a future reward for all the good work these ‘ambassadors’ had done on behalf of India.
According to the consulate website: “Holding Indian passport/acquiring an Indian passport/traveling on Indian passport after acquisition of foreign citizenship constitutes an offense under the Indian Passport Act, 1967, and attracts penalties.
The Government of India has prescribed imposition of penalty on a graded scale, depending on number of trips made on Indian passport after acquiring foreign nationality, for the violation of Passport Rules and retention of Indian Passport for more than 3 years after acquiring of foreign nationality.”
You can read the full document here
Overseas Indians have created a big brouhaha and launched a very vocal petition drive protesting these new penalties. These measures might well be the government’s effort to curb terrorism but NRIs feel these will be a financial burden on many struggling immigrant families, and certainly confusing and unfair to all of them.
“Indian passport must be surrendered within 90 days of US naturalization even if the US passport is obtained later. It is illegal to travel on Indian passport after obtaining US naturalization. Penalties apply,” warn the new regulations.
Indians who left their homeland 40 years back are now feverishly searching for their old passports so that they can hand them over to the Consulate and get the all-important Surrender Certificate. Otherwise, they can’t go home. Talk about procrastination on the part of the government! The penalties for retaining and reusing the Indian passport after obtaining a foreign passport are retroactive and can go up to $2000. I do think it should be a flat fee, and maybe waived in hardship cases.
NRIs, Pay Up and Smile
Almost every NRI has an opinion on the matter. While most are busy petitioning or holding protest rallies outside the Consulate – here’s a dissenting view from a reader.
“If we have to pay a price for our return to the land of our birth, we should not complain about the price demanded.”
– Mukul Advani, Houston, Texas:
“These fees charged by the Indian Government are really nothing – very small in the grand scheme of things. No one ‘loses’ their Indian nationality – we came to this country willingly, gave up our Indian nationality willingly when we took the oath to the American flag and also promised to bear arms if necessary. No one forced us to come here or do it – so why cry now? Why this hypocrisy?
India does not allow dual citizenship. I made my choice and I am happy with it. With 10 year Indian visas I can come and go as I please.
Like all good capitalists, the Indian Government’s bureaucrats have finally woken up to the fact that there is this huge market for PIO cards or OCI cards, and they want to make hay while the sun shines – and charge as much as they possibly can, before the desire to have such cards dies down – and who can blame them?
I for one applaud them for their trying to squeeze as much money out of a situation as they possibly can. This is commerce, plain and simple. Considering how few Indians actually pay their taxes in India, the Government has to find ways to raise money – how else can they conduct their business? This is brilliant….
So Indians should think long and hard about this – they came overseas to better themselves. Now they want it both ways. Not cricket.
On the one hand, we claim we love India – then we gripe and moan and complain loud and hard and send out signed petitions, for the costs of the OCI or PIO cards (which are small potatoes compared to what we make) – and which will get us exactly nowhere.
We think nothing of plunking down $500 for a nice meal, on an evening out on the town, but will crib and cry about the $150 for a 10 year visa to the India we love, or corresponding amounts whatever they may be, for the OCI/PIO cards.
It is very natural to love the land of our birth, and we all do so in our own ways, but we all left it for reasons that made sense to us then. Our adopted lands offered a lot more, so we made our respective choices. We should stay the course and if we have to pay a price for our return to the land of our birth, we should not complain about the price demanded. After all, if we wish India well, how can we begrudge her a few measly dollars which are sorely needed back there, particularly when we have, for the most part, prospered in our adopted lands and made a lot more?
And whenever we have the chance at our local gatherings, we proclaim loud and hard that we want to do something for India, the land of our birth, still stricken by poverty, disease and a poor infrastructure. Hence the “Prathams” and such noble organizations working to eradicate illiteracy and the many fine doctors who take time out of their lucrative practices here to donate freely of their time and expertise to the less fortunate Indians back home.
But these are few and far between. The rest of us are content to live within our double standards and hypocrisy. When the Motherland needs our dollars, we fight back, spewing venom, instead of love.
If we wanted, we could very well live here, without giving up our citizenship….with our green cards. But we chose not to.
India has some strong reasons for reconsidering the dual citizenship matter – terrorists could make use of this and create havoc within India. Some already have, which has reportedly been well documented. There are other reasons also, as we all know, so the debates for and against will continue. The security of the homeland is of primary concern, and that will always be the overriding issue.
In any event, how can dual citizenship be of any use? If we swear allegiance to the American Flag, when we could have very well stayed here with our green cards, how can we then reverse our footsteps and also swear allegiance to the Tiranga? What kind of logic is that? Where does our loyalty lie with dual citizenship, if we swear allegiance to both flags? How mixed up and convoluted are we anyway? It appears that our loyalty is to the Almighty Dollar, nothing else.
The defense rests. ”
– ( by Mukul Advani)
So there you have it – yet another way to look at this volatile issue!
What do you think? Where do you stand on this issue? We’d love your feedback.
(Photos: Lavina Melwani)
Related article: OCI Camp for Indian-Americans
55 Comments
I have a US Passport with multiple entries for 10 years. I traveled to India recently.
During my return to the US, my passport was stamped stating that I could re-enter after a gap of 2 months.
This I don’t understand. Can you throw some light on this restriction?
Are there petitions being sent to to New Delhi to reverse this rule?
Also if one applies for a PIO card which is for 5 years ( multiple entries), does the gap of 2 months to re-enter apply? Appreciate your response.
Thank you,
Vijay
It is hilarious that the Indian government protests H1B visa rules and just today is protesting the Australian government’s rules to revise the list of professions which qualify foreign (read mostly Indian and Chinese) “students” for permanent residence.
Yet, they are subjecting their own ex-citizens to harassment. The only reason one has to even pay attention to this ridiculous requirement is because we have families in India. If we didn’t need a visa to go to India, would I care?
The requirement to turn in an invalid document (the passport) is absurd. At best, if the passport is an official property of the GOI, they can ask for it to be returned but without any cost (we already paid to get it and probably should be refunded the remaining money depending on how much validity is left). Does anyone know how other countries handle this?
Sorry, Sanjay, don’t have an immediate answer for you. I think it will probably be on a case by case basis but haven’t heard anything from the consulate on this.
Perhaps some of you might have the answer?
What happens if you cannot find your old passport that came in canceled when you got your USA passport?
Lavina
Thanks. I am aware the rule still exists in the US, BUT they haven’t waived the fees for those who became UK citizens before June 1.
Cheers!
Sathish, what do you mean by that? I think the rule still exists in the US too, except the surrender fee was waived for those who had become American citizens before June 1, 2010. Those becoming citizens after that date still have to pay $175 for the surrender certificate.
Looks like Govt. of India is operating different rules in different countries. The rule is very much active in the UK. If they change the rules in USA then they should have same rule all over the globe.
Welcome to the forum and to Lassi with Lavina, Raju. Great to have people from St. Maarten reading the blog!
I am sure the Govt. realizes the value of NRIs and their support on so many issues. Will keep you posted on any new developments.
Apologies for posting some of these responses a day late – please keep your comments coming but do keep the tone civil. I have had to delete some comments and edit others.
Harry, your view on the subject is indeed an accurate description of this issue. Please keep it up.
This is really a relief, but well agreed upon that no fee should be acceptable. We should of course boycott. The same Indian govt when it needed foreign currency started giving out RIB bonds from SBI, and all of us invested heavily in that, and this is the treatment we get. I do hope that the Indian Govt will come out in the open and declare it void.
Thanks to Lavina for opening up this site/blog.
Raju Thawani St. Maarten W I
The issue is not about patriotism. We are all patriotic. We have all made several investments in India and donated heavily to several causes that benefit India. Even as U.S. citizens, we have stood in India’s side when such was required through the many years we have lived in the U.S.
The issue is about unfairness of the rules and the legal validity of these retroactive rules. The government of India bungled when they failed to collect the Indian passport at the time the Indian citizen took on another country’s citizenship. Furthermore, through the years of his/her travel, they imposed fees for visa and treated him as a foreign citizen. Now suddenly they wake up, realize their blunder, and cause a massive international furor.
Find and mail my 25 year old passport to the Indian consulate? Does anyone even realize what massive infrastructure the consulates need to have to handle all the paperwork that is coming in and properly issue everyone their surrender certificates? The fine people at the Indian consulate misspelled my name the first time I got my passport renewed and it took me weeks to get the mess fixed. They did not give me a new passport with the corrected name and instead hand-wrote in the middle of the passport that I had changed my name! And we are supposed to trust them to get all our paperwork and efficiently issue us all surrender certificates within a reasonable time?
In addition, after my recent visit to India, the bureaucrat that was sitting behind the immigration booth stamped another note on to my U.S. passport. It took me a while to read this faintly inked note but basically it says that I can’t make another visit to India in 90 days and if there is a need to do so I would need some sort of a letter from the Indian mission.
Thank you Lavina and Ashok (Malkani) for your gracious comments and support. Very much appreciated. No one in this day and age should take security issues lightly. It should be topmost on everyone’s agenda. AND we should educate our children accordingly.
Mother India has graciously conceded to the demands made by her sons and daughters worldwide, but here is something for all of us to consider….
We are going after Mother India who is ALSO hurting financially and otherwise after the terrorist attacks. And we are holding morchas and protest drives en masse against her. Should we instead not be directing all this energy towards the perpetrators who made all this happen?
How do we do that?
Instead of attacking our Motherland, we should consider sending peaceful protests and such to the known sponsors of such activities.
As we all know, the Indian Government has hard intelligence regarding not just the the perpetrators but also the countries who support and fund such activities. They should be able to help with that.
And our protests if made should be in the illustrious traditions set forth by noble souls like Mahatma Gandhi, not violent and vicious, but like his protests, with gentleness and love at the core.
The fee is down to only $20 and there is joy in PIO Land again! Ooooooooooooooh! How cheaply we sell ourselves and our principles! Before we happily accept this proposal, let me ask all of you one question. Would Mahatma Gandhi have abandoned his Salt March if the British had simply agreed to lower the tax rate on salt?
I will not call this a victory for the Indian community. Even if the fee was reduced to $2, we should not simply accept it and forget the pain and insult this incidence has caused to our community. Further, even if the current citizens only have to pay $20, why are we selling out our community members who will become citizens in the future by accepting that they will have to pay $175 just to surrender their passports?
In the last few days, I have read a number of blogs and newspaper articles on this subject; some of them even trying to justify these ridiculous rules under the pretense of Indian national security and some even saying that this is a small price to pay to stay in touch with our land of birth. Both these explanations are highly inaccurate and implausible.
By asking PIOs to turn in their long expired passports and getting a surrender certificate is not going to help the Indian national security. India should pay more attention to addressing the issues at home where a number of bidi smoking cops stationed at Gateway of India did not see anything wrong with the picture when a boatload of terrorists toting black duffel bags landed there in a boat. They have to address the indifference among people and among cops rather than worrying about securing our passports.
To those who question our loyalty to India because we are protesting against these rules, I quote Thomas Jefferson, “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism. I love my country more than anything else in this world, which gives me the right to criticize it perpetually”
I urge you not to accept this solution and continue our fight until these conditions are met:
a) All fees are waived for current and future citizens.
b) An apology is issued to the Indian community for putting these rules in place in the first place and causing so much heartburn and inconvenience to our community.
c) The minister or the bureaucrat who thought of this rule and with one swish of his pen washed away years of goodwill among PIOs towards India should be publicly identified and fired.
Until all these conditions are met, we must boycott all functions at the Indian Consulate and Indian Embassy. Even though our diplomats are merely enforcing what is dictated to them from Delhi, this is the only channel we have to send a message back to India.
Best regards,
Harry Anand
Thank you Lavina for allowing us to vent and express our feelings.
Thanks to Pratap for informing me about this website.
Also our special THANKS to MUKUL ADVANI for making us aware of the other side : “the security issue.”
There are many brave people like Mukul’s dad who have sacrificed a lot and put their lives on the line for our Mother India to make it secure.
Thank you all AND THANK YOU MOTHER INDIA.
Thanks Pratap! I have to say I am happy to provide the space for people to vent their feelings but had little to do with the actual protests which were staged by various community organizations. I, in fact, did not even sign the petition and quite liked the elegant arguments made by Mukul Advani and Pam Kwatra – doing for and giving to the country which gave us all so much.
Today Consul General Prabhu Dayal held a meeting with the press and community leaders to explain the challenges which have made it vital to ensure that these passports do not get into the wrong hands and cause a security breach. I do hope people will take that aspect very seriously.
The CG also said that he plans to have regular interaction with the community so that any problems which arise can be sorted out.
Meanwhile, thanks to everybody for visiting this forum and hope to share many more lassis!
Congratulations Lavina – Kudos to you for providing the perfect platform and moderating an equable and composed forum which reaped success and resolved the issue. I don’t know about others but I’d sure like to revisit and enjoy some more “Lassi” with you 🙂 – God Bless all. Pratap
The problem is getting resolved, close to what I suggested.
All past should be free with a nominal processing fee. But, why $175 for new ones?
Are they being punished for relinquishing the citizenship?
Why a letter or certificate for US Citizenship – why not just a statement
in the form with verification of the original and signature of consulate officials?
BATTLE HALF WON
Strong initiatives and efforts put in place by the largest umbrella organization of the tri-state Federations of Indian Associations (FIA – NY, NJ and CT) and its affiliate member organizations has come to partial success. In a press conference arranged by the Indian Consulate, New York, on June 1, 2010, Hon. Consul General Prabhu Dayal announced that effective June 1, 2010, the Renunciation/Surrender Certificate fees from applicants who have acquired US citizenship before June 1, 2010 will be WAIVED. Key members from FIA were invited to attend the press conference on behalf of the Indian American Community, which has been put in crisis with sudden changes in the visa rules andfFees effective May 7, 2010 without advance notification.
Second part of battle on behalf of the Indian American Community still needs to be fought for the following issues:
1. Indian passport holders who acquire US/foreign citizenship on or after June 1, 2010 will be required to pay the fees of US$ 175/- for obtaining Renunciation/Surrender certificate.
2. Compulsion for PIO’s to get Entry Visa which has term up to of 5 years only and fees almost three times more than tourist visa which has term up to 10 years. This is not the way to milk the Indian American community by the policy makers.
3. Refund to those who have already paid high fees during last three weeks.
The protest rally which was arranged by FIA scheduled on June 4, 2010 in front of the Indian Consulate in New York is tentatively postponed till further notice. A subsequent rally in front of the Indian Embassy, Washington DC is also tentatively postponed, the reason being that FIA is still having ongoing meetings and dialogue with our Hon. Consul General and his staff to resolve the other ambiguous pending visas and fees- related issues.
We are very thankful and grateful to our vibrant Indian American community for showing their outstanding support and enthusiasm. Let us all remain united to fight this issue out.
Congratulations to all. Retroactive rule is pulled back. Thanks to Lavina for giving us this forum to discuss and protest against this unjustified rule. United we stand. Long Live India. GOPIO and Inderjit Singh, Thomas Abraham and all leaders, thanks to you all for your hard work.
Here is another issue
If you are willing to apply for the the certificate of renunciation (which I hope are few) as per the required support documents you have to submit a photocopy of your US naturalization certificate. If you look at your naturalization certificate, it clearly states that it is illegal to photocopy or photograph the certificate.
So photocopy your naturalization certificate and commit a crime!
No one has claimed dual citizenship. GOI can pass a law that it is a crime to hold dual citizenship. They will not – as that will affect three top citizens. They can punish or fine if someone extended their old Indian Passport for another term after acquiring US citizenship. They can fine if they catch, even retroactively, anyone who traveled to India on the Indian passport after acquiring US citizenship, with or without US passport or visa. Many persons belonging to other countries do this, but hardly any from India.
Many of us have obtained multiple entry visa on US passport since getting US citizenship and the application clearly states place of birth – a city in India. They could have asked for old Indian Passport; the application could have asked for surrender of Indian Passport. Also, the persons who has had their passport surrendered voluntarily were not issued with a letter.
25 years back when we applied for the visa and asked about Indian passport, if it need to be surrendered pr not, they did not say anything about surrender or any clearance certificate.
So, the solution will be, possibly the Consulate should issue a grace period of 6 months for all to surrender the passport, if they are still valid or less than 10 yar old and issue the certificate free; to those who are more than 10 years on US citizenship, issue a letter that they do not have on record any valid passport, upon their affidavit. Possibly, they can charge a nominal administrative charge and NOT a penalty as this is not a crime.
Every problem has a solution and needs a big heart and clear thinking.
Can some one explain as how the returning of the old passport is going to make India more secure?
If the Consulate made a mistake of not asking to return the Indian passport at the time of issuing visas, then they should ask everyone to return them now and the Consulate should issue a clearance certificate and send it by mail. Why pay a fee? Please make it simple.
NRIs contribute to India in many ways, I hope Indian Govt. is not trying to stop this.
The issue is not if NRIs can afford $175 or not. Wonder if the folks advocating paying the fees hold an Indian Passport? This whole issue and other changes have been poorly thought out and at least looked like money making schemes. As I said earlier, the new passport valid for 10 years is $50 while a piece of paper stamped is $425 for most people. Where is the logic?
Does anyone also realize that non-Indian born spouses and children of Indian passport holders can not apply for a visa to visit India until a certificate is produced? This is almost unheard of for a democratic country like India. Personally, I have five years of visa left on my old US passport which cannot be transferred to the new one because of another stupid rule – POIs get entry visa and not tourist visa anymore.
Anyways, the news this morning is that the Pravasi Minister in India has stated that they are going to make changes to these rules. Hope they do not mess it up again. The movement by PIOs may have paid off? Stay tuned!
There are hardship stories too. Here is one example, reported in DNA in an article by Uttara Choudhury:
“I lost my Indian passport 15 to 16 years ago and have been traveling to India all these years on my multiple-entry visa. My mother is now dying of cancer and I have to see her. What am I to do?” said businessman GP Shah, 58, who stood in a labyrinthine queue outside the Indian consulate in New York on Saturday. Shah was planning to use the long May 29 Memorial Day weekend holiday in America to travel out to see his mother in Ahmedabad.
Instead, he has spent it running around the consulate furnishing a notarized affidavit saying he has lost his passport. In some cases, Indians are being asked for police reports if they have misplaced their old passports.”
You can read the full story, looking at all sides, here – http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_nris-face-obstacle-course-in-travelling-to-india_1390356
The laws regarding surrendering your passport were always there. Many Indians chose to ignore the law. It seems like some may have even traveled on these passports illegally. Now that they are being called on this breach of the law they are reacting strongly. If we are such good citizens why don’t we follow the law without calling for “enforcement”?
Most Indians I know think nothing of all the fees for service that are charged here in the US yet protest strongly about any charges from India. I understand the point about hardship but I seriously doubt that all those signing the petition are in that situation.
However, I do agree that those traveling in the near term should have been allowed some leeway and these new requirements should have been phased in a bit more slowly.
Mukul, you have very much added to the dialogue by giving the other side of the picture. I am sure there are many others who think like you but have not weighed in with their opinion. I think nobody will disagree that India’s security is of prime importance, it’s more about how the rules have been implemented.
All very well, Lavina. What you say makes sense in a perfect world, not a terror-ridden one. Don’t you think the Indian Government has considered that already? Or like many others do you also feel that they are giving this a very flat-footed and immature approach?
We have some of the smartest people around in the Indian Government. Let us give them credit for what they have done or are trying to achieve. Apples and oranges aside, these are all (to me anyway) security related issues and firm action is the ONLY way.
I also believe forums should be polite and respectful. Heated exchanges are easy…maintaining one’s balance when faced with difficult situations is not.
In any event, this will be my last post on the subject. I have pretty much exhausted my thoughts on the matter and it appears I have already overstayed my welcome in this forum.
Lavina:
You hit the nail right on the head. Your comments take away all excuses Mukul is making in the name of security. Why do NRIs have to support all burden of India’s security concerns? If the Indian Government is broke, it can ask for donations from NRIs.
Also, people have been harassed in the name of the new rule. We all want a secure India but have to do it in a democratic way.
As for Mukul’s suggestion to subsidize the fee by Indian entrepreneurs, bankers, organizations of Overseas Indians – he can set up an account now by putting some money. Practice before you preach. Stop wearing and selling rose-colored glasses.
Mukul, forums are for heating up and speaking your mind! Also, I think we’re discussing apples and oranges – security is of course vital but the fees should be nominal, for administrative costs – not for providing security. There should be a time frame for all passports to be surrendered, after which penalties can be imposed.
Hello Shobha….appreciate your thoughts, but all the issues seem to be pretty inter-connected. Each issue can be considered separate of course and we can debate them all day, but in the overall scheme of things, it is NATIONAL SECURITY we are all talking about and it comes with a price…….at least that is what is appears to me.
The very good thing about these posts is that Lavina has graciously afforded us all the opportunity and a forum to debate these issues at hand, honestly and openly, with no malice or ill-will to anyone. And we should all respect her forum and act accordingly with respect to one another.
We should also be respectful of the Honorable Prime Minister of India and his Government, but instead are pointing accusing fingers at them and asking them why it took them 40-50 years or whatever to wake up to the issues we seem to be so upset about.
But this Government was NOT in power then. The Governments at the time, considered and acted in good faith with the situations prevailing then.
We all live in a very changed and different world now. The Government, which is also probably recoiling in horror at the previous policies, is presumably taking urgent action based upon the situation prevailing NOW.
Remember also, in this world, you get what you pay for…if we want the best in Safety and Security, why are we scared to pay for it?
Don’t we want the BEST of Security and Safety that money can buy? So what is a few bucks when the Safety and Security of our Mother is at stake? Don’t we want the state-of-the art equipment and intelligence services?
What about our brothers and sisters in the Security Services in India and overseas who are placing their lives on the front lines so that we all may be safe? Don’t we want them to be well-paid and well looked after? Don’t we want that their families be looked after if they were to be killed in action?
Where do you suppose the money is going to come from?
I do not know how the Government does its calculations, and will not pretend otherwise, but I am sure they have kept all factors in mind. These are ongoing costs and they have many states nationwide to cover, not just one or two, not to mention all their Embassies, Consulates and their other vital interests worldwide.
In November 2008, millions of us NRIs watched in horror as the terrorist drama in India, unfolded live on CNN, FOX and other news media as our Motherland was brutally attacked and our brothers and sisters murdered in cold blood. For the most part, we all cried bitter tears of frustration and sobbed along with our brothers and sisters who lost mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children and so on, in those fateful days…..
Have we already forgotten?
We should all be saying “NEVER AGAIN” and “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH” in one voice, and help the Government as and when we can. They seem to be working very hard to secure the Homeland and need our assistance, not our nitpicking. Healthy debates are one thing, but some comments out there have not been very positive.
The fees are very clearly a heavy burden to many. This is the time for Indian entrepreneurs, bankers, Organizations of Overseas Indians and so on to come together and make these pools of money available to those less fortunate, as soft loans or as outright grants.
We are a House UNITED…are we not? Or are we a House Divided?
Hey Mukul – like someone said earlier – people opposing this rule are not against Indian Security – obviously!!!
But why do you think Indian Security has to comes w/ this heavy price…literally 😉 It could have been $25 – or even $50.
Thomas Abraham sounds like a confused guy. LOL!
I agree that $150 is nothing big for NRI’s. Come on guys, have a big heart. Why so biased?
If US Government applied some $200 fees then these NRI’s won’t whine but when India does so, their hypocrisy shows up.
The Indian Embassy and the consulates in the United States have embarked on a campaign to issue surrender certificates on a war footing. People wonder if there is a war going on — a war against Indians who took up US citizenship?
Otherwise, why this mad rush for a piece of paper, which only says ‘so-and-so person’ canceled his old Indian passport and also renounced their Indian citizenship.
For the last 55 years, people presumed that anyone taking up citizenship in another country loses his citizenship in India automatically. What happened to change that rule all of a sudden without notice? Are we a security threat to India?
We do not question the rule if it is needed for national interest, but the way regulations which are being implemented. This is an immature move and is not expected of a socialist and democratic country of world standing.
We love India and work for the interests of India in the United States, yet we are being treated as if we are enemies of India.
A family of four could pay more than $ 8000 in penalties and fees. This is not reasonable.
P K Mohanty, consul for education, press and culture at the New York Consulate says delaying to renounce the citizenship will only attract more penalties. Moreover, to get any consular service, the surrender certificate is mandatory.
We are pointing out that there was no procedure to renounce the citizenship and nobody asked for it or for the return of the Indian passport. Even the officials did not know about the form for renunciation.
* When we applied for the Indian Visa with our U.S. passports they have accepted that we are no more Indian citizens and stamped the Multiple Visa on our U.S. passports
* Recently a form “Surrender Certificate” was posted on Consulate websites but was withdrawn in two-three days, which shows the ignorance of the Indian Embassy and Consulates.
In 1955, the rule was made when there was no sizable number of Indians in other countries. After the rule was made, people migrated to many parts of the world and contributed immensely to the progress of India. Using an outdated rule to harass us is not warranted.
It looks like the policies of government of India are going backwards. Instead of encouraging Indians to invest in Indian economy, government is finding better way to milk the NRIs by charging them for surcharges at the airport and surrender fees for passport. You will never see this from any other country.
Most of who make this country as home would like to help India, and all we are requesting is that we should not be treated like this. Retroactive enforcement of the rule could cause unimaginable hardship in thousands of cases.
If the law did exist in the past, all the Indian embassies and consulates everywhere in the world should have asked for the surrender of Indian passports before granting Indian visas to Persons of Indian Origin.
We are requesting the following :
Place a moratorium on collecting the fees for the next six months, thereby giving the community sufficient time to act
Reduce the fee to a nominal amount so that it will not be seen as a revenue creating instrument
Allow a reasonable delay in surrendering Indian passports
Inform the community and individuals when the new rules will once again become effective
Instruct the Indian embassy and the Consulates to interact with the community, and deal with their frustrations over this matter in a more sympathetic manner.
I am sure Mother India will consider all this, but it may take time.
Dear All,
I think the discussion has turned to two phases. No one, at least by random screening of petitions on the indicated website, indicated that they are against security related issues. I am also lost at the fact that rules will be streamlined – what is this, 2000 BC or 2010 AD. Most rules should be implemented only after stakeholders have had a chance to review them and provide their comments.
I doubt if posters have reviewed people’s concerns. PIOs who still have their passports can surrender then once the fees and penalties are finalized (or streamlined). However, a large number of people do not have their passports and they have to go through a procedure to prove that they have lost their passports. Does anyone understand that this can take months?
Further, to all in favor of this, do you realize that once the Indian Consulate stamped your passport with a visa, they accepted your new citizenship. Everyone should have been instructed to surrender the Indian Passport at that instance. On the petitions online, many did surrender their passports which were returned back without any stamps because the consulate personnel did not know the rules themselves or (they representing Indian Govt) did not care.
BTW, please note that the Indian Govt. charges an Indian Citizen $40 -$50 for renewal of an Indian Passport and wishes to charge ex-Indian Passport holders an amount multiples higher. Does it make sense even in the name of patriotism?
Further, different consulates in USA have different forms and instructions for this cause. This clearly shows the ill implementation of an ill-conceived policy.
BTW, did anyone read Mr. Inder Singh’s post which clearly points out the errors in the form? If I became a US citizen and my Indian citizenship automatically expired, why would I sign a form indicating that I am still an Indian Citizen? BTW, the current External Affairs minister has several law degrees including one from George Washington University and a lawyer would have found the issues with the forms.
No thought was given to the basics of these new requirements let alone its proper implementation as well as hardship to hundreds of ex-Indian citizens. In the current form, if you cannot surrender your passport and or provide sufficient proof of its loss, you cannot travel to India. Was this the intent of this new rule? Sounds very immature to me.
Thanks for your attention.
Agree with you Lavina, but also remember, the Government of India may take some time to make all these changes more streamlined. The primary focus is making the Homeland SAFE. They have NO choice in that matter. They are acting quickly and decisively to plug all loopholes and are being guided by experts worldwide and are also getting intelligence briefings from the world’s leading agencies.
We HAVE to trust the Indian Government and believe that they have very strong reasons for the action they have taken so suddenly. By making all that information public will not be useful…in fact quite the opposite from the safety and security standpoint.
All Indian Americans and/or NRIs should consider what use their money will be if THEY get cut down and killed on of their trips to India.
For those that find this an unnecessary burden, the Overseas Indian Communities and such organizations should consider setting up Grants or interest free or soft loans, which they may or may not pay back as the case might be on a case by case basis. This is just a suggestion I am throwing out there. I am sure your readers will have plenty of suggestions to offer.
Mukul, I think in theory nobody disagrees with you – all NRIs would want India to be safe and terror-free. It’s the way the changes have been implemented without any notice and the fact that there are many struggling immigrants to whom these added expenses for a trip home will be another stress in today’s economy. The Government should take some responsibility for not enforcing its own rules all these years and not make penalties retroactive.
Thank you Pam (Kwatra) for your interesting post. If all NRIs think this matter through, calmly and rationally, they will come to the same conclusion as we have. Let’s hope and pray that they do.
The Motherland has been attacked by many over the centuries. Back then and also very recently, our brothers and sisters have paid in blood…with their lives. The November 2008 incident was the most recent example.
We should all be saying with one voice…ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and do what we can to support the Indian Government, instead of attacking them, calling then names and showing the world we are a house divided.
We are being asked to pay a comparatively cheap price. The dollar amounts and the long lines or the perceived inconveniences are nothing……others in November and earlier, have paid with their lives. Children have been orphaned. Wives have been widowed, parents have seen their children murdered before their eyes….the list is endless.
Consider what happened just tonight, Quote ” ………U.S. officials say an Aero Mexico flight from Paris to Mexico City was diverted to Montreal when the U.S. denied the flight access to its airspace after a person named in an outstanding warrant was reported aboard.
The person, whom officials did not identify, was removed from the plane by authorities on Sunday and arrested at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.
A spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration in Washington, Lauren Gaches, says other passengers on Aero Mexico Flight 006 from Charles De Gaulle Airport to Mexico City International Airport were re-screened and allowed to re-board the flight.
As a matter of policy, the TSA does not confirm or deny whether an individual appears on a government watch list…..” Unquote
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON May 30, 2010 (AP)
One of the news channels (I forget which) suggested earlier tonight that this unnamed person was on the “NO FLY LIST’ or “WATCH LIST” …. and yet he reportedly managed to slip through airport security at Paris.
How did this happen with such beefed up security? Simple…no system is perfect. They can all be breached one way or the other.
We all know about the recent incident that happened earlier on a flight from Nigeria to the USA via Amsterdam. The problem is worldwide, but INDIA has recently been attacked very viciously.
The nasties have a way of exploiting loopholes. The Indian Government is doing its best to plug them all….by itself a very daunting and monumental task. They will need a LOT of additional manpower to cope. How do we suppose they are going to get the money to pay for all this?
Reality check: We ALL want India to be safe and secure. We all want our trips back there to be happy and memorable ones. We all also want our brothers and sisters back home to live long happy and fruitful lives without the nasties stealing that from them. We are being asked to pay a price for the task of making the Homeland more secure. Let us do so happily, ask them what more we can do to help and bless them for their efforts, not put more obstacles in their way.
First of all, I want to say to Mukul Advani, I for one share your viewpoint and absolutely agree with you. We all need to work harder towards securing this world and our India. I understand that some people renewed both passports and thus those passports can be misused for some wrongdoing in today’s society and these uncertain times of terrorism. So the fact that Indian Govt. wants to update their data is totally understandable. If these are the measures they want to take, I am all for it.
For Thomas Bhai, NRI Indians have done lots for India, that is great. It is like all children send money home to their parents – even CitiBank’s commercial shows that emotion. So what if we NRI’s have done some things for India and its growth? A famous speech from John F Kennedy says, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” America was built on those principles. We should all support India for making it secure.
As we all understand, this issue is related to law and re-enforcement. However, all of a sudden, we are told about the passports and surrender process. We should be given a time frame and also comply. Just a question about the penalty figure -what justifies the amount and penalties?
I can only wonder at the civil servants/politicians who thought about these new rules and fees/ penalties. Under the guise of “National Security” – similar to George Bush and his cohorts in the USA, these people have gone after all foreign nationals with a vengeance.
While these passport rules have got much publicity, do you know that if you are a business man with an Indian visa/ US passport there are elaborate rules to prevent you from returning to India within 6 months of your previous visit? These detailed rules are not public domain. Apparently, this is to prevent cases like the Pakistan-turned-US-citizen who spied on Mumbai prior to the Mumbai massacre and visited India several times. This is a classic case of bureaucracy gone crazy – hopefully they will come to their senses soon.
Well, there certainly seems to be a lot of heat generated on this topic!
All posters have made some good points and I do think the new rules need to be fine-tuned so they can accommodate the concerns expressed by the petitioners.Because of penalties imposed retroactively, the amounts can become quite big and make it difficult for some families visiting India. I heard today of a woman who ended up paying $3500 in penalties at the consulate so that she and her family could still visit India during the summer.
Mukul Advani has confused the issue of paying of Indian visa/OCI fees with that of retroactive passport surrendering fees and other penalties. The community members are not complaining on the fees for visa, OCI card and PIO card. They are complaining about the new rules and hefty fees which suddenly cropped up, such as surrendering fees and other penalties for the services rendered by the Indian Missions.
The retroactive enforcement of New Rules for Surrender of Indian Passport has become a major issue for the Overseas Indian community, particularly in the USA, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and Australia. Since GOPIO had launched the Petition Online to the Prime Minister of India on Sunday May 23rd, over 21,000 have already signed as of Saturday, May 29th. One can see the petition and current signers at http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ip100521/petition.html. The rate of signing the petition is 200 every hour. That shows people’s anger at the new rules and the gravity of the situation.
The overseas Indian community has been supporting India related causes in America and other Western countries. This issue has suddenly become a major issue with all segments of the community actively involving in the campaign to repeal or put a moratorium for the next six months. It is even becoming bigger than the community mobilization we saw for the US-India nuclear deal.
I and a few other community activists looked at this new rule, which is based on the Citizenship Act of 1955 (http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/ic_act55.pdf). According to Section 9 of this act, anyone voluntarily acquiring citizenship of another country ceases to be citizen of India. In Section 8, it says, if any Indian citizen who is also a citizen of another country should renounce Indian citizenship. We found these sections from India’s Home Ministry website where Indian Citizenship Act of 1955 is provided. Therefore, if one’s citizenship is already terminated by Section 9, why does one have to renounce it? And that too when one is no more an Indian citizen for as many as 50 years.
In 2009, officials in the Home Ministry wrote the new rules (http://www.mha.nic.in/pdfs/Citi_Rule-2009.pdf) based on their interpretation of the Citizenship Act of 1955, however, they conveniently avoided the Section 9. Then, they set the fees, which are outrageous (see http://indiacgny.org/php/showHighLightDet.php?h_id=138&key=). A large number of our people are retirees. If anyone of them wants to travel to India, they have to pay as much as $175 to get permission in the name of Surrender Certificate fee and plus penalty fee for any services ($175 per service) from the Indian missions. If a family of four travels to India, the additional fee would be as much $2000.
The new rules are unfair to overseas Indians who have been sincerely helping India. The community feels that the new rule is just to harass NRIs and a way to extract more money from them. If Govt. of India wants the old passports, NRIs/ and PIOs will be happy to give them and there should not be any fee in taking away the passport or it should be a nominal fee of $25. That is what has been charged by the Indian Missions in New Zealand till last week. Generally, every government cancels the passport and gives it back to people for them to keep it as a memento or as record of their travel. What would Govt. of India do with over several millions of old passports? Where are they going to store them and for what purpose?
The Overseas Indian community is very much with India in all its security concerns and always supports India in its security. We will take even an additional step to make sure India’s security concerns are taken care of. I agree with the Indian Missions that some in our community in the past had misused Indian passports to visit India after they received the foreign country passports. However, after 26/11, the immigration departments in India are so strict that they check the entry stamp while the person is returning back from India. After becoming an American citizen, if a person misused the Indian passport to go to India and try to use an American passport to come back, they will straight away go to jail in India since the American passport does not have an entry stamp. Therefore, that argument of naturalized citizens misusing Indian passport does not hold good anymore.
With this new rule, the govt. may get about $200 million by way of fees, however, they will lose billions of dollars of what overseas Indians have been giving to India in terms of remittances, tourism dollars, telling our American friends to travel to India and invest in India, contribute to the education, health and other charitable causes. Govt. of India cannot and should not make a problem for Overseas Indians, saying that to go to their Motherland they will have to pay a hefty fee. This is absurd. In the final analysis, it will be the Govt. of India and the people of India who will be the losers, if these new rules are not changed immediately.
Thomas Abraham
Stamford, CT, USA
I really don’t believe India intends to punish anyone. Why would a mother punish her own children solely because they chose to live away from her? Does it make any sense? She loves all her children and embraces them when they return on their regular visits.
There may be some “teething problems” as new rules go into effect which may also vary from country to country. That is the natural order of things. Why would we think this is discrimination?
But once the procedures are more streamlined and the foot soldiers and bureaucrats tasked with enforcing these new regulations get used to the new system (which could again change in this current climate if better methods are found), things should be well.
Remember, combating terrorism is a worldwide Top Priority and has been for some time now. Indians have been mercilessly butchered in their own country and the Indian Government is doing its best, in consultation with many major intelligence agencies worldwide, to plug all possible loopholes which the nasties will try and exploit.
Instead of bothering the Honorable Prime Minister with such petitions that we see floating about complaining and griping about the fees and the inconvenience we are now facing, while he is doing his best with his Government to keep the Homeland as safe and secure as possible, we should be asking what WE can do to help.
Or is that too much?
The idea is to get the old passport out of circulation, then make it simple as follows:
1. Give deadline (e.g. July 1, 2010)
2. Advertise new rule on public channels.
3. Ask NRI to fill out simple form, sign and put your passport in regular mail with self-addressed stamped envelope and mail thru USPS.
4. When received by Consulate they can keep old passport and send stamped form back to NRI.
Nobody wants to hold on to an old passport which is no use to an NRI.
Why all the fees and penalty? It shows that Indian govt. is interested in making easy money under security reasons. Why penalty? We have not committed any crime.
Also where are all the community leaders? They are only interested in giving speeches and taking pictures with Indian leaders. Where are Overseas BJP and Overseas Congress leaders? They have better connections with the political machine in India and can push the issue but they are not available. Let’s have Relay FAST till the issue is resolved by Govt. of India as Mahatma Gandhi did.
This is another way to harass good, hardworking people. Giving Visa to all NRIs all these years – Govt. is equally responsible for not enforcing the rule. Most Indians cannot afford these kind of fees and penalty. There must not be any penalty. Just enforce the rule in a simple way as described in the above steps.
Thanks
I agree that the terrorist / nasty elements should be kept out of India .
But with all these procedures / fines and fees the innocent are being punished. There are many Indian families who have to go to India on emergency / marriage / sickness and they are unable to go because of these heavy fees / fines
After so many days the Indian Consulate has been kind and has organized a special camp to-day in New York, only for those who need to travel for emergency. The families in rest of USA are still not able to travel.
I think the Indian Govt knows that this is getting serious and will come up with a solution. So stay calm and keep on putting pressure in a civilized / polite way.
This is not about a few hundred Dollars in fees. The Indian Govt stands to collect almost 100 billion.
There are many Indian families who are affected by this as they have to pay fines up to $ 2000 plus the fees.
For families who have immigrated to USA more than 35 years ago the penalty for each service that they have taken from the Indian consulate is $ 250 per person.
* TV Asia is reporting even if you have a valid Multiple 10 year visa. some American citizens are being harassed at the port of entry and questioned regarding the surrender certificate.
Whenever F 15 / F 16 planes were being sold to Pakistan by USA, the Indian Govt was wanting the Indian Americans to talk to their Congressman to oppose it.
In 1991 when the Indian Govt was broke they came out with the bonds and the Indian Americans invested in them heavily.
The Indian economy is today flourishing because many U.S. companies are outsourcing to India.
The Indian passport act came out in 1955, but the Indian Govt has woken from their slumber only on 1 May 2010.
The US of A is a nation of immigrants and a melting pot.
* The U. S. State Dept has been notified and the U.S. Ambassador in Delhi will take up the matter with the Minister of External Affairs that a certain community of U.S Citizens are being treated differently ( Discrimination ) as the Indian Govt is charging these fees and fines only to those who are born in India.
For e.g : An American citizen applying for an Indian Visa ( born in USA or anywhere else in this world ) ( not India ) does not have to pay any fees or fines so this amounts to discrimination to people who are born in India and are U.S. citizens.
Also only the Indian Consulates in USA are enforcing these rules. Australia , UK, and Canada etc., this law is not being enforced.
This is a perfect case of Human Rights Violation and should be taken to the International Court if it is not resolved / revoked.
We all hope that all this is resolved quickly and it does not cause any embarrassment to our Motherland India
“SOLD OUT” dear Sir ? Hardly.
I realize that my comments will probably get me a lot of “hate mail”, but we all have to get our acts together and behave as responsible adults.
Another VERY important aspect to consider…..India now is very different than the India we grew up in…in fact the whole world is, after the terrorists have made it known that they will attack India at any opportunity and have already done so in a very nasty, brutal and bloody manner in November 2008.
And if you recall, the US State Department had recently (about a month or so ago ?) issued a Travel Advisory against travel to New Delhi on the basis that a terrorist attack was imminent.
If the US Government went to such lengths, I believe they had very specific intelligence to that effect when the warning was sent out. We should all take this very seriously.
My Dad was an Army Officer, having served in numerous wars against the Motherland, so none of us in our family took security matters lightly. And the hundreds of thousands of our brothers and sisters out there, who are children of parents serving or that have served in the Armed Forces will no doubt agree.
And I for one fully support the Indian Government now in their Dual Citizenship and Surrender Certificate issues. Money and fees aside, these are primarily SECURITY ISSUES, which the average “Bholaram” takes for granted, but ask any serving Indian Army, Navy or Air Force Officer and he/she will give you a totally different perspective and tell you a different story and why this should be the way it is.
Quite simply, the Indian Government is doing its best to keep the nasty elements out of our beloved India and what they have come up with are strong deterrents. We should applaud and support their efforts, not dump on them. And we should be prepared for even more changes as the Indian Government finds better methods and better deterrents, recognizing that no method is perfect. They are being guided by the best brains around, so what is wrong about supporting the land of our birth? The India we all love so much? When did THAT become a crime?
No Indian in the USA has ever been a citizen of India and the USA at the same time. That is, never a dual citizen.
Indian Citizenship Act 1955 Section 8. If any citizen of India of full age and capacity, who is also a citizen or national of another country, makes in the prescribed manner a declaration renouncing his Indian citizenship, the declaration shall be registered by the prescribed authority; and, upon such registration, that person shall cease to be a citizen of India: Provided that if any such declaration is made during any war in which India may be engaged, registration thereof shall be withheld until the Central Government otherwise directs.
So, what is an Indian citizen of the USA supposed to renounce if he/she is not holding two citizenships simultaneously? See clarification in Section 9.
Indian Citizenship Act 1955 Section 9. Any citizen of India who by naturalization, registration or otherwise voluntarily acquires, or has at any time between the 26th January, 1950 and the commencement of this Act voluntarily acquired, the citizenship of another country shall, upon such acquisition or, as the case may be, such commencement, cease to be a citizen of India.
The citizenship of India is terminated at the same time when citizenship of America is acquired as per Section 9. So, no one in the USA holds citizenship of India while being citizen of the USA. No dual citizenship; therefore, no renunciation is required.
The Indian Consulate form for “Renunciation of Indian citizenship” starts with “Declaration of Renunciation of citizenship made by a citizen of India who is also a citizen or national of another country.”
Indians in USA do not have dual citizenship, citizenship of India and of America.
Item 3 of the Renunciation Form talks about the acquisition of US citizenship while item 4 talks of renouncing of Indian citizenship which had been terminated automatically under section 9 on acquiring US citizenship.
Item 6 on the form says, “I ———————— do solemnly and sincerely declare that the foregoing particulars stated in this declaration are true and I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true.”
How can someone sign any form:
1. With an incorrect heading, (Declaration of Renunciation of citizenship made by a citizen of India who is also a citizen or national of another country)
2. With inconsistency of item 3 with item 4
3. By declaring solemnly and sincerely
4. By attesting to something that is not valid.
Any one signing the current form to renounce Indian citizenship is doing so incorrectly and maybe illegally as well. It amounts to surrendering something which a person does not have.
If the government of India considered Indians who got naturalized, as citizen of India also, why were they given Indian visa to visit India? Indian citizens living abroad do not require any visa to visit their own country. Obviously, Americans of Indian Origin were considered US Citizens and not dual citizens.
If the intent by the Government of India is to put stamp of cancellation on the passport, a new form has to be designed. Surrendering Passport, valid or invalid, at that time should not be a problem.
This guy is “SOLD OUT” or a billionaire. Come on, wake up all you NRIs. Protest this unjustified rule and sign petition online.
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ip100521/petition.html. If you agree on this petition, please sign and show your support.