reclaim Indian citizenship

nycank

I was simply stating that, the only physical verification, and surrendering that took place during naturalization proceeding was that of the Green Card that one carried to the swearing in ceremony. I have no other actual knowledge of this, other than my own.

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namaste_cat

The info at the DC embassy (which is my local one) is pretty clear:
http://www.indianembassy.org/newsite...ctionstest.asp
My last Indian passport (issued by the Washington, DC folks), had a stamp on page 3 saying:
I don't see much ambiguity there

dzibead

<cross-posted with namaste_cat and others, above>

For all the reasons Haylo and others have stated, this advice is total B.S. and I hope you were offering it in jest. If you meant it seriously, shame on you.

In any event, merely having physical possession of one's Indian passport does not change the fact that under Indian law, the acquisition of the citizenship of another country automatically terminates one's Indian citizenship by operation of law, so retaining physical possession of the Indian passport is neither here nor there. As far as I know, the U.S. naturalization process does not require the naturalized person to turn over his or her passport issued by a foreign country, because some countries allow dual citizenship and U.S. does not preclude it. But attempting to travel on a retained Indian passport after one has acquired citizenship in another country is against Indian law (there is a specific statute that prohibits this but I can't remember what it is off the top of my head) and would get the person who did it in a heap of trouble with the Indian authorities, which is the last thing a person who is trying to re-acquire Indian citizenship needs to do.

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crvlvr

That is true. The US authorities do not ask for your Indian passport as they allow dual citizenship. It is the Indian govt that wants you to turn in the Indian passport when you obtain citizenship of any other country.

Dzibead, The question remains if the Indian govt has a way of checking to see if any of their citizens have acquired citizenship elsewhere.

dzibead

I'm sure they don't check routinely, but if the question comes up, I believe if the person has become a U.S. citizen, the Indian Govt can get that information from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Whether the Indian Govt can get naturalization information from other countries, I don't know.

nycank

The CGINY returned old my indian passport after a cursory glance when I applied for my Indian Visa.

Indian Govt. *might* know it by inference. My last Indian passport was issued by CGINY (so I presume they have a paper file with cataloging by Last Name,First or whatever. When one applies to same consulate for Indian Visa; They would probably put it in the same folder if DOB, Place of Birth, etc. matches.

kmalik

The information posted by several, including specific links by Namaste_Cat, is very clear concerning Indian government's desire to have the passport back when its citizen has acquired another citizenship.

However, the Indian government practice does vary. I personally did not return the passport, as I was not aware of the requirement. I then supplied the old (expired) Indian passport to the Indian consulate for PIO processing. They processed the PIO and returned my old Indian passport back to me. Perhaps it was the fact the passport was expired when I applied for the PIO - but there was no comment on my having kept it either.

crvlvr

There appears to be a huge gap between what the Indian law states and what is being enforced. Par for the course, I'd say.

sakamath

One point Dilliwala missed in the shorter way to citizenship is what is mentioned in point #3 (under "Citizenship by Registration"). It states that persons who have renounced, deprived of or terminate their Indian citizenship cannot be registered as a citizen. So yes, the only course left open is OCI/PIO and the required length of stay in India, before acquiring Indian Citizenship. (I think its one year stay in India but must be registered as OCI for atleast 5 years not the otherway round?)

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Dilliwala

Hmm, you think I'd have missed something so basic?

Please read the clause again -

"(3) No person who has renounced, or has been deprived of his Indian cirizenship or whose Indian citizenship has terminated, under this Act shall be registered as a citizen of India under sub-section (1)......."

This is where you stopped reading. Very ill-advised, where matters of the law are concerned. I'm surprised you stopped, since the sentence hadn't ended. Let me add the rest of it (special effects mine) -

"........EXCEPT BY ORDER OF THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT."
Quod erat demonstrandum.

Legalese being what it is, one often comes across examples of 'negative text-framing', for a specific purpose. The exception does not mean that one basically cannot expect it to be made, it's just accentuating that this has to be a deliberate act of the GOI.

Nick-H

"........EXCEPT BY ORDER OF THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT."

sounds to me as if it might, in practice, translate to:

Unless you have some very good and close contacts in Central government

dzibead

Sometimes opposing counsel try that with me as well. It never works out well for them.

sakamath

"........EXCEPT BY ORDER OF THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT."

...is typically used in high profile cases where the govt needs to prove a point. If one counts on this to claim Indian citizenship, wow, you have my best wishes!

blwetorch

Back after a long time!
Welcome back!

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And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

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