114 Responses to “Indian’s must surrender Indian passports before obtaining visa for India”

1. Arif says:

   February 1, 2010 at 4:39 pm

   Do I only have to surrender my Indian Passport if I want a visa for India? What If I want a visa for another country, whould I still need to surrender my Indian passport? Any help regarding these questions will be beneficial
   Thank you
2. nish says:

   February 1, 2010 at 10:33 pm

   hi i was wondering my mother has to surrender her indian passport but where does she go to do it can it be at any time of the day or is there specific timings the website doesn’t give enough information if any one can help
   thank you.
3. TSwain says:

   February 2, 2010 at 4:56 am

   what a great site and informative posts, I will add a backlink and bookmark your site. Keep up the good work!
4. V S L. says:

   February 2, 2010 at 9:29 pm

   Hi.
   Please note all those who are applying for OCI new photo size is 51mm by 51mm.
5. Navin says:

   February 3, 2010 at 1:39 pm

   I HAVE BEEN TO THE HCI PREMISES.
   PEOPLE STARTED QUEING UP FROM 7.00AM IN THE COLD WEATHER. OUTSIDE THE BUILDING.
   WAITED TILL 8.30 AM BEFORE TOKENS WERE ISSUED FOR RESPECTIVE COUNTERS.
   AFTER GETTING THE TOKENS ONE HAS TO WAIT OUTSIDE IN THE COLD TILL 9.15 AM TO GET TO THE COUNTERS.

   AIMS OF HCI ?

   1] GIVE MAXIMUM DISCOMFORT TO FELLOW INDIANS.
   2] REQUIRING UNNECCESSARY DOCUMENTS TO BE PHOTOCOPIED
   3] ASKING PEOPLE TO COME AGAIN ON ANOTHER DAY WITH MORE DOCUMENTS.

   WHY CAN’T HCI do the following :-

   1] MAKE IT SIMPLE BY ASKING FOR THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF DOCUMENTS TO SUFFICE FOR THE NEEDS.
   2] ALLOW THOSE WHO HAVE GOT TOKENS TO GO AND IN THE COUNTERS SECTION RATHER THAN WAIT OUTSIDE IN THE COLD.
   3] HAVE A MORE HUMANE APPROACH WITH FELLOW INDIANS RATHER THAN BE RUDE.
   4] MY FIRST IMPRESSION IS THE STAFF ARE NOT THAT FRIENDLY. HAVE A FREINDLY APPROACH AND TRY TO HELP ALL THE INDIANS WHO COME FOR ASSISTANCE.
   5] REDUCE THE EXHORBITANT CHGS THAT ARE NOW IN PLACE. REMEMBER NOT EVERY ONE IS FILTHY RICH

   I HOPE SOMEONE IN AUTHORITY AT THE HCI WILL TAKE ACTION AND TRY TO REDUCE THE STRESS AND DISCOMFORT CAUSE BY THE CURRENT PROCEDURES

   IF NOTHING CAN BE DONE I SUGGEST DO NOT PROVIDE THE RELEVANT SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY AT ALL
6. IndianBorn says:

   February 3, 2010 at 4:54 pm

   Could any one please answer these: URGENTLY: Will be much appreciated:

   1. For surrender of Indian passport do we have to go in-person to HCI London or can we send the application by post?

   2. For surrender of a Child’s passport: Do they have to go in person as well?

   3. Is it true that they can post the Certificate back to us if we give them a slef-addressed and stamped envelope?

   Many thanks
7. Free Software Downloads says:

   February 5, 2010 at 4:03 am

   Very good article I like your blog carry on the great posts
8. Pinak says:

   February 7, 2010 at 9:40 am

   Hello, thanks for the information. I wanted to know if this can be done via post. Can I post all the document to them. If not will I still have to go and take tokens etc and stand in the queue or can I go anytime to the passport counter and submit the same
9. Barney Scarfo says:

   February 7, 2010 at 6:50 pm

   Added you to Taggly (never heard of it? ) let me explain Store, share and tag your favorite links.
10. Luigi Fulk says:

    February 8, 2010 at 8:16 pm

    Great ! Nice post. Thx for share
11. Patel says:

    February 8, 2010 at 11:10 pm

    I HAVE BEEN TO THE HCI PREMISES.
    PEOPLE STARTED QUEING UP FROM 7.00AM IN THE COLD WEATHER. OUTSIDE THE BUILDING.
    WAITED TILL 8.30 AM BEFORE TOKENS WERE ISSUED FOR RESPECTIVE COUNTERS.
    AFTER GETTING THE TOKENS ONE HAS TO WAIT OUTSIDE IN THE COLD TILL 9.15 AM TO GET TO THE COUNTERS.

    AIMS OF HCI ?

    1] GIVE MAXIMUM DISCOMFORT TO FELLOW INDIANS.
    2] REQUIRING UNNECCESSARY DOCUMENTS TO BE PHOTOCOPIED
    3] ASKING PEOPLE TO COME AGAIN ON ANOTHER DAY WITH MORE DOCUMENTS.

    WHY CAN’T HCI do the following :-

    1] MAKE IT SIMPLE BY ASKING FOR THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF DOCUMENTS TO SUFFICE FOR THE NEEDS.
    2] ALLOW THOSE WHO HAVE GOT TOKENS TO GO AND IN THE COUNTERS SECTION RATHER THAN WAIT OUTSIDE IN THE COLD.
    3] HAVE A MORE HUMANE APPROACH WITH FELLOW INDIANS RATHER THAN BE RUDE.
    4] MY FIRST IMPRESSION IS THE STAFF ARE NOT THAT FRIENDLY. HAVE A FREINDLY APPROACH AND TRY TO HELP ALL THE INDIANS WHO COME FOR ASSISTANCE.
    5] REDUCE THE EXHORBITANT CHGS THAT ARE NOW IN PLACE. REMEMBER NOT EVERY ONE IS FILTHY RICH

    I HOPE SOMEONE IN AUTHORITY AT THE HCI WILL TAKE ACTION AND TRY TO REDUCE THE STRESS AND DISCOMFORT CAUSE BY THE CURRENT PROCEDURES

    IF NOTHING CAN BE DONE I SUGGEST DO NOT PROVIDE THE RELEVANT SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY AT ALL
12. Satty says:

    February 9, 2010 at 10:45 am

    I gave up my Indian Passport back in the mid 1970’s when I naturalized as a British Citizen and I no longer have any details. It has been nearly 35 years. Now that I am planning to apply for OCI, I am asked to provide details of the last Indian passport. I have been told that I will have to provide a notarized letter stating that I no longer have the Indian Passport and pay £90 to surrender my citizenship. I thought I had already done that when I surrendered my Indian passport. I am sure a lot of older people of Indian origin will be in a similar position of not having old Indian passports. What does a notarized letter prove ?. The person providing such a letter may still be in possession of an Indian Passport. Why make people go through the hassle of using Notaries/Solicitors or getting Police Report, if lost/stolen. Each trip to the Indian Consulate takes at least three hours. Also, I have heard that this requirement to surrender passports is relatively new. It looks like the Indian Government is looking to increase revenues. Rather than hassle people to surrender their old passports/citizenship, why doesn’t the Indian Government just increase the prices for OCI. Because that is what it seems to be about.
13. Jahirhusen says:

    February 9, 2010 at 11:38 pm

    .Hi I have a (OCI VISA) and a cancelled Indian passport. Do I still have to surrender the cancelled Indian passport? When I went to Birmingham office they said I don’t have to, but their website saying I have to! I m confuse!. Please someone reply on this. Hope u understand my question. Thanks.
14. Nidhi says:

    February 10, 2010 at 4:58 pm

    Hi,
    I have recently got my British Passport. I still have the indina passport and would now like to apply for OCI. Can anyone tell the following please;
    1) as I havent surrendered my indian passport yet, can i hand it to them with my OCI application and they can just keep and not give it back
    2) do they keep my British passport for the entire length my OCI application is being processed?
    3) How long does it take from your personal experience for OCI applications to be processed?
    Many thanks,
    Nidhi
15. Gursharan says:

    February 13, 2010 at 12:54 pm

    In order for my mum to surrender her passport, where can she go to do this. It has been less than a year, since she became a British Citizen, but she had delayed the passport; so please can some one help me out, of where we can go to surrender it, or can i just post it through the postal services.

    Thank You.
16. Adrian Stevenage says:

    February 13, 2010 at 7:19 pm

    good one.
    Please visit in person to do all your submissions. Also carry CASH money or POstal orders.
    Carry 5 photocopies of each document pluse some related documents like bank statements, tenancy agreement, light bills, gas bills, car insurance, breakdown cover,insurance etc.
    Dont forget even in London or UK Indian embassy we have our desi babus working. SOme of them are selected on basis of exams (1 or 2 of them) other on basis of SC/ST/OBC/BC other minority classes quotas. So they are poor in english/ hindi and can speak their own mother tongue and understand work if they get bunch of 100 or 200 papers.

    If one cant keep Indian passport after acquiring other citizenship then why should you introduce OCI cards? does it make any sense? so its like saying you cannot withdraw money from your bank by a cheque or on counter but you are allowed to do so by a DEBIT card!

    One gentleman asked, can we apply for visa of another country without surrendering Indian passport….common sense, if it is illegal to hold Indian passport and you have commited a crime, then why as a criminal you want to apply for other country visa on your UK/USA or other passport? just surrender it and get rid of your Indianess…! why you want to keep Indian passport when you have accepted you have ditched your motherland for UK passport or USA passport!

    best luck
17. Adrian Stevenage says:

    February 13, 2010 at 7:23 pm

    Dear nidhi
    First you need to surrender Indian passport, pay 90 pounds and once you get a letter from Indian commission (around 10-15 days) then you can proceed with OCI card.
    They will keep UK passport for may be entire time or can return on same day, depends on your case and if you dont have any penalties (i.e: if you have not travelled to India or used Indian passport for travelling when holding UK passport).

    Dont worry it wont be lost, its safe there! Thanks to UK biometric , now its difficult to misuse it!
18. Deepika says:

    February 13, 2010 at 8:14 pm

    I went with my mum to surrender her Indian passport at the London Indian High Commission.It was an experience that I will not forget.There is no system in place not to mention the unfriendly and disrespectful staff.They treat you like dirt.
    There are no signposts inside the building as to where you should be queing and having a token with your number is a waste of time as your number is never called out and instead you have to push and shove to find what number is now being served.

    What I want to understand is my mum had her British passport issued in 1990 and the Indian passport was cancelled then.Why after 20 years has the Indian High Commission demanded the passport back.The fact that she has had a British
    passport issued is no concern of the Indian High Commission.Why has this policy only come into effect now.
    The passport is cancelled so she cannot travel on it if she tried.

    They only demand cash in hand,no cheque etc .This is a real money spinner.Imagine the money they are raking in.They must have all put their heads together to say how can we raise cash from these poor people.

    If anyone knows who we can complain to in England and have this investigated please leave a reply and I will be pleased to pursue it.I have raised this with the British and Immigration department and they said this sounds very suspect.
19. scoobie says:

    February 14, 2010 at 8:36 pm

    I totally agree with Raj, The Indian Government DOES need a MASSIVE KICK UP THE BUM!!!!!!!! We need to complain about these charges for surrendering a passport for them to use a pair of 49p scissors to cut the corners off a passport & issue a piece of paper with a cancellation number on…….. Only Indian High Commission officials can come up with these charges – Does one need a new Merc, BMW or a bigger house?.
    I tried to use an online application government site earlier before stumbling on this site only to be told by Firefox that this is NOT A TRUSTED SITE – An official Government site using an unsecured site… where you have to give personal details a BIG NO THANK YOU – I prefer my id not to be stolen.
    Mr Waiting Guy January 26, 2010 at 10:45 am – YES

    “It is really shame on Indian Government! Yes, for security reasons then can ask to apply for surrender certificate. But, why £90. To apply a new passport they charge £30, sadly to cancel it they charge £90. What non-sense!”
20. amazon coupon says:

    February 15, 2010 at 8:43 pm

    very useful read. I would love to follow you on twitter.
21. Lindsey Perrette says:

    February 16, 2010 at 8:11 am

    Hi mate, when viewing at your site i see some kind of weird codes all over the page, in case it’s important I just thought I’d let you know it says this with all sorts of other stuff after it: “Warning: Cannot modify header information
22. free call international says:

    February 16, 2010 at 11:14 am

    http://www.indiavisaheadoffice.co.uk; You saved my day again.
23. baka says:

    February 16, 2010 at 5:07 pm

    I went to the High Commission to surrender my passport today. The whole process was appalling – after waiting outside in the rain for a couple of hours for a token (only one of the token counters was manned which is unpardonable, given that there were around 300 people waiting outside), one is admitted into a ghastly waiting room, which surely does not meet adequate fire safety standards. You then wait for hours, as many counters are unmanned, and the few staff manning these counters use every excuse, including tea breaks, lunch, etc. to close the counters and disappear. The staff on the whole are thoroughly unhelpful and the whole set-up is geared to fleece you. All the people waiting for consular services were upset, as many had travelled from outside London only to be told that their documentation was incomplete or insufficient. They charge you extortionate sums for everything, from returnig your passports, to retroactive changes in the law, and given that everything is to be submitted in duplicate, they still dont have the decency to provide photocopying machines or working photo booths. HCI take note – you have the dubious distinction of being the worst-run consular department in London.
24. DetStoototice says:

    February 17, 2010 at 1:36 am

    I am reading this article second time today, you have to be more careful with content leakers. If I will fount it again I will send you a link
25. free trial says:

    February 17, 2010 at 9:11 pm

    After reading you site, Your site is very useful for me .I bookmarked your site!
26. oomibhoomi says:

    February 19, 2010 at 11:30 am

    Deepika – I thoroughly agree (as do many others) something has to be done! How can the the Indian Govt get away with such an appalling quality of service, disrespect to other indians and illogical and astronomical charge for surrendering your indian passport (i’m sure some people already possess “cancelled” passports). Exactly what can you do with a cancelled indian passport to flout their dual nationality legislation.

    I truly believe the publics experiences of HCI/CGI should be published on India’s tourism website – If these Govt depts cant organise themselves here in the UK, makes you wonder how attractive it makes the rest of the country appear! I mean no disrespect to the people of India, but the actions of the minority ALWAYS spoil things for the majority.

    Dont get me started on the guys at Mumbai airport asking blatantly, with no shame for £100/$100’s for helping you with your luggage….. another thing the authorities do sod all about.

    Does it surprise anyone that the rich/poor divide is sooo great.

    Rant over – i feel so much better now.
27. Boyce Ford says:

    February 19, 2010 at 7:15 pm

    I really like when people are expressing their opinion and thought. So I like the way you are writing
28. Viagra says:

    February 20, 2010 at 10:51 am

    Please, can you PM me and tell me few more thinks about this, I am really fan of your blog…
29. WP Themes says:

    February 20, 2010 at 1:27 pm

    Good fill someone in on and this mail helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you on your information.
30. Bhavani Dhiru says:

    February 20, 2010 at 1:39 pm

    Hi
    I have a (OCI VISA) and i have my cancelled Indian passport. Do I still have to surrender the cancelled Indian passport?

    Please can you reply as soon as possible!!!
    Thankyou!!!!
31. Dusty Brule says:

    February 22, 2010 at 7:53 am

    Thanks for this. We all love a bargain and your advice helps
32. Vikram Rajput says:

    February 22, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    its all a money making scheme.
    they treat NRI inhuman at the CGI in birmingham and london. they make you wait in the cold.
    when you are served by the counter staff, they are rude, arogant and unpleasent and ask for numerous photocopies for OCI/PIO
33. Jai Rajput says:

    February 22, 2010 at 2:36 pm

    I have an Cancelled indian passport, i recently went to the CGI birmingham to make an OCI,
    they asked me to surrender the indian cancelled passport and a fee for £90.
    when they had cancelled the indian passport previously they had mentioned that there was no fee to pay, but now they want £90 to issue a paper certificate (surrender)
    its totally out of order, they are using it to make money. If a passport is cancelled then why should we pay £90.

    They are making revenue from foreign NRI’s.
    At the end of the day its us NRIs which will bring foreign investment, currency into india.
    The high commision of india is very very unfair, they treat NRIs as inhuman, make them wait in the cold for visas and apointmenent.

    All NRIs should make a complaint to the independent complaints commission, UK.
34. Lastminutereisen says:

    February 23, 2010 at 7:51 am

    Thanks!!
35. Gavin says:

    February 26, 2010 at 3:52 pm

    I find your site to be very useful, lots of good information keep it up.
36. Pawan says:

    February 27, 2010 at 3:32 pm

    Come on people.. complain to your local MPs, writer letters to the prime-minister.. flood everyones post with complaints until something is done about this.. set up a facebook group- bring these charges to JUSTICE. Bring the HCI to its knees! YEAH! I have written my letters .. are you brave enough to write yours?! Are you fussed enough to write yours?! COME ON!
37. reet.k says:

    February 28, 2010 at 12:23 pm

    THIS FEE SHOULD BE CANCELled!!!the world is talking about recession adn INDIAN GOVT like always more money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!that too for somthing that we dont need….
38. reet.k says:

    February 28, 2010 at 12:39 pm

    JOIN THE GROUP ON FACEBOOK CALLED
    CANCEL THE INDIAN PASSPORT SURRENDER FEE

    LET’S GO PEOPLE!!
39. Bhavani Dhiru says:

    February 28, 2010 at 6:45 pm

    Do i have to surrender both my new and old passport, if i have a british passport??
    can you please answer this is veery IMPORTANT
40. Lak says:

    March 2, 2010 at 1:57 pm

    The HCI is a load of shit the staff are crap there favourite sentence is ring back in a few days when it takes bloody two weeks for them to actually get off their ass and pick up the phone in the first place!!!!! For all the money they have have taken off the public to surrender their passports you would have thought they wpould use it to train up their incompetent staff instead of using it for a richer life style!!!!! The whole HCI should be shut down its useless I could do a better job in my sleep. Who the hell actually manages the HCI they need to be given the sack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
41. Ruppie says:

    March 2, 2010 at 8:08 pm

    Hi,
    I applied for the British Passport last year and got one.My Indian passport was sent back to me with a Cancelled stamp on the first two pages, so its obvious that I can’t use this passport anymore.
    Do I still need to surrender my Indian Passport ?
    Pls. let me know.
    Many thanks.
42. Jiten says:

    March 3, 2010 at 9:48 pm

    I got OCI card last year. When I phone to ask for the new rule about the old cancelled indian passport surrender the guy on phone said to me you don’t have to do it now when ever you visit HCI for renewing your OCI card in the future then you can do it. So Whoever got OCI before this new rule please do not rush to give away money. This rule will definately be revised.Be brave.Fight the injustice. Best of luck.
43. anesimo says:

    March 5, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    My indian passport was cancelled and returned to me when i went to apply for indian visa. Now i have to surrender my passport which is useless for travel purposes. The added joke is, i have to provide copy of my Britush passport, naturaliasation certificate and visa pages of indian passport. They are asking these documents after they have already cancelled my indian passport!!!

    all they are interested in making money. At least the staff should be trained to deal with the public in polite manner which does not exist in Indian bearucracy. The folks at the embassy still think that they are in India. What a great publicity for tourism in India!
44. Gursharan Singh Sandhu says:

    March 5, 2010 at 5:15 pm

    Yes, you can post it, or go there and give it to the High Commission of India. If you have not been on holiday within now and when you got your British passport, then there will be no extra fee, if you might have to pay a bit more! Unfortunately they made me stand in the cold (4 hours) while i waited for my dad to surrender it it! Hope you have some luck!
45. Gursharan Singh Sandhu says:

    March 5, 2010 at 5:21 pm

    They also charge a fee of £90 to surrender passport, it does not matter if you have old or new, take all. You have to fill in a form, which your can find on their website. You will be needing to photocopy your certificate and the visa pages and a few more that you will be aware of. They will call you back on a different day to pick up the certificate, after you have surrendered.
46. Gursharan Singh Sandhu says:

    March 5, 2010 at 5:35 pm

    I was upset when i had gone with my dad to surrender my mums passport. When we got to the security point, they didn’t allow me (14 years old), to go in, my dad told them that i am under aged to be by myself, but they said no, in such a rude way my dad nearly lost his temper, so my dad told me to stay there because their English was so bad he didn’t bother. I thought working for a High Commission they would be my respectful, but instead it seems like if they are in India, they have the same behavior and rudeness as the guards at the India airports. Looking at their uniform, looks like if they have just woke up and dragged them selves to work, where they cant understand any one! The counter was also the same. When my dad came out, he told me that it is not just the security its the all the way down to the back as well. Also as a High Commission of India shouldn’t they be re educating their staff? If they cant, seems like they have shipped there staff from India on cheap wage. Can you imagine a child waiting from morning till lunch time in the cold? I thought these guys will have some sympathy for us people. Looks like they don’t. If they had a email i would be sending this of to them, to bad they don’t. But again we all know no respond will come back!!!!
47. Shadow Love says:

    March 6, 2010 at 12:01 pm

    After not having received much response about certificates and OCI from this portal, not because people weren’t being helpful, but the confusion surrounding this issue, I decided to check it out for myself. For all you newbie Brits, this is the information straight from the horse’s mouth! I went to the HCI London to surrender my passport, and in the 1.5 hour-long wait, in -2C temperature, I learnt some important things, not to mention from the lady at the counter! I arrived at the embassy at 07:40 in the morning (after having travelled from Southampton since 5 am in the morning!), and there were 50 people in the queue before me! The counter opened at 08:30 to issue tokens and the queue moved quite rapidly after that. I was done with submitting my passport and the application form by 10:30, so it was quick and painless.
    There is one major discrepancy between what the HCI London website states, and what actually happens at the embassy! You CANNOT submit your OCI application and application to surrender the passport at the same time!! (although the website says you can apply for OCI even if you haven’t received your surrender certificate, as they will check it before they stamp the OCI sticker in your passport after 8 weeks!) You have to first surrender certificate and once you receive it, only then can you apply for the OCI! So that’s 4 trips in total.
    1. To surrender the passport (between 08:30 – 12pm)
    2. To collect the certificate (between 15:30 – 16:30)
    3. To submit OCI application (between 08:30 – 12pm)
    4. To collect OCI card (have to queue up in the morning to collect token, submit your British passport), and then queue up in the evening to collect your British passport and the OCI card!
    All ex-Indians, who now hold a British passport/Citizenship, MUST surrender their Indian passport to the HCI closest to you.
    1) If you don’t have an Indian passport, and if it has expired by now (if you would have possessed it), you need to get a notarised affidavit done AND pay the £90 for the surrender certificate! The notarised affidavit can be made at your local court or through a solicitor, which might cost you under £100.
    2) ) If you don’t have an Indian passport, and if it has NOT expired by now (if you would have possessed it), you need to get a notarised affidavit done AND get a police report/incident number AND pay the £90 for the surrender certificate! The notarised affidavit can be made at your local court or through a solicitor, which might cost you under £100.
    3) If you have your Indian passport, include your Indian passport and lots of photocopies AND pay the £90 to get the surrender certificate.
    4) Please surrender your Indian passport as soon as feasible. The penalty gets worse! For information, check out the information in the table below (Scroll to the bottom of the page)
    http://www.cgibirmingham.org/consrvcs.htm

    All the above SHOULD be accompanied by a Surrender Certificate Application form, which can be found at http://www.cgiedinburgh.org/PassportAndConsularServices.shtml (highlighted in orange-yellow after the first paragraph). I could not find this on HCI London’s website, or maybe it is was as obscure as the information on that site!!

    NOTE: Surrendering of the passport MUST be done in person at the HCI closest to you. You MAY ask them to return it by post, provided you give a self-addressed envelope (not sure about this, please check with the lady at the counter).

    5) If you are not applying for an OCI or PIO, but just an Indian tourist visa as a British National, if you are an ex-Indian, then you will have to show a copy of your surrender certificate BEFORE you get the visa issued! You may ask – I’m a British citizen, and I am entitled to a Indian tourist visa just like every foreign visitor, so why ask for a surrender certificate?? Answer is – your Indian tourist visa application form will ask the question – What is your previous nationality? – and once you answer “Indian” (don’t think of lying here, the consequences if you are caught, are worse than paying £90 for the certificate), you will be asked to show your surrender certificate, hence there is NO escape from this! (sigh!)

    Now, the most important thing of all –
    If you have travelled on your Indian passport WITHIN 3 months of getting your citizenship/passport, then you are exempt from any penalty, as there is a 3-month grace period given by the Indian Govt. to travel on the Indian passport.
    If you have travelled on your Indian passport AFTER 3 months of getting your citizenship/passport, then you will be penalised for EVERY trip you made on the passport, and each trip can cost upto £125!! (yes, that’s extortion!) AND pay the £90 for the surrender certificate!
    So, the summary of this all –
    1) Surrender your certificate in PERSON as soon as possible, before they hike up their fee!
    2) You need a surrender certificate whether you are applying for an OCI, PIO or Tourist visa as an Ex-Indian.
    3) The only people who can get away without surrendering their passports are (this is what I think, I’m not sure) the ones who never want to go back to India again and the ones who have already got an OCI stamped on their passports before this rule was brought in!
    I hope all this has helped. Will post on information on the OCI, once I have finished with that rigmarole too!
48. AB says:

    March 6, 2010 at 2:39 pm

    @Navin

    Please note that once you acquire foreign citizenship, you are no longer a “fellow Indian”. Your race does not matter. Kindly upgrade to the 21st century.

    That said, I would strongly agree that the Indian Embassies and Consulates should treat foreigners like you with respect and courtesy. But not because you are “Indian”; because you are our guests.
49. Lawn care Newark says:

    March 7, 2010 at 12:06 am

    Hey, I think your really on point with this, I wouldn’t say I agree with you completely , but its not really that much of a deal .
50. Ahmed Eikner says:

    March 7, 2010 at 11:08 pm

    Great information! I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now. Thanks!