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Renunciation & Surrender Certificate Services
Renunciation of Indian Citizenship
- Definition: A legal declaration made by a person of Indian origin that they no longer wish to be an Indian citizen.
- Who must do it?: Anyone who has acquired foreign citizenship (by naturalization or otherwise) and therefore automatically loses Indian citizenship under the Indian Citizenship Act, 1955.
- Legal Basis: India does not allow dual citizenship. As per Section 9 of the Act, acquiring foreign nationality results in automatic loss of Indian citizenship.
- What it involves: Filing a declaration of renunciation and obtaining a Renunciation Certificate from the Indian government.
- All applicants applying for the Surrender Certificate service must first apply for Renunciation of Indian Citizenship, except in the case of minors (under 18 years of age). Minors can directly apply for Surrender Certificate without needing to separately apply for renunciation.
Surrender Certificate
- Definition: A procedural requirement that follows renunciation — the individual is required to submit their last held Indian passport to the Indian authorities.
- Who must do it?: All former Indian citizens who have acquired foreign citizenship must surrender their Indian passport, as it's illegal to retain or use it after acquiring foreign citizenship.
- Legal Basis: Holding or using an Indian passport after acquiring foreign nationality is a punishable offense under the Indian Passport Act, 1967.
- What it involves: Returning the physical Indian passport and obtaining a Surrender Certificate (often with a 'Cancelled due to acquiring foreign nationality' stamp).
- All applicants applying for the Surrender Certificate service must first apply for Renunciation of Indian Citizenship, except in the case of minors (under 18 years of age). Minors can directly apply for Surrender Certificate without needing to separately apply for renunciation.
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