Sharp rise in Passport surrender charge

The Indian Government has raised sharply the fee payable for surrendering Indian passports for cancellation.

The fee has been raised from $25 to $220 with immediate effect.

Until three years ago, there was no fee for cancellation of passports.

Indian Passport holders obtaining New Zealand citizenship must surrender their existing passports to the Indian High Commission in Wellington.

Since India does not provide dual citizenship, those becoming citizens of another country automatically forfeit their Indian citizenship.

According to the Indian Home Ministry, it is a criminal offense to use Indian passports after their holders have become citizens of another country.

However, since January 2006, former citizens of India (who had held Indian passports) could apply for Overseas Indian Citizenship (OCI), which allows them most privileges of an Ordinarily Non-Resident Indians, except purchase of agricultural land, contesting and voting in elections, bidding for government contracts and seeking government and public sector jobs.

An Indian High Commission official in Wellington said all OCI applicants must have a ‘Renunciation Certificate.’

“This would apply to all those who travelled out of India on Indian passports, their children born outside India and registered as Indian Citizens and held Indian passports and later secured nationality and passport of another country.

“The High Commission and the Home Ministry will make necessary entries in their records,” he said.

While most Indian passport holders intending to obtain New Zealand citizenship understand the need for such a certificate, but they objected to such a sharp rise in the fee charged, without consultation.

“The fee has been hiked nine-fold, on top of which, we would be required to pay $520 per passport for OCI,” they said.

Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) Oceania Region Vice-President Harish Bajaj said US based GOPIO International Chairman Inder Singh had taken up the matter with the concerned Indian Government officials.