Indian or British Passport for British Indian Child

[Ravster]

Hi,

My son was born in Jan 2014 when both me and my wife were on Tier-1 work permit. We got our ILR done(for myself, wife) in Oct'15 following which we got a UK passport for our son.

Question: Can we retain his Indian passport until he is 18 without having to go through the passport surrender-OCI process.

[ohara]

Hi,

My son was born in Jan 2014 when both me and my wife were on Tier-1 work permit. We got our ILR done(for myself, wife) in Oct'15 following which we got a UK passport for our son.

Question: Can we retain his Indian passport until he is 18 without having to go through the passport surrender-OCI process.

By getting your son a British passport, you have effectively renounced his Indian citizenship according to Indian nationality law and you must surrender his Indian passport.

[secret.simon]

My son was born in Jan 2014 when both me and my wife were on Tier-1 work permit. We got our ILR done(for myself, wife) in Oct'15 following which we got a UK passport for our son.

That sounds like you registered your child under the BNA 1981 as you would not have got the British passport otherwise.

If so, your son's Indian citizenship ceased on the date listed on his registration certificate.

Provided he does not travel on his Indian passport, it can be surrendered within three years of his acquisition of British citizenship. Failure to do so may cause issues with his travel to India later in life.

Dual (Indian/foreign) citizenship is only permitted if the child is born with multiple citizenships (such as, if he was born in the UK to Indian parents on ILR). If he is registered with another citizenship, his Indian citizenship is automatically lost.

Even if born a dual citizen, Indian citizenship is also lost on acquisition of a foreign passport or otherwise exercising foreign citizenship (by asking for foreign consular assistance in India, for instance).

@Ohara, impressed to see that you are coming up to speed with Indian nationality law quite well.