Travel Before Attending Oath Ceremony

Hi ,

I have a question in regards to travelling to India

If I have received only approval letter of Naturalisation, Would it be possible to travel to India on Indian Passport and stay for longer Duration(5 months), then come back and attend the Oath Ceremony after that ?

My question here is that 90 days grace period of surrender of Indian Passport does not apply here because I have not attended the oath ceremony yet ? is that correct ?

Thanks in Advance

nicks85 wrote: ↑

Fri Sep 25, 2020 12:35 am

My question here is that 90 days grace period of surrender of Indian Passport does not apply here because I have not attended the oath ceremony yet ? is that correct ?

Correct. You only become a British citizen when you attend a citizenship ceremony and take the oath.

Be aware that the situation with international travel in the age of the pandemic is quite fluid and that you may not be able to make it back to take the oath in time.

Really a question for the Other Countries forum, as it has to do with Indian law, not British citizenship law and therefore moved there.

The moment you gain UK citizenship through registration or naturalisation, you lose Indian citizenship. The oath has to be taken before the UK deem you a naturalised UK citizen.

So until then, you're an Indian citizen and you can travel on an Indian passport legally.

For the benefit of anyone else reading this message, under the Indian citizenship laws, foreign citizenship can be gained through naturalisation, birth, descent, registration, or marriage. After the foreign country has accepted a person as a foreign citizen, the person loses their Indian citizenship. This is required under international law so that the person is not deemed stateless.

There is a rare exemption for citizenship acquired involuntary by a minor. That's the only case where a minor is allowed to have Indian and foreign citizenships. See this post for more info: other-countries/minor-child-born-in-ind ... l#p1887984