Travelling to India after getting British passport

[hp55]

Hi,
Apologies if this has been discussed in other topic, this is my situation.

in Feb'2020 I attained British citizenship and acquired the British passport in March'2020. However during this time Indian Consulate stopped Passport Surrender service.

Now I am in a situation where I have to travel to India for family emergency, I have a valid Indian and British passport (BRP card cut and returned). My question is can I travel on Indian passport and return on British passport with a plan to pay fine during surrender of Indian passport/OCI application in future?
Will I face any difficulty with Immigration officials in India while returning back to UK?

Looking forward to hearing from anyone who has been through something like this.


Thanks

[secret.simon]

As the queries are about Indian immigration and citizenship law, not British citizenship per se, moved to the "Other countries" forum.

[xebec]

Your best bet is to discuss with the High Commission for the legalities as the pandemic has thrown normal processes and procedures out of the window. They might provide a special case to spare you the fine.

So, yes, there is a likelihood of you getting fined 10,000 each time you travel on the passport and stopped and questioned at Indian immigration.

Please note that on your return, the airlines would require you to show proof of entitlement to travel to the UK (ie visa/UK or visa-free entitled passport) so make sure you're carying your UK passport or else they will refuse to board you.

https://eoi.gov.in/eoisearch/MyPrint.ph ... C000%2F%2D).

[hp55]

Hi,

Thanks for your response. Yes I did speak to someone from the Indian Consulate in London who gave few options but was not sure herself as things are in a flux and the current circumstances are new to everbody.

Option 1: Apply for Emergency visa and travel on British passport. There is no guarantee visa would be granted, assess on individual merit.

Option 2: Travel on Indian passport (though this is not a legal option) and pay a fine.

Getting the doctors report from India is not feasible as there is no means to get it done (I have tried) so that gives me no option but to try my luck with Option 2.

Yes I will be carrying my British passport as well for entry back in UK, just wondering if it is only the airlines that check if you have a visa/passport and not the immigration officers. I tried a lot to recall the last time I travelled to India if the immigration officers asked for my BRP card at the counter or not. So what I plan to do is show my Indian passport at the time of departure to UK for the exit stamp and not mention about the British passport.

Thanks
Nams

[anv1]

Need to be careful here. When departing India, the immigration officer:
If presented Indian passport: will definitely ask for visa/BRP
If presented British passport: will ask for incoming stamp
If presented both: there is a risk of your Indian passport been confiscated as you are using it illegally

I’m in a very similar situation to your, I have a old style ILR sticker on my Indian passport, but my passport is expiring in a month’s time.
Hoping that VFS will start the surrender process soon.

[xebec]

Yes I will be carrying my British passport as well for entry back in UK, just wondering if it is only the airlines that check if you have a visa/passport and not the immigration officers.

The purpose of departing immigration is to ensure that your passport is not flagged on the system, and you do not pose a risk by departing the country should you be a wanted person or carrying out illegal activities. If you are a foreign national, they also check the arrival information to ensure you haven't arrived illegally without an entry record. They generally do not concern themselves if you have the correct visa for your destination as it is not their mandate to check unless they have some suspicion - for example they believe an Indian citizen might be exploited or abducted. However, there is nothing stopping them from asking to see a visa to the destination country as part of the inquiry process as they are trained to detect inconsistent answers.

Airlines have an obligation to ensure that all passengers to a destination country (or if applicable, a transit country) have the correct visa or right to be there. Should they board an Indian passport holder without a visa to the UK, they incur a huge fine by UK's authorities. I have noticed that airlines have now started to check entry stamps to India and the Indian visa information before departing India, in addition to the visa for the destination country. I would presume that this information would be shared with immigration in India (in addition to the UK as part of the Advanced Passenger Information System).

While I cannot give you advice that is not legal since your grace period to travel on an Indian passport has expired, all I can say is that travelling on an Indian passport when not a citizen will incur a fine at least if caught. It would be up to the immigration officers to use their discretion to issue a fine/detain/deport or allow you in under compassionate grounds. Should you choose to travel on an Indian passport, as long as you are polite to them, offer them hard evidence to the reason why you needed to do what you had to do, they could see your point of view. I would recommend you apply for the emergency visa at least.

[anv1]

@hp55
Did you manage to get the emergency visa/ travel to India?

[sa64]

Hi,

Thanks for your response. Yes I did speak to someone from the Indian Consulate in London who gave few options but was not sure herself as things are in a flux and the current circumstances are new to everbody.

Option 1: Apply for Emergency visa and travel on British passport. There is no guarantee visa would be granted, assess on individual merit.

Option 2: Travel on Indian passport (though this is not a legal option) and pay a fine.

Getting the doctors report from India is not feasible as there is no means to get it done (I have tried) so that gives me no option but to try my luck with Option 2.

Yes I will be carrying my British passport as well for entry back in UK, just wondering if it is only the airlines that check if you have a visa/passport and not the immigration officers. I tried a lot to recall the last time I travelled to India if the immigration officers asked for my BRP card at the counter or not. So what I plan to do is show my Indian passport at the time of departure to UK for the exit stamp and not mention about the British passport.

Thanks
Nams

Hi, i am in similar situation. Please update me on your travel details. Did you use your Indian passport to travel. your reply will help me a lot
thanks

[Waraich1987]

Hi,
Apologies if this has been discussed in other topic, this is my situation.

in Feb'2020 I attained British citizenship and acquired the British passport in March'2020. However during this time Indian Consulate stopped Passport Surrender service.

Now I am in a situation where I have to travel to India for family emergency, I have a valid Indian and British passport (BRP card cut and returned). My question is can I travel on Indian passport and return on British passport with a plan to pay fine during surrender of Indian passport/OCI application in future?
Will I face any difficulty with Immigration officials in India while returning back to UK?

Looking forward to hearing from anyone who has been through something like this.


Thanks

Hi dear have you used indian passport for travel? Pls let me know i am in the same situation now thanks

[VikramKap]

Gents, please update If I can travelto India on Indian passport and return on British passport, within the three month grace period.

What would be the fine, on return

[alokpanda123]

Hi,
I am in a similar boat, if anyone can help please? I got my UK passport during the pandemic and renunciation process is shut since then. I really need to travel and looking for options.
Exit process in UK and entry in India is clear, just use India passport. What do we need to do upon exit at India (Delhi) airport? I am fine with a penalty per use though.

Regards,
Alok