Please help - Arrived abroad on an expired Passport

[mrgsingh]

Hi All

My Wife and my children gone to my home country recently and they didn't realise that my son's Indian passport was expired. When they arrived at Amritsar airport, they were told however my wife was asked to sign a letter that we haven't applied our son's british passport yet.
Now my wife went to Indian passport office to enquire about the process to renew his Indian passport however we haven't been told that it will take up to 6 months.


My question is - My wife & I have an Indefinite leave to remain and my both children are born in the UK so they can apply for British citizenship. However now my son is in India, can we apply for his British passport from India as it may take less time. If yes, what will be my son's visa status while staying in India until he comes back to the UK as we can't have two nationalities.

Your help/advice in this matter will be much appreciated.

[VR]

Mr.GSingh,

Both you and your wife have ILR and Indian Passports. Your son is an Indian National until the time you apply for his British Citizenship and so he does not need a visa to be in India. The issue here is that his passport has expired.

You will need to enquire in the Amritsar Indian Passport office if they could renew his passport on a fast track basis citing his need to be in school etc. i am sure they will have a process, even though they say it will take upto 6months. Note he is a minor. It is the Police verification that takes helluva lot of time usually. Even that in India could be speeded up by some under the table Rokda!! In this case being a minor the same should not be an issue.

If you apply for a British passport from India it again does not affect his existing status for 3 months in case he had a valid Indian Passport. Now given he does not have an Indian passport, I believe you should apply for OCI along with the British Passport if thats the route you plan to take and I believe this process will take 6 to 8 weeks minimum. I think for peace of mind and to get your kid back in UK quickly the fast track route for passport renewal is the best and then you can do the British processing here.
cheers
vr

[mrgsingh]

Mr.GSingh,

Both you and your wife have ILR and Indian Passports. Your son is an Indian National until the time you apply for his British Citizenship and so he does not need a visa to be in India. The issue here is that his passport has expired.

You will need to enquire in the Amritsar Indian Passport office if they could renew his passport on a fast track basis citing his need to be in school etc. i am sure they will have a process, even though they say it will take upto 6months. Note he is a minor. It is the Police verification that takes helluva lot of time usually. Even that in India could be speeded up by some under the table Rokda!! In this case being a minor the same should not be an issue.

If you apply for a British passport from India it again does not affect his existing status for 3 months in case he had a valid Indian Passport. Now given he does not have an Indian passport, I believe you should apply for OCI along with the British Passport if thats the route you plan to take and I believe this process will take 6 to 8 weeks minimum. I think for peace of mind and to get your kid back in UK quickly the fast track route for passport renewal is the best and then you can do the British processing here.
cheers
vr

Thank you for your quick response.
My wife went to an Amritsar passport office and they told that both parents have to sign the documents how as I am here, it will take more time (sending through the post to me to sign).
I just phoned British passport office in the UK to ask for an advise. They said as my son was born before I got my Indefinite, he is not eligible to apply for British Citizen however he will be eligible to apply for his naturalization. However he has to be present in the UK so there is no option.

I am planning to call British High Commission in India to see what can they do in this situation. Are you aware of if we can apply for his British passport from India? I don't want to apply for his renewal of Indian passport as it will take a while...

Any suggestion will be much appreciated.

[VR]

mr.GSingh,

I dont think calling them is going to be of any use. At this point all of you are Indian Nationals.

I suggest you speak about your situation to the Indian Highcommission and since you are here you can get some document notarized and sent by courier if required. See if they will accept this.

Also kindly enquire if they can fast track your son's passport renewal. I am sure if you agree to pay they will do it for you.
cheers
vr

[neoseal]

There is tatkal passport facility. Check it out online. Even normal passport application are dealt very quickly now. Very recently my dad's passport renewal was done within a week on normal application.