URGENT ADVICE PLEASE

[DC33]

hello all
I am a british citizen with a valid british passport.I travelled to india on my indian passport assuming that i have a dual citizenship and that my indian passport is valid as it was returned to me when i received my british passport.I am in the process of returning to the UK and have learnt from my friend that i needed a visa to come to india.Can someone suggest how i return without facing any problems?
I was ignorant when i came here and now that i know i do not wish to take the incorrect path.do i inform the british counsel and seek their assistance?

please advice soon as my date of travel to UK is fast approaching.

Thanks

[isabella11]

since you are a british citizen who travelled with a british passport i think the best solution is to get in touch with british embassy i am sure they will help you

[John]

Presumably you have both passports with you. The most practical thing to do would be to leave India using your Indian passport, and on arrival in the UK, use your British passport to enter.

But opinions about whether this would be legal are most welcome.

[DC33]

Dear John
I do have both the passports and travelling on indian passport is not right.
Also if i present the British passport at the immigration in UK, where will i show the stamps of arrival and dep in india and also where is the visa ?

[paulp]

DC33, the Immigration Officers in the UK (when presenting a British passport) are not interested in what passport or visa you used to enter or leave India.

[DC33]

Well, paul, These days of such terror, i am sure an indian guy with a british passport will be checked.

[Frontier Mole]

Just to add mud to the water. India does not accept dual nationality!
You are a Brit now - should only be using your UK passport.

Your dilema is now worse!

Your UK pasport does not have an entry stamp for India and your Indian passport does not have a visa for the UK - erm.....

Sorry just being wicked

Use your UK passport to leave India and enter UK - you will be fine!

[John]

Use your UK passport to leave India and enter UK - you will be fine!

Not saying that is wrong, but won't the Indian immigration authorities check for the entry Indian entry stamp and Indian visa? (I admit I have never been to India, so clearly do not know the procedure at the Indian airport when leaving the country.)

[parvus1202]

I am not sure if this law is international, but once you took an oath as citizen of another country, you automatically renounce your other citizenship. Even though your Indian passport is still valid, you are not anymore citizen of that country. You need a visa. You should have checked that before you left the UK.

[DC33]

well..i dont see anyhelp here except for make me feel even worse.
anyways, i am thinking of talking to the brit embassy and seek help.

since, i am not a criminal and had no criminal intent coming to india but was ignorant , i am sure the embassy wud empathise with me

[John]

I am not sure if this law is international, but once you took an oath as citizen of another country, you automatically renounce your other citizenship

I do not think that is true. That is, certainly when getting British Citizenship, that has no effect whatsoever upon any other Citizenship ...... as far as the UK Government is concerned. For example, when my own wife became British, that had no effect upon her Thai Citizenship, which she retains to this day, given Thailand also (like the UK) has no problem with dual nationality.

[parvus1202]

If that is the case in Thailand, then it is alright. But other countries which also allow dual citizenships, you need to re-apply your former citizenship, pay the government fees and get a new passport. So this down to fees generated by the government.

[jazbaati99]

Have you got any sort of valid UK visa on your Indian passport? If that is the case you can depart India on your Indian passport (with a UK visa) and enter UK on British passport. The UK authorities are not interested in any stamps on your British passport.

Hopefully it will get you back to UK. You then need to either apply for an overseas Indian card or an Indian visa for your next visit.

[Frontier Mole]

The joy of dual nationality.

I regularly see passports that are used as convenience aids to entering home / adoptive countries. US/UK is a common one. The problem is that people who do this do not understand there is an incomplete record in the respective passports. Lots of in's but little or no outs. This is not an issue until they get pulled aside and asked the question why are you using multiple nationality passports to travel. Even if it is the innocent answer - saving queuing at immigration - it still creates a suspicion.

With the ever increasing use of electronic immigration methods and bio data transfer, using different passports in this way it is going to get you singled out. When you leave one country displaying one set of bio data and arrive in another showing a different set of data, immigration know what you are doing. Not illegal per se but is going to set off the alarm bells.

Tempting though it maybe to save a few minutes at immigration in these days of increasing paranoia about identity and proof of who you are it is best to play the game with a straight bat.

[lukeyleicester]

My God has everyone on this forum been winding you up!

Here is a section from an FOI request I made about my two passports:

"FOI Request – dual citizenship

A passport serves to establish identity and nationality by which any immigration official can determine whether the individual qualifies for entry to a territory and under what terms.

Citizens of a country are not subject to immigration control within that country, whereas other nationals are.

Anyone who holds dual citizenship, and thus two passports in different nationalities, would need to produce the document which shows their immigration status in the country they are entering – in the instance cited, the British passport when entering the UK and the Israeli passport when entering Israel, for exactly the reasons described below. Although breaking no rules if they use only the alternative passport, they would automatically be making themselves subject to immigration control, which rather defeats the purpose!

Barbara Bewley
Border Control Policy Implementation"

===

Therefore, use your INDIAN passport to enter INDIA.

Use your BRITISH PASSPORT to enter BRITAIN.

There is no such thing about international law and renouncing one's former country, think about a British born Jew with one Irish parent and one Jewish - they could then have three passports:

Irish
British
Israeli

All bestowed upon them through birth-right.

Your taking of a British passport does NOT require you to renounce your nationality.

I use multiple passports to enter and exit countries all the time with no problem. Providing you keep both passports with you there is no issue.

However, let us be real about this, the Indian Government has no way of KNOWING that you have a British passport, so you might as well keep that one as well. The same way that the British Government does not know that I have an Irish passport, and does not care either.

I do respect the thought processes that FRONTIER MOLE has gone through at arriving in his answer also, I must point out that Immigration Authorities are very professional and are well aware that a very large number of people have multiple nationality and are prepared for these scenarios. The route from GB to India is obviously a common one, and officials will anticipate that people will be likely to have rights to enter both India and Britain through multiple means.

When you go to an Airport you will be surprised how scant people are in paying attention to your ID documents. The most you will be challenged on is for the official to submit your passport to UV light to check the correct markings show up. Once he has satisfied himself that the passport is genuine, he MUST let you proceed through the border.

[Frontier Mole]

Dual nationality is NOT legal in India - he does have a problem!

Extracts from the Indian Citizenship Act of 1955

9. Termination of citizenship.- (1) Any citizen of India who by naturalization, registration otherwise voluntarily acquires, or has at any time between the 26th January, 1950 and the commencement of this Act, voluntarily acquired the citizenship of another country shall, upon such acquisition or, as the case may be, such commencement, cease to be a citizen of India:
Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall apply to a citizen of India who, during any war in which India may be engaged, voluntarily acquires, the citizenship of another country, until the Central Government otherwise directs.

(2) If any question arises as to whether, when or how any citizen of India has acquired the citizenship of another country, it shall be determined by such authority, in such manner, and having regard to such rules of evidence, as may be prescribed in this behalf.

17. Offences.- Any person who, for the purpose of procuring anything to be done or not to be done under this Act, knowingly makes any representation which is false in a material particular shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees, or with both.

[yankeegirl]

Lukeyleicester, while that may be true in your case being a dual British/Irish citizen and both of those countries recognize multiple citizenships, not all countries do. You have to look at all relevant countries and their nationality laws. Some countries state clearly that they do not recognize multiple citizenships at all and that if a citizen naturalizes in another country, they automatically lose their original citizenship. IIRC, India is one of those countries that doesn't recognize dual citizenship.

I regularly see passports that are used as convenience aids to entering home / adoptive countries. US/UK is a common one.

It's not always just a convenience thing. I know for US citizens (not sure about other countries) it doesn't matter if they are dual citizens, they MUST enter and leave the US on their US passport.

[Frontier Mole]

In the good old days the Home Office used to keep Indian passports to stop their use after a Brit passport was issued. They even passed them onto the Indian High Commission. This was all before the Data Protection Act.

At one time there used to be a specific printed note in Indian passports about the loss of citizenship if you took another country's passport / citizenship. I think that has gone now. We could always ask DC33 to check though

[lukeyleicester]

I never said that dual nationality with regard to India was fine, I just said that in principle there was no problem using multiple passports for exit-entry.

He has a problem when it comes to renewing his Indian passport, however at the moment the Indian Government does not know that he has a British one meaning that he can probably get away with it.

If you want to be legally pure, yes he does have a problem.

[Frontier Mole]

The problem he has is without using his UK passport to leave he will not be allowed to board the plane as he does not have a valid entry to the UK with his Indian passport.

Not knowing what the Indian immigration SOP is I do not know what complications he will have.

In any event he is playing it safe and going to the BHC. I think he will be encouraged to pay his entry visa dues to the Indians, get a slap on the wrist and have his Indian passport taken off him. No doubt at the same time the Indians will encourage him to apply for a POI card to allow entry without the same problem in the future.

I say good luck to DC33 and wish him well.

[lukeyleicester]

Has the PIO scheme been successfully launched in the UK yet?

[Frontier Mole]

see

http://www.immigrationindia.nic.in/

have to click on PIO bit on left hans side.