Visa rules: Vayalar Ravi promises amendment

Rules introduced for Indians holding citizenship of other countries will soon be amended, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi has said. The minister, however, did not specify the possible changes.

In a telephonic conversation with rediff.com, he said the issue was discussed at the ministerial level after widespread opposition from the Indian-American community.

Meanwhile, the consul general at the New York consulate has called a press conference Tuesday and a meeting of the community to brief on issues relating to renunciation of Indian citizenship and procedure for obtaining surrender certificate. It also published clarifications about some of the rules.

Rules were introduced taking into consideration of the security of the country, Ravi noted.

"Our concern is the safety and security of India and its interests. People should not forget that there were attempts for attacks even inside the US, like the Times Square incident," he said.

When pointed out that Indian Americans are not allowed to take up the tourist visa for 10 years, like other US citizens, he said the Indians who took up the US citizenship should apply for OCI Card, which allows them to travel to India any number of times, rather than apply for the entry visa. The new rule says that Indian Americans will not get a tourist visa for India, but they have to apply for an entry visa, which is given for five years only. It is more expensive than a 10-year visa for other US citizens.

India Abroad newspaper and rediff.com came forward to voice the concerns of the people.

Paul Karukappilli and Dr M Anirudhan, leaders of the Federation of Kerala Associations in North America, earlier spoke to the minister about the new rules. Ravi told them too that the rules would be changed. Karukappilli said that their impression is that there would be substantial changes in the new rule.

The new rules came last month without notice. As per the rule, it is mandatory to renounce Indian citizenship within three months of acquiring citizenship of another country. Also mandatory is a surrender (of Indian citizenship) certificate, which comes with a price tag of $175. There are penalties for a variety of things.

It began with the rule that those applying for the Overseas Citizen of India card should renounce their Indian citizenship and get a surrender certificate paying $175 -- in addition to the $275 for the OCI card. They should produce old passports (valid/expired) for cancellation.

More than the money, what irked most was the surrender certificate, which takes at least two weeks to get. Many thought they could circumvent the hassles applying for the OCI Card by applying for a tourist visa. But the rule for the tourist visa was also changed.

To get an entry visa or any services from the consulate, one has to produce a surrender certificate, paying $175.

Then came a chart indicating the fees and penalties for not renouncing Indian citizenship. One of the petitions circulating online has already attracted more than 25,000 signatures by May 30 (http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ip100521/petition.html)
Officials claimed the rule was always there since 1955, but it was never enforced. What irked people most was the requirement that those who took citizenship of the US decades ago, have to surrender old Indian passports (valid/expired) to get a surrender certificate by paying $175. If the old passports are not available, one has to provide a notarized affidavit and pay possible fines.

The clarifications published by the New York consulate say that even those who hold an Indian visa/PIO/OCI card need to obtain the Surrender Certificate. If you have an emergency travel to India coming up and hold valid visa/PIO/OCI, you may travel as of now but you should apply for Surrender Certificate at the earliest on your return. Even though you became a US citizen long time ago, you need to formally renounce the Indian citizenship and obtain a Surrender Certificate.

It also clarifies though the passport has a cancelled stamp, one needs to formally renounce the Indian citizenship as per the prescribed format and obtain a Surrender Certificate as a proof of having done so.  However, if your passport was cancelled due to acquisition of foreign nationality and has an endorsement to this effect, no Surrender Certificate is required.  This is a major shift in the policy.

Another clarification is about the affidavit for lost passport and the required documents. The process for that is also slightly simplified.

But one has to get a surrender certificate before applying for a visa or other services.

But in case of an emergency one may first apply for SC at the Consulate. Once you have the SC, you may apply for the emergency visa.

One needs to submit separate applications for minor children along with their Indian passports. The fees and penalties are same as in cases of adult applications.

Children, who traveled on their parents' Indian passports, also need to renounce their Indian citizenship. They may submit copies of their parents' passports along with their application.