Protests Over New Indian Visa Rules

22 Jul 2010

Non-Resident Indians are protesting over the new Indian visa rules applicable to NRIs once they get nationality of other nation and fees required to be paid on surrendering Indian passports once they gain UK citizenship.

As per the 1955 Indian Citizenship Act, no individual can have dual citizenship. Any NRI acquiring other nationality and using Indian passport as a document for travelling is bound to face criminal charges under the 1976 Passport Act.

Indian government has made it mandatory for all NRIs to surrender their passports in India and get a renunciation certificate in order to travel to India. This has been implemented after the November 26, 2008 Mumbai attacks.

An arbitrary fee is required to be paid to the Indian government by all Indians having become UK citizens. Some Indian immigrants are protesting stating that they are being over charged and needs refund of their fees. However, as per the Indian High Commission, there is no confusion of any sorts. Some confusion exists regarding the cut-off date which is affecting the reduction of the arbitrary fees.