PANAJI
In a sudden U-turn, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has issued a corrigendum to its recent Office Memorandum regarding the mandatory issuance of Revocation orders for OCI registrations, clarifying that it is currently under consideration by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
On April 4, the MEA issued an Office Memorandum informing that MHA had accepted “Revocation Certificates” as alternative documents instead of “Surrender Certificates,” although the Office Memorandum did not specify the date of the decision taken or the issuance of the MHA order.
Now, the MEA issued a corrigendum on April 30, amending paragraph 3 which read, “It is under consideration in the MHA to accept “Revocation Certificate” as an alternative in lieu of Surrender Certificate in case of Indian nationals hailing from erstwhile Portuguese territories in India (Goa, Daman & Diu), who have acquired Portuguese nationality as per Portuguese Nationality Law, and who have been issued “Revocation Order” by the RPOs instead of Surrender Certificate.”
This indicates that the MEA order of November 30, 2022, which stated that persons holding foreign nationality and seeking to renew their Indian passports would risk revocation under Section 10(3)(b) of the Passport Act of 1967, is reinstated.
Interestingly, in this very week, the Bombay High Court in Goa directed the Regional Passport Office and relevant government agencies to adhere to the April 4 MEA Office Memorandum, which conveyed the decision of the MHA for OCI registrations, while hearing a series of petitions challenging the revocation of Indian passports held by Goan origins with Portuguese nationality.
One of these petitioners argued that he was unable to provide a passport surrender certificate as the RPO had instead issued him with a passport revocation certificate. To this, the High Court directed the authorities to reconsider his application, fate of which now hangs in the balance.
The MEA directive would have streamlined the OCI card application process for persons from Goa and Daman & Diu who acquired Portuguese citizenship. The change in rules was also expected to provide relief to those who were previously ineligible to apply for OCI due to stringent passport requirements.
Numerous applicants, unaware of the consequences, found their passports revoked when seeking renewal at passport offices as they were handed over with ‘revocation certificate’ instead of a ‘surrender certificate’ they were issued a 'revocation certificate' by the RPO, making them ineligible to apply or avail of the OCI cards.
