PANAJI
The Indian Embassy at Portugal has made it clear that Indian citizens who have acquired Portuguese (or other foreign) citizenship must surrender their Indian passport to the Indian Embassy for cancellation.
In its website on citizenship matters and renunciation of citizenship, the Indian Embassy has stated that “if an Indian national has acquired foreign citizenship and conceals this information to obtain an Indian passport, it is a punishable offence.”
“An Indian national resident in Portugal, who has acquired foreign citizenship must surrender his Indian passport to the Indian Embassy. His/her passport will be cancelled and returned to him/her after cancellation. Such a person should not apply for another Indian passport,” states the Indian Embassy.
The Indian Embassy has further stated that Indian citizens who have acquired Portuguese (or other foreign) citizenship, and whose passports validity expired on or after January 1, 2005, should surrender their Indian passports to the Embassy for cancellation and obtain a Surrender Certificate/Renunciation Certificate from the Consular Section of the Embassy.
“The surrendered Indian passports are cancelled and returned to the holder for future reference. Such passports should be surrendered for cancellation within 3 years of acquiring foreign citizenship and the person can travel on the Indian passport only within 3 months of acquiring the foreign citizenship,” the Indian Embassy added.
