Can Minor child retain Indian Passport if both parents acquire foreign passports?

[laxmi_Somni]

Hi All,

In reference to following rule:
"Indian citizenship act 1955:-
Renunciation is covered in Section 8 of the Citizenship Act 1955. If an adult makes a declaration of renunciation of Indian citizenship, he loses Indian citizenship. In addition any minor child of that person also loses Indian citizenship from the date of renunciation."

I have one query-
Current situation: 1 parent: British naturalised citizen+OCI holder, other parent (mother): Indian Passport holder+ILR
Child Born in India
If after getting Indian Passport for the Minor, if mother also becomes foreign citizen(European citizen) & surrenders their Indian Passport, then in this situation - Can child continue to hold Indian passport (hopefully with RoA-CoE) till his 18th Birthday?

or As both parents are Foreign nationals with OCI, so child's passport will also be revoked / not extended?

Could experts provide their thoughts on this, please

Cheers

[Trinity71]

Hi All,

In reference to following rule:
"Indian citizenship act 1955:-
Renunciation is covered in Section 8 of the Citizenship Act 1955. If an adult makes a declaration of renunciation of Indian citizenship, he loses Indian citizenship. In addition any minor child of that person also loses Indian citizenship from the date of renunciation."

I have one query-
Current situation: 1 parent: British naturalised citizen+OCI holder, other parent (mother): Indian Passport holder+ILR
Child Born in India
If after getting Indian Passport for the Minor, if mother also becomes foreign citizen(European citizen) & surrenders their Indian Passport, then in this situation - Can child continue to hold Indian passport (hopefully with RoA-CoE) till his 18th Birthday?

or As both parents are Foreign nationals with OCI, so child's passport will also be revoked / not extended?

Could experts provide their thoughts on this, please

Cheers

If mother becomes a foreign citizen and surrenders her passport and Indian citizenship and because the father has already done so as well, the same is automatically true for any minor children. The child will be able to be an OCI holder same as parents. When the child turns 18 they can, if desired, re-apply for Indian citizenship.

This is my opinion and not legal advice. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk.

Trinity71

[laxmi_Somni]

If mother becomes a foreign citizen and surrenders her passport and Indian citizenship and because the father has already done so as well, the same is automatically true for any minor children. The child will be able to be an OCI holder same as parents. When the child turns 18 they can, if desired, re-apply for Indian citizenship.

This is my opinion and not legal advice. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk.

Trinity71

Thanks for your response.
Our aspiration was to pass Indian citizenship to the child.

I think- '"Indian citizenship act 1955:-
Renunciation is covered in Section 8 of the Citizenship Act 1955. If an adult makes a declaration of renunciation of Indian citizenship, he loses Indian citizenship. In addition any minor child of that person also loses Indian citizenship from the date of renunciation." is really complex

I guess- Back then child used to be getting added on Parent's passport.So if parent surrenders his/her passport due to gaining another citizenship, then child will also loose it. But now child gets their own passport.

And in case, if they revokes child's citizenship by misinterpreting above rule & if another nation couldn't give its citizenship to child then child can be risk to become stateless.
That's really worrying Any further thoughts on this..

[newacct]

I think it also depends on whether the child gets foreign citizenship too.

[nachiket1234]

Thanks for your response.
Our aspiration was to pass Indian citizenship to the child.

I think- '"Indian citizenship act 1955:-
Renunciation is covered in Section 8 of the Citizenship Act 1955. If an adult makes a declaration of renunciation of Indian citizenship, he loses Indian citizenship. In addition any minor child of that person also loses Indian citizenship from the date of renunciation." is really complex

I guess- Back then child used to be getting added on Parent's passport.So if parent surrenders his/her passport due to gaining another citizenship, then child will also loose it. But now child gets their own passport.

And in case, if they revokes child's citizenship by misinterpreting above rule & if another nation couldn't give its citizenship to child then child can be risk to become stateless.
That's really worrying Any further thoughts on this..

Hi,

You are asking if both the parents relinquish their Indian citizenship then can child retain Indian citizenship right?

However I am wondering if One of the Parents is a Foreign Citizen and other is an Indian citizen then Child can retain Indian Citizenship? Have you confirmed this?

Have you talked/written to anyone regarding this?

eashkuma4 is saying that even if both the citizens acquire Foreign citizenship then still child can be Indian citizen. I do not know how true is that?

[nachiket1234]

Hi All,

In reference to following rule:
"Indian citizenship act 1955:-
Renunciation is covered in Section 8 of the Citizenship Act 1955. If an adult makes a declaration of renunciation of Indian citizenship, he loses Indian citizenship. In addition any minor child of that person also loses Indian citizenship from the date of renunciation."

I have one query-
Current situation: 1 parent: British naturalised citizen+OCI holder, other parent (mother): Indian Passport holder+ILR
Child Born in India
If after getting Indian Passport for the Minor, if mother also becomes foreign citizen(European citizen) & surrenders their Indian Passport, then in this situation - Can child continue to hold Indian passport (hopefully with RoA-CoE) till his 18th Birthday?

or As both parents are Foreign nationals with OCI, so child's passport will also be revoked / not extended?

Could experts provide their thoughts on this, please

Cheers

Hi,

You are asking if both the parents relinquish their Indian citizenship then can child retain Indian citizenship right?

However I am wondering if One of the Parents is a Foreign Citizen and other is an Indian citizen then Child can retain Indian Citizenship? Have you confirmed this?

Have you talked/written to anyone regarding this?

eashkuma4 is saying that even if both the citizens acquire Foreign citizenship then still child can be Indian citizen. I do not know how true is that?

[proonindiandoc]

just making no sense for the thought. I understand what are you try to ask if both of both parents acquired foreign citizenship, can the child retain his/her Indian citizen? Can you tell me how the child obtain his Indian citizenship, since both parents are naturalized, which mean both had surrendered their Indian citizenship, and the child is U.S. born, so he/she is automatically U.S. citizen, not India or any other if both parents are not able to obtain dual citizen.

[newacct]

Is this a hypothetical question?

Getting a foreign nationality has nothing to do with renunciation (section 8). An Indian citizen who voluntarily acquires foreign nationality automatically loses Indian citizenship according to section 9.

I believe it is possible for a child to have Indian citizenship while both parents have lost it:

For example, if the child was born in the US to one or both Indian citizen parents, and the parents registered the child at an Indian consulate within one year of birth. The child has both US and Indian citizenships according to each country's respective laws as long as the child does not get a US passport. And the child will continue to have both US and Indian citizenships until age 18.5 (Indian law says that an Indian citizen "by descent" automatically loses Indian citizenship if they don't renounce their other citizenships within 6 months of age of majority) as long as they don't get a US passport. If the parents later naturalize in the US after the child is born, the parents automatically lose Indian citizenship, but nothing in Indian law causes the child to lose Indian citizenship. In particular, the child does not acquire US citizenship when the parents do because the child already has it.

Another example is if the child was born in India to one Indian citizen parents and one US citizen parent who meets the residency requirements to pass on US citizenship to the child at birth. The child has both US and Indian citizenships according to each country's respective laws as long as the child does not get a US passport. And the child will continue to have both US and Indian citizenships forever (the child is an Indian citizen "by birth"; nothing in Indian law says an Indian citizen by birth will automatically lose Indian citizenship at any age if they do not do anything) as long as they don't get a US passport. If the parents later naturalize in the US after the child is born, the parents automatically lose Indian citizenship, but nothing in Indian law causes the child to lose Indian citizenship. In particular, the child does not acquire US citizenship when the parents do because the child already has it.