Help with E-Visa for US citizen without renunciation (fairly urgent travel)

[R78]

Hope I can get some opinions regarding E-Visa.
My oath date came a lot faster than the processing time for my area. This leaves me with less than 2 weeks to travel to India and I have plans to get the US passport expedited at the passport office.
When I called the Indian Consulate for e-visa information, they mentioned that this is directly handled from India and also that my indian passport is no longer valid & should not be used after gaining US citizenship.
So my questions are
1. Can I apply for an e-visa, travel to India and upon returning complete the renunciation & OCI process ?
2. The sample e-visa application asks for "other valid travel documents". Should I still disclose the Indian Passport (considering it "should not be used" and is "invalid") ?

Thanks in Advance !

[upnorth85]

You will need a renunciation certificate before any Indian e-visa will be issued. Which means you need to send the Indian passport to the Indian embassy for cancellation and renunciation of Indian citizenship. I recommend visiting the Indian embassy for this personally. E visa can take a few days. Check out the current processing time on their website.

[Liberty48]

My opinion: Apply for renunciation and OCI; preferably in person - don't wait for the process to complete. [If you apply by mail, you need to send the US passport for some regions (not sure what the status now is). It takes 2 weeks to get the US passport. Someone has to be in the address to receive it, and you may not be able to wait for that. So, apply in person.]

Then apply for e-Visa. Don't mention about IN passport as it is no more valid.

[xyz12123]

For urgent travel you can apply for E visa. Renunciation is not required for E visa, it's only required for OCI. Once you get your US passport, you can apply for the E visa online. Apply preferably 1 week but no later than 72h before departure. You'll get an ETA via email about 48h after application. You need to print out this ETA and present it to the airline(during check-in) and then present it to the immigration officer at the dedicated E visa counter. The visa will be stamped into your passport on arrival.

[R78]

I was successfull in getting an E-visa (i specifically requested for 1 yr only)

While waiting for replies, I spoke to CKGS, Indian Consulate & MEA, so hope the below helps all others in a similar position

- Evisa is also meant for those who need to travel to India and have not yet had the chance to renounce their Indian Passport and apply for OCI.
- It is illegal to travel on an indian passport after you have obtained a US passport.
- There are many agents / **** websites out there, so go to any Indian consulate website and click on the link for E-Visa. I have pasted the link here (https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/)
- The photo upload (< 1MB) and passport page scan (< 300KB) must meet the size requirements or else you won't be able to complete the process.
- The application process is very easy and will take 15-20 mins.
- The application has a section for current passport details and "any other valid passports / travel documents". If you have not yet renounced your indian passport and it is still valid, then you must enter the details here. This will not adversely affect your application.
- The application also has a section for "Previous Visa / Current Visa" where it asks: "Have you ever visited India". Just click NO if you previously held an indian passport
- Major credit cards and Paypal are accepted as forms of payment (when you submit the application)


- Once you submit, you will receive an Application ID and and an email. Save this information as it is needed to check status
- Once the application is approved, you will receive an email. Do not print this email as it is not valid for travel.
- You must log back in to the same website, click on application status, verify your credentials and print the ETA letter from there. This letter will have your picture, a QR code + Bar code that will be used by immigration when you reach india.
- There is no need to take your indian passport with you during the trip (and not advisable). Instead, just take a copy of the first and last page as reference (if asked by Immigration).
The only exception is if you plan on completing the renunciation process in India using the passport seva

[LastMinuteMan111]

I was successfull in getting an E-visa (i specifically requested for 1 yr only)

While waiting for replies, I spoke to CKGS, Indian Consulate & MEA, so hope the below helps all others in a similar position

- Evisa is also meant for those who need to travel to India and have not yet had the chance to renounce their Indian Passport and apply for OCI.
- It is illegal to travel on an indian passport after you have obtained a US passport.
- There are many agents / **** websites out there, so go to any Indian consulate website and click on the link for E-Visa. I have pasted the link here (https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/)
- The photo upload (< 1MB) and passport page scan (< 300KB) must meet the size requirements or else you won't be able to complete the process.
- The application process is very easy and will take 15-20 mins.
- The application has a section for current passport details and "any other valid passports / travel documents". If you have not yet renounced your indian passport and it is still valid, then you must enter the details here. This will not adversely affect your application.
- The application also has a section for "Previous Visa / Current Visa" where it asks: "Have you ever visited India". Just click NO if you previously held an indian passport
- Major credit cards and Paypal are accepted as forms of payment (when you submit the application)


- Once you submit, you will receive an Application ID and and an email. Save this information as it is needed to check status
- Once the application is approved, you will receive an email. Do not print this email as it is not valid for travel.
- You must log back in to the same website, click on application status, verify your credentials and print the ETA letter from there. This letter will have your picture, a QR code + Bar code that will be used by immigration when you reach india.
- There is no need to take your indian passport with you during the trip (and not advisable). Instead, just take a copy of the first and last page as reference (if asked by Immigration).
The only exception is if you plan on completing the renunciation process in India using the passport seva

My daughter's e-Visa has not been approved in more than a day now and we have a flight in 15 hours. Can she travel with the application receipt?

[GC0102]

I was successfull in getting an E-visa (i specifically requested for 1 yr only)

1. How long it takes to get approval for eVisa once application is submitted?
2. Can we apply for OCI card in India?

[GC0102]

My daughter's e-Visa has not been approved in more than a day now and we have a flight in 15 hours. Can she travel with the application receipt?

Any further update if she eventually received eVisa? Did she travel without any issues?

[aspiringCitizenCA]

R78, did you have any problem at entry in India with eVisa, but no renunciation cert?. Does anyone know how long it takes for renunciation cert to arrive, recently?

[credit89]

Hi,

I saw your message on travel to India on EVisa without renunciation of the Indian Passport

Could you help here if a recently acquired US citizen can travel on E-Visa to India. (Hopefully after the covid situation improves)
Indian passport is expired in Late 2019 - so is it still considered as "Valid" and if its details needs to be filled up in the form on section "any other valid passports / travel documents"?

Also lastly if renunciation of passport can be done in India after travelling to India on E-Visa.
and in that case how much time it takes for same in India

Appreciate your reply

Regards