Giving up citizenship

[Sudden]

I doubt that most of the people on here will be able to help with this, but worth a shot!

I'm Indian but have been living in London for over 11 years now. I could, if I wanted, apply for British citizenship in the next few months. India doesn't allow proper dual citizenship, so this would mean giving that up. I could get an OCI card (Overseas citizen of India) which allows travel without visas, staying/working there etc. Essentially all the same rights as a citizen apart from being able to vote, buy agricultural property or stand for public office. There may be a couple of other rights as well which aren't coming to mind at the moment.

I've been in two minds about this for a while. I love travelling and a British passport would make that significantly easier. I also intend to work here for the short term and though I have indefinite leave to remain at the moment, the political culture seems to be going against things like that so who knows when the rules will change. That being said, I was born and brought up in India; all my family is there and eventually I would like to go back (like 20-30 years or so...to eventually settle down in). It's probably a sentimental thing more than a practical thing, but did wonder if anyone else here has done it and had any views.

Also, if anyone knows of other disadvantages of giving up Indian citizenship that I might've missed, that would be helpful!

(In before 'send them back...')

 

[Sudden]

Thanks all for the views. It isn't really an option to keep both and not tell India about it. It's against the laws (and since i'm a solicitor, it could have some repercussions down the road) and boarding a plane in India to the UK requires showing them your visa at multiple points. Since I would only have the passport, it would be pretty easily detectable. There's no visa in the passport as there is a separate biometric card for that, which i'll be required to give up when applying for the British passport.

@Aldav - UK allows dual citizenship so not a problem from that side; only from the Indian side. I (briefly) looked into regaining it once lost, and I THINK it should be straightforward enough...just requires me to be resident in India for a year. Need to investigate that part more though.

@jimbeam - I'll doublecheck, but i'm pretty sure it is only agricultural property. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[Sudden]

Just as a minor update...decided to pull the trigger and apply. Fee got deducted today, so hopefully all get sorted out in the next 5-6 months. Then need to apply to surrender Indian passport, which shall be a sad day, but practically, just makes so much more sense.

 

[Sudden]

Yessss, that's it, come to the darkside

I'm going to be so annoyed if UK leaves the EU and I can't travel anyway there!

Be warned, if you become a British citizen you're basically a dead man walking, please, listen to ParaLazaru, god, oh god why

Where were you two when I asked about it first?! Oh dear God, what have I done?!

You mentioned having some concern that possible changes in UK law in the future might cause you problems in the future, which is one of the two reasons why you're considering changing your citizenship from India to UK.

So why aren't you concerned that possible changes in Indian law in the future might cause you problems regaining Indian citizenship at some point in the future? The requirements for it today might not be the same as the requirements for it at some unknown time in the future, so even if you do investigate the requirements now that won't necessarily be relevant.

I'm not a fan of convenience citizenship. If you're Indian, have Indian citizenship. If you're British, have UK citizenship.

Looking at the trend generally in the UK, it's becoming more restrictive. Looking at the trend in India, it's opening up. Of course I can't be certain, but it is an educated guess based on seeing how things have changed over a number of years. Furthermore, generally speaking, countries do not deny citizenship to those born there.

It haa cost me a significant amount of time and hassle to just travel around Europe. Sometimes missing out on holidays with friends because it would take me a month to get a visa. Not to mention taking time off work etc. to do so. The sheer time involved in it is crazy + all the various people who need to help with getting me the required documents. I think you're severely underestimating the convenience element.

Given your views, how do you reconcile the concept of dual citizenship?

 

[Sudden]

My take on this.

I live around 6 to 9 months of the year in India.

I am white guy with a British passport and an OCI card. My main business is also in immigration and migration, so I deal with this issue a lot.

Generally speaking most Indian people would swap their Indian citizenship for citizenship in a developed country in a heartbeat, and they are willing to pay what it takes for this to happen.

As you will know the Indian passport is fundamentally useless for travel. There are only a handful of countries which you may be interested in going to which offer visa on arrival. The inconvenience of this cannot be understated. Its a ballache of the highest order and it can get expensive.

Indian citizens are also seen as being a demographic that are highly likely to migrate, so embassies etc around the world view them with a certain level of skepticism.

If you have the chance to get a British passport and ditch your Indian passport and keep an OCI this is a no brainer. IMO there is ZERO advantage by carrying that black passport, its useless.

In respect of convenience citizenship? If he has the right to apply for citizenship then he can, irrespective of anyone's thoughts. The moral issue of should or shouldn't is not relevant IMO. Also the issue is India , not the UK. Its India that takes issue with dual citizenship. I am sure if the OP could have both passports he would do.

What will you lose aside from the money in applying for a British passport, surrendering your Indian passport (yes this has a cost unbelievably and its not cheap!) and applying for an OCI?

1)Basic voting right and the right to stand in a electoral post.
2)Cant hold a constitutional post in India
3)Cant purchase FARM land.

I own property in India in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Udaipur so its not an issue to settle yourself here if you want to either.

Thanks for that. Interesting take. Agree with the passport being pretty bad for travel. Main reason I wanted to move. The money part is minimal (relatively speaking). Was just the emotional/sentimental part of it which made me doubt the decision. But practically, it does make a lot more sense. Yes, plan to apply for OCI once I get my UK citizenship and surrender the Indian one.