Surrendering your Indian Passport: A Step-by-Step Guide

Click here for the High Commission of India London page which has all the information related to both the "Renunciation of Indian citizenship" and "Surrender of Indian Passport".

Both these applications (Surrender and Renunciation) need to be completed in order to initiate the OCI application (Overseas citizen of India) which is a different application altogether!

Below are the details about the Surrender application and my personal experience. The details regarding the Renunciation application will be shared in a separate blog post.

Step 1: Fill the online application form

The link for the application form can be found here. You need to first register under "User Login/Registration" and then login with the same credentials in order to start the application.

Once logged in the Applicant Home page, click the "Apply for Surrender of Indian Passport" and proceed to fill the details. Make sure to provide accurate and up-to-date information in the form. Once all the steps are completed and the application submitted, you will be able to Print the form either at the end or via the "Print Application Form" option in the Home page. You can also apply for a second application (spouse) using the same account.

Step 2: Book an appointment

Schedule an appointment via this link and select the "Surrender of Indian Passport" service. Select your convenient location and fill the necessary details to schedule a time slot. Note - You would need the Application reference number from Step 1 in order to book the appointment. You can apply for other family members through the same appointment if the applications are being made at the same time.

Step 3: Attend the appointment and submit documents

On the day of your appointment, make sure to arrive at the selected VFS location in Step 2 as per the instructions. Take all the necessary documents with you as mentioned in the checklist. A VFS declaration form linked here ( mentioned in the checklist) needs to be submitted too.

During the appointment, you will be required to submit the Indian Passport and the self-attested documents. The authorities will verify your application information, compare with the originals and process your application. Once everything is checked, you would need to do the payment. Please keep this payment receipt safe as it will be required for future reference.

Payments would be taken both for the application and the Postage charges. I did the payment using an UK card and it was straight forward. Also ask for the service to get notifications via mobile and email for tracking purposes.

My Personal experience

• Application form - straight forward with the usual details apart from the photographs which need to be 2*2 inch (cannot use the photos used for the UK passport). Note - Foreign Nationality Acquisition date is the date shown on the Naturalization certificate.

• Appointment - During Jan/Feb 2024, the appointment dates for the Surrender application were easily available for Birmingham. However I could only get an appointment for the Renunciation application after a month even after checking for few weeks. As per my understanding, there is no order between these 2 appointments. So we could do the Surrender first, get the certificate in a week or so and then do the Renunciation. Alternatively, do both on the same day !

  So we decided to book both the appointments on the same day at VFS Goswell, London (Surrender in the morning @ 08:45 and Renunciation in the afternoon @ 3PM). Try to book the early slots as we finished our Surrender appointment in around 30 mins and were out by 9 AM! On the contrary, Renunciation appointment took almost 2 hrs as the queue piled up over the course of the day.

  Only the applicants were allowed inside the centre and other family members were told to wait outside. Few applicants were sent back from the security desk as they were either attending the wrong appointment or the wrong location.

  Ensure all the originals and the self-attested copies are included in that order as per the checklist. Some applicants did not had the proper documents and were told to book another appointment.

• Timelines - will update @every stage. They mentioned that the current timeline to receive surrender certificate is 1 week

  • Surrender and Renunciation appointments - 4th Mar 2024 - VFS Goswell London

  • Received Surrender certificate and the cancelled Indian passport in the post - 21st Mar 2024

  • 15/04 - Renunciation application status check (URL) - still showing as Application received !

  • Received Renunciation certificate in the post - 29th Mar 2024 - well it took almost 3 months to receive it !!!

* Please note that the process of surrendering your Indian passport may vary slightly depending on your location and the specific requirements of the Indian High Commission or Embassy. It is always recommended to visit their official website or contact them directly for the most accurate and up-to-date information.

* Above is my personal experience only and should not be taken as an official guide! Please take due diligence in your application process.

Please feel free to ask any questions in the comment section below and I will try to answer them based on my experience.

Thanks for reading and all the very best for your application!