NRI professionals object to passport surrender fee

London: Several Indian professionals who
have acquired British nationality have criticised the Ministry
of External Affairs for levying an allegedly unfair fee
structure while surrendering Indian passports at the Indian
High Commission here.
Under Indian law, Persons-of-Indian-Origin, who have
acquired foreign citizenship, are required to surrender their
Indian passports to the nearest Indian mission immediately
after acquisition of the foreign citizenship.
Raghav Upadhyay, a software professional, who wrote to
the Indian high commission here, said: "I had applied for the
surrender of four Indian passports for me, my wife and two
children on 1 June 2010.
On the website on that date it stated that the fee
was 90 pounds per certificate, but when I reached the High
Commission, I found that the fee was 102 pounds per person and
accordingly I paid 408 pounds for four persons for the
applications."
Upadhayay added: "When I read the news on June 9,
2010 that for those who attained British nationality prior to
May 31, 2010 the fee was reduced to 14 pounds per person it
was a matter of great dismay for me as all four applications
submitted by me have attained naturalisation prior to this
date and we have paid 88 pounds per person (a total of 352
pounds) in excess of the current fees.
As this amount is sizeable, in terms of fairness, I
requested a refund of the excess amount."
A fee of 102 pounds is levied on individuals
surrendering their Indian passports, after which a ‘surrender
certificate’ is issued.
This certificate is mandatory for future consular
services such as visa, Persons of Indian Origin or Overseas
Citizen of India cards.
Terming the levy of the fee as a 'fine' for
surrendering Indian citizenship, Amit Kapadia, executive
director of the HSMP Forum said: "We are deeply concerned over
the Indian government’s repeated attempts to penalise Indian
nationals opting for foreign citizenship in this manner.
We have received many complaints from British Indians
who have expressed their resentment against the humiliation
meted out to them and their families."
Apart from the alleged unfairness of imposing a fee
to surrender Indian passports, Kapadia said new rules levying
different fees for the same consular service had worsened the
situation. The HSMP Forum represents non-European Union
professionals, including a large number of Indians.