NEW DELHI: The external affairs ministry (MEA) has finally agreed to eliminate the surrender certificate from those who have became naturalized citizens more than 10 years ago and also an OCI application need not be accompanied by an original US passport.When the new rules regarding the surrender of Indian passports upon acquisition of US citizenship were introduced by the MEA in May 2010, the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO International) expressed strong objections.GOPIO had also objected to Indian Consulates charging $175 fee for surrender of old Indian passports and additional penalties for various "violations". Based on the persistence and objections raised by GOPIO, on June 1, 2010, a partial relaxation of the rules was achieved and the fee reduced to $20. However, the removal of burdensome procedures and fees on Indians who became citizens of other countries was not addressed in a coherent, consistent and equitable way.As a result, during the last one year alone, there have been demonstrations, hunger strikes and thousands of emails to the Indian consulates, GOPIO and the government, yet the issue never got the full attention for a comprehensive solution as promised.
On January 6, 2011, GOPIO held a conference session on this subject at its annual convention in New Delhi. A high ranking representative of the MEA attended the session and became aware of the continuing problem. In May 2011, a high level delegation from the MEA headed by secretary Dr Ajai Choudhry along with additional secretary BK Gupta and under secretary Cherian Thomas visited the US to look into complaints of the people regarding visa issue.
"We compliment the MEA high level delegation in accepting some GOPIO's recommendations and MEA issuing the directives accordingly. The elimination of surrender certificate requirement from people who have obtained foreign citizenship more than ten years ago, will not only stop the decline of goodwill in the Indian community for the government of India but can also reduce workload at the consulates," said Inder Singh, GOPIO International chairman.
"Now that the work load will be less, Indian missions in western countries and Travisa should finish off all the backlogs soon and make the process of getting an OCI card and entry visa to India easier for the Indian community," said Dr Thomas Abraham, former chairman of GOPIO International, who has been involved in this issue from the beginning.
"Finally, MEA has taken some steps to remove the difficulties faced by many who became citizens of other countries and desirous of visiting India or applying for OCI cards. This is a welcome action that removes an undue burden on former citizens of India and improves goodwill towards India", said Ashook Ramsaran, executive vice president of GOPIO International.
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