India Dual Citizenship Mega Thread (Merged)

The India Dual Citizenship will be Operational:

  • In 2003

    Votes: 4 20.0%

  • In 2004

    Votes: 11 55.0%

  • Sometime after 2004

    Votes: 4 20.0%

  • I am skeptical if this will happen

    Votes: 1 5.0%
  • Total voters
    20
  • Poll closed .
For the more fearless questioners out there (and Indians are near the bottom of the fearless list - only the Chinese are more fearful ;))

Chage questiong (b) above to:

b) We keep hearing about Dual Citizenship. Officials tell us that PIO and OCI is not citizenship. The PM says he is anouncing dual citizenship at the PBD - is this finally when we get the real thing - citizenship of India?
 
akkcausa said:
From ad:

Senior officers of Ministry for Overseas Indian Affairs will make a presentation at the India Community Center 285 N Wolfe Road Sunnyvale, CA 94085 on December 12, 2005 at 6pm.

All those living in the Bay Area who have a complaint against the OCI and wish to vent their feelings should try and go there to talk to the 'senior' officials and make their point known.
Click to expand...

What is the source of this information ? Nothing on ICC website ?

Thanks :)
 
PBD presentation in SFO

The source for MOIA officials in SFO is an ad in this week's India Post weekly by the Indian consulate. There will be nothing in ICC website as they are not involved in any way except that the location has been chosen for the presentation by the Indian consulate.
 
akkcausa said:
The source for MOIA officials in SFO is an ad in this week's India Post weekly by the Indian consulate. There will be nothing in ICC website as they are not involved in any way except that the location has been chosen for the presentation by the Indian consulate.
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In true keeping with this 4-way split. 4 departments, each one competing with the other to stuff this Dual Citizenship around, and each one not talking with the other

- Prime Minister's Office
- Ministry of External Affairs
- Ministry of Home Affairs
- Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs

Pick which one is implementing OCI, and you will easily see why it has taken all these years
California Service Center, San Francisco/Oakland DO

N-400 mailed : 10/14/2005
N-400 received by USCIS: 10/17/2005
N-400 PD : 10/17/2005
N-400 ND : 10/27/2005
FP - ND: 11/11/2005
FP letter received:11/17/2005
FP Appointment: 11/29/2005
FP Taken at Oakland and sent to FBI: 11/29/2005
FP processed by FBI and send back to USCIS: 11/29/2005
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Indian Dual Citizenship Saga

First heard about Dual Citizenship: 1995
PIO Implemented: 1997 ish
Anouncement "Now we will do it - promise": 2002
Legislation passed for OCI: 2003
Application for OCI: 2004
Anouncement "this time you'll get it": December 2005
Still no Dual Citizenship: 9 January 2006
 
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Got my PIO Card in 3 days.

Hi All,

I had applied for PIO card (in person) on Tuesday in Washington D.C. and I was surprise to see in the mail that I had received my passports along with the PIO card today. When I applied I was told that it will take atleast 3 weeks, but I don't think that is the case.

Thanks.
 
g10783 said:
Hi All,

I had applied for PIO card (in person) on Tuesday in Washington D.C. and I was surprise to see in the mail that I had received my passports along with the PIO card today. When I applied I was told that it will take atleast 3 weeks, but I don't think that is the case.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Congrats ! But i guess they want to issue as many PIO cards as they can before the cheaper OIC comes rolling in :)
 
g10783 said:
Hi All,

I had applied for PIO card (in person) on Tuesday in Washington D.C. and I was surprise to see in the mail that I had received my passports along with the PIO card today. When I applied I was told that it will take atleast 3 weeks, but I don't think that is the case.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
3 days is world class. No. It is fantastic and unbelievable, and even puts western countries to shame.

Makes you wonder what they were doing before when it took weeks to process a PIO.

I applied for my OCI in November 04. They paused to say "we stopped so we could make it faster". If you can have a PIO you are allowed to have an OCI - no difference, so what has taken them so long to figure this out? And why couldn't they just work it out sooner?
 
OCI - Refund for already applied PIO Card Applicants

I was a PIO Card holder when I applied for my OCI last year. I would be eligible for a refund!

I would be interested to know if there are any other members on this forum like myself that were PIO Card holders when they applied for OCI last year.

I haven't heard anything anywhere about the refund mentioned by Govt. of India. I have sent e-mail to the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and PM's office for clarification - no response whatsoever! Consulate can't comment without the clearance from India. :mad: :mad:
 
Quote from Minister of OIA:
He disclosed that the first certificate of dual citizenship for non-resident Indians would be presented at the ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’ by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. d.“The process of giving dual citizenship is already over. We are waiting for the right time to announce it officially,” he said He hinted that the Indian government would announce the voting rights for Non-Resident Indians at the ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’. “There are some technical problems in granting voting rights for NRIs, but we are looking for a solution. We hope that we will manage to announce it at the meeting,” the minister promised.

Does anyone understand what he is trying to say ????
 
Here is my interpretation ;)

mangal969 said:
Quote from Minister of OIA:
He disclosed that the first certificate of dual citizenship for non-resident Indians would be presented at the ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’ by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
Click to expand...
An NRI is a full citizen of India who is resident abroad. I.e. he already has citizenship. WOW - he now gets a certificate???!!! Fantastic, can he frame it too? I guess it is great for those who did not really know they were Indian citizens.
mangal969 said:
“The process of giving dual citizenship is already over. We are waiting for the right time to announce it officially,” he said
Click to expand...
All of you who have applied - the process is over. Don't believe the consulate when they tell you the modalities are being worked out, they just want to give you a BIG surprise. All this talk about tamper proof certificates, and this year long wait was just to make the surprise even bigger!!! Please wait at your letter box, the prime minister's personal invitation to PBD is about to come...
mangal969 said:
He hinted that the Indian government would announce the voting rights for Non-Resident Indians at the ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’.
Click to expand...
Like giving citizenship certificates to those who are already citizens, you NRIs who hold full Indian Citizenship probably don't know that the constitution grants you the right to vote that no one can take away? Well to make you feel special, we will give you another certificate that says you have the right to vote - the same size and style as the citizenship certificate so it will go well framed together in your drawing room.
mangal969 said:
“There are some technical problems in granting voting rights for NRIs, but we are looking for a solution. We hope that we will manage to announce it at the meeting,” the minister promised.
Click to expand...
Yes - whether we give you a certificate and/or a bottle of official indelible ink that you can put on yourself, we need to work out. Someone suggested smartcard, which will take us a year to decide is too difficult, and cause us to revert to the original idea. And yes, then is the problem of ... not being resident, who is your local member? We don't know how to work this out, so you won't be able to vote until you return to be resident in India. But as a resident citizen of India, this government will give you the right to vote!!!

Anyway this is as good as our last idea. We renamed PIO "Overseas Citizenship of India", made a few press releases using the words "Dual Citizenship" and Lo! Without changing the constitution, everyone thought they got something new!
 
mangal969 said:
Quote from Minister of OIA:
He disclosed that the first certificate of dual citizenship for non-resident Indians would be presented at the ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’ by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. d.“The process of giving dual citizenship is already over. We are waiting for the right time to announce it officially,” he said He hinted that the Indian government would announce the voting rights for Non-Resident Indians at the ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’. “There are some technical problems in granting voting rights for NRIs, but we are looking for a solution. We hope that we will manage to announce it at the meeting,” the minister promised.

Does anyone understand what he is trying to say ????
Click to expand...


Yes - the Minister refers to the voting rights for NRIs (Indian People living abroad with Indian Citizenship/Passports - this doesnot include PIOs either with PIO Cards/OCI).

At present, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) cannot vote while they are abroad. GOI has been working on the proposal that in future NRI should be able to vote while they are abroad (Postal Ballot). This is being done due to the previous requests by NRIs living abroad.
 
boggavarapu said:
Yes - the Minister refers to the voting rights for NRIs (Indian People living abroad with Indian Citizenship/Passports - this doesnot include PIOs either with PIO Cards/OCI).

At present, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) cannot vote while they are abroad. GOI has been working on the proposal that in future NRI should be able to vote while they are abroad (Postal Ballot). This is being done due to the previous requests by NRIs living abroad.
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Thanks.But i am referring to the underlined statement :)
 
oci

I am one of those unfortunate who had applied for 'dual citizenship' in december 2004 ;now referred to as OCI. I am still not convinced that I am going to get my OCI certiifcate anytime soon. This entire hype of starting the OCI on 2nd December is for the Government to save their face at 2006 prawasi diwas and that is the reason none of the embassies in North America have started anything. Once the Prawasi diwas passes they will have another year to decide what to do with the already received applications and how to implement something new that is declared by the PM. I will consider myself lucky if I receive anything before June 2006.

I will appeal to all the members on this forum to continue writing to the overseas minister, newspaper editor or put forth the relevant questions to the OCI officials in SF etc etc. Don't consider OCI a done deal. To my recollection in the last Prawasi diwas they had given some sort of certificate to a NRi from Australia. They are going to do the similar adventure yet again.

Once the prawasi diwas passes everything will become quiet again. If you know of someone who is attending the diwas please convince him to ask that question to the PM directly at the 2006 prawsi diwas. This is not the time for celebration but joining together to make sure that it happens this time.

P.S- Sorry for sounding so negative but I do not trust the indian bureaucratic machinery anymore.
 
qwert97, understand your sentiments. For my part I am trying to correct the missinformation going on out there.

Honorable Arun Kumar, Consul General of India has, I feel, has not acted so honourably if as this report claims, he has told Indian catholics in Chicago:

"Arun Kumar also mentioned that starting first week of January, 2006, Dual Citizenship applications will be processed. For just $275 one can get this dual citizenship and visit India as many times as he/she can without a visa. Even children who born in the US can apply for dual citizenship and take advantage he said."

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=16927&n_tit=USA%3A+A++'Christmas+Ball'++in+Chicago+-+News+%26+Pictures

Members of the Indian diplomatic corps, please maintain your integrity and call this what it is, not dual citizenship. I have written to the paper to have it corrected.
 
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1328781.cms

http://in.rediff.com/money/pmmalay05.html

Govt mulls separate PIO university

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday said that his government was considering setting up an exclusive university in India for Persons of Indian Origin (PIO).

Speaking to members of the Indian community in Malaysia at a reception hosted at the Palace of the Golden Horses hotel in the suburbs, the Prime Minister said: "Our government is considering several proposals to increase the number of seats available to persons of Indian origin in educational institutions in India."

"The idea of establishing an exclusive PIO university is also being considered. The feedback from the PIO community the world over on this initiative has been extremely encouraging," Manmohan Singh added.

An announcement to this effect is likely to be made during the Jan 7-9 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, or Indian Diaspora Day conclave, at Hyderabad.

The Prime Minister lauded the contribution of the Indian community in Malaysia - about two million strong - saying it represented the largest concentration of people of Indian origin living outside the Indian subcontinent.

"The Little Indians which we see in so many towns in Malaysia are more than geographical spaces. They are repositories of the sentiment that links people of Indian origin to the motherland," he said.
 
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Everytime I think that things can't get any more corrupt in India, they do. I was absolutely disgusted when I read this:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1327921.cms

These people have even put the most basic democratic institution of India up for sale. I think you folks really have to think about why you'd want the citizenship of a place like this at all. Perhaps it may be for the best that all we're getting is a visa.
 
Hotdiggety said:
Everytime I think that things can't get any more corrupt in India, they do. I was absolutely disgusted when I read this:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1327921.cms

These people have even put the most basic democratic institution of India up for sale. I think you folks really have to think about why you'd want the citizenship of a place like this at all. Perhaps it may be for the best that all we're getting is a visa.
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Agree with you but developed countries are no better. There was recently an issue of a US senator accepting bribes to grant a defense contract. Surprisingly no one got emotional like you and claimed that they don't want to be US citizens.
 
PIO card through CGI, Houston

For those that are interested in PIO cards:

I applied for a PIO card for my daughter on Nov. 17th, and received the card today, Dec 12th. Almost 4 weeks...
 
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