Consulate General of India

Toronto, Canada

Q) What is Surrender Certificate?

A) Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), who have acquired foreign citizenship are required to surrender their Indian passports to the nearest Indian Mission/Post immediately after acquisition of foreign citizenship.

Q) Who should apply for a surrender certificate?

A) Any Indian citizen who has acquired Canadian Citizenship is mandatorily required to surrender his Indian passport. Following this, a Surrender Certificate will be issued (the Indian passport is cancelled and returned to the applicant).

Q) Why do I need the Surrender Certificate?

A) Any Foreign citizen who previously held Indian Citizenship mandatorily requires a Surrender Certificate while applying for any Indian visa or OCI.

Q) Where can I submit my Surrender Certificate application?

A) All the application for the Surrender Certificate should be submitted at the authorised BLS Centres under the CGI Toronto’s jurisdiction. Location of the BLS Centres can be found on this link.

Q) How do I submit the application.

A) After filling and submitting the form online (https://passport.gov.in/nri/), applicant needs to submit the hard copy of form with photo, supporting documents and fee at BLS.

Q) What are the documents required

A) Please note that acceptance of applications for this service has been outsourced to BLS International Services Canada Inc. Applications should be submitted to their centers. BLS Centres under the CGI Toronto jurisdiction can be found here. The applicant would need to submit the following:

• Duly filled-in application form
• Original Indian passport with one copy.
• Copy of the Canadian Citizenship certificate.
• Copy of Canadian passport.
• Photograph (to be pasted in the application form)
• Applicable Fees.

In case the application is sent by mail, the same should be forwarded to the Toronto Center of BLS International and must include the prescribed fee plus BLS charges and courier fees, for return of documents. For more details, please visit their website www.blsindia-canada.com. The relevant application forms could also be downloaded from BLS website: www.blsindia-canada.com.

Q) Can I submit application at the Consulate in person?

A) No. Applications are accepted only through BLS.

Q) Can I collect passport directly from the Consulate?

A) No. Surrender Certificates are dispatched to the applicant’s address as given in application form through BLS post/courier/walk in only.

Q) I am a resident of a place outside the consular jurisdiction of CGI Toronto. Can I submit my surrender certificate application at the Consulate?

A) CGI, Toronto accepts applications only of people living in its Consular Jurisdiction

All the Surrender applications must be come through BLS.  The Consulate will not accept any Surrender application directly from the applicant.

Q) What is the processing time for issuance of Surrender Certificate?

A) 2 to 4 weeks

Q) Do photocopies of original documents need to be attested?

A) Yes. All original documents must be accompanied by self-attested photocopies. These documents should be presented for scrutiny at the time of submission of application if applicant is going to BLS walk-in. The applicant sending their documents by postal service should send the self-attested copies of documents except Original Indian Passport along with it’s copy

Q) I acquired Indian Canadian citizenship in 2005 and had submitted Indian passports to Consulate Commission which were stamped cancelled and returned to me. Am I required to get a Surrender Certificate?

A) Indian passports of those acquiring foreign citizenship prior to 31 May 2010 used to be cancelled and no Surrender Certificate was issued.  In case they wish to apply for OCI card then they need to show the proof of cancelled passport at the time of submission of OCI application. 

Q) I am a Canadian citizen. I did surrender my Indian passport in 2014 and did not received my surrender certificate. Now my husband is applying for OCI and my surrender certificate is needed.

A) The concept of issue of Surrender Certificate came into existence on 1 June 2010.  As you have surrendered your Indian passport in 2014, you must have received the surrender certificate at that time.

In case you do not possess the surrender certificate as on date, you may send the scanned copy of your surrendered Indian passport for verification at this end.

It is mandatory to have surrender certificate after June 1, 2010 for applying for OCI.

For OCI application only applicant need to submit surrender certificate.

Q) What is the procedure to apply for a Surrender/Renunciation certificate for people who acquired Canadian citizenship before/after 1^st June 2010 but have lost their original last held Indian passport.

A) For Persons of Indian origin who lost their last held Indian passport, the following are the guidelines to be followed for applying for OCI:

(i) For lost of passports before June 1, 2010- Please fill up the affidavit click here..., This document is then to be notarized and apostilled by the relevant Canadian authorities along with the copy of the lost passport. This affidavit with copy of first and last page of lost Indian Passport along with all the documents required for applying for OCI, as per Consulate's website can be submitted at the nearest BLS center.  

(ii) For lost of passports after June 1, 2010- Applicant needs to share a copy of the lost passport at [email protected] seeking clearance to apply for a renunciation certificate. Once the Consulate conveys its approval the applicant may submit an application for surrender certificate with the copy of the lost passport for applying for surrender certificate at the nearest BLS center. The Consulate will issue a Renunciation Certificate in place of Surrender Certificate. This  Renunciation Certificate with copy of first and last page of lost Indian Passport along with all the documents required for applying for OCI, as per Consulate's website can be submitted at the nearest BLS center.