The short version
- No. India does not let its citizens hold another citizenship at the same time. The Embassy of India in Washington says so plainly.
- Under section 9 of India's Citizenship Act, an Indian who chooses to become a citizen of another country stops being Indian on that day.
- Former Indians, and their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, can apply for an OCI card instead. It is a lifelong visa, not citizenship. The government fee is USD 275.
- If you held an Indian passport, you surrender it once you are American. In Washington, the government fee is USD 40, plus service fees.
Does India allow dual citizenship with the US?
No. The Embassy of India in Washington says the Constitution of India does not allow holding Indian citizenship and the citizenship of another country at the same time. The same notice says an OCI card does not make you a dual citizen either.
The US side is open to it. USA.gov says Americans do not have to choose one nationality, and that some countries let people keep their old citizenship after they become American, while others do not. India is one that does not. So the rule that decides it here is India's.
The full US rules are in dual citizenship for Americans, explained. Other countries work differently. The Philippines, for example, lets former Filipinos take their citizenship back: see dual citizenship with the US and the Philippines.
What happens to Indian citizenship when you become American?
It ends. Section 9 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 says any citizen of India who voluntarily gets the citizenship of another country, by naturalisation, registration or otherwise, stops being a citizen of India when that happens. We read the India Code text, which shows the Act as on 15 April 2026.
So there is no step to take for the citizenship itself. The Embassy of India in Washington says that someone who held Indian nationality and then chose another nationality "ceases to be an Indian national". What is left is paperwork: you surrender your Indian passport and get a surrender certificate. That is covered below.
Renouncing is a different process, for people who are still Indian. Section 8 of the Act lets an adult citizen give up Indian citizenship by a declaration. The embassy says renunciation is only for Indian nationals and Indian passport holders, not for people who already hold US nationality.
Can you become Indian again later? The law has a route for OCI cardholders, set out in the next section. But India's one-citizenship rule still applies to anyone who takes it.
What is an OCI card?
An Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card is a lifelong visa for people of Indian origin who are citizens of another country. The embassy calls it "basically a life long Visa" with some extra privileges. It is not citizenship. India's OCI services site, run by the Ministry of Home Affairs, says an OCI cardholder is a foreign national and not a citizen of India.
Section 7A of the Citizenship Act says who can register. In short:
- Former Indians. A citizen of another country who was an Indian citizen on or after 26 January 1950.
- Other links to India. Someone who was eligible to become Indian on 26 January 1950, or who belonged to a territory that became part of India after 15 August 1947.
- Their families. A child, grandchild or great-grandchild of anyone above.
- Minor children. A child under 18 with at least one parent who is an Indian citizen.
- Husbands and wives. The foreign spouse of an Indian citizen or an OCI cardholder, after at least 2 years of registered marriage. They need a security clearance first.
The same section rules out anyone who, or whose parent, grandparent or great-grandparent, is or was a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh, or of another country the government names.
The Ministry lists these benefits:
- A lifelong visa with multiple entries, to visit India for any purpose.
- No registration with the Foreigners Regional Registration Officer, however long you stay. Cardholders who live in India email that office when their address or job changes.
- The same prices as Indian nationals for domestic flights and for entry to national parks, monuments and museums.
- The same rights as Non-Resident Indians to buy and sell property (except farmland, farmhouses and plantations), adopt children from India, sit the national entrance tests for NRI seats, and work as a doctor, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, advocate, architect or chartered accountant under each profession's law.
You apply online, then send the printed form and papers to VFS Global, which handles OCI for the Indian missions in the US. The embassy lists a USD 275 fee for a new card, plus a USD 19 VFS fee and a small welfare fund fee. If you are refused, the OCI site says USD 250 comes back. It says a card normally takes about 30 days from when your application is acknowledged.
An adult who has held an OCI card for 5 years, and has lived in India for the 12 months before applying, can apply to become an Indian citizen, under section 5(1)(g) of the Act.
What can OCI card holders not do?
They cannot vote or hold most public posts. Section 7B(2) of the Citizenship Act lists the rights of a citizen that an OCI cardholder does not get:
- Voting. They cannot register as voters.
- Elected office. They cannot become President or Vice-President, or a member of Parliament or a state legislature.
- Top courts. They cannot be a judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court.
- Government jobs. They have no right to equal chances at public jobs, and cannot be appointed to government posts, except ones the government names in a special order.
The OCI site adds a few more limits. Cardholders cannot buy farmland, a farmhouse or plantation property. They need special permission first to do research, missionary or Tabligh work, mountaineering or journalism, to intern at a foreign mission or foreign government body in India, to work at a foreign mission there, or to visit a protected or restricted area. In other economic, financial and education matters not listed, they have the same rights as a foreigner.
Some other points from the OCI site:
- The passport comes first. OCI is only a visa. Cardholders in India need a valid foreign passport the whole time.
- No Indian passport. An Indian passport is given only to Indian citizens.
- Indian law applies. Civil and criminal law covers cardholders while they live in India.
The card can also be cancelled. Under section 7D of the Act, that includes a card obtained by fraud, and a holder sentenced to two years or more in prison within five years of getting it.
Do you have to surrender your Indian passport?
Yes, if you ever held one. The Embassy of India in Washington says a former Indian who chose another nationality is required to surrender the Indian passport and get a surrender certificate. Expired passports can be surrendered too.
The certificate matters for the OCI card. The OCI site asks for your cancelled Indian passport with its surrender certificate, if you surrendered it in or after 2010.
The embassy sets out three steps:
- Fill in the government form online. The embassy asks you to make a new account on the Passport Seva portal first, then note your application number and print the form.
- Gather the papers on the VFS Global checklist.
- Hand in the papers and fees to VFS Global, at an appointment or by courier.
The fee is USD 40 to the government, USD 3 to the Indian Community Welfare Fund, and the VFS service fee. These are the Washington embassy's figures, read on 26 October 2026.
The embassy says no surrender certificate is issued for a passport that was impounded, revoked, suspended or cancelled.
If you are still Indian and weighing the move, the two passports open different doors. Compare where an Indian passport gets you in with where a US passport gets you in.