By Sanjay Paul
Panaji, June 15: Giving a major relief to those Goans who have acquired Portuguese nationality, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has said that a copy of passport revocation order may be considered as an alternative document in lieu of surrender certificate for granting visa/exit permission on his /her valid Portuguese passport or OCI card.
The Indians hailing from Goa , Daman and Diu had found that their Indian passports had been revoked at the time of applying for an OCI card after obtaining a Portuguese passport, however the MHA has now given a respite to the distressed people.
‘In the case of Indian nationals hailing from erstwhile Portuguese territories in India (Goa, Daman and Diu) who have acquired Portuguese nationality as per Portuguese Nationality law and who have been issued passport revocation order by regional passport offices instead of surrender certificate, a copy of such revocation order may be considered as an alternative document in lieu of surrender certificate for granting visa/ exit permission on his or her valid Portuguese passport of OCI card provided the person he or she certifies that he or she has not obtained the Portuguese passport fraudulently stated a communique issued by the central government.
The Union Ministry of External Affairs in its April 4, 2024 memorandum had said that it had decided to accept a revocation certificate instead of a surrender certificate an alternative document for the registration of an Overseas Citizenship of India card.
How ever the MHA issued a corrigendum on April 30 2024 stating that it was only under consideration by the MHA.
Several Goans who had found themselves rootless approached the High Court of Bombay at Goa, The High Court during its hearing based on the MHA circular passed an order stating that the MHA would henceforth issue OCI status of revoked passport holders based on revocation certificate.
