Citizenship renunciation for US born kid living in India

[rpa123]

Hi,
My son was born in the US in 2009 while me and my wife were working there. So, he is a US citizen and holds US passport. We both were working on non-immigrant US visas. We moved back to India in 2015 and since then we are living in India. We renewed his US passport in US Consulate, Chennai in 2021. He has the US passport valid till 2026. We do not have an intention to move back to the US. He doesn't have an inclination to move back to the US too. The question we have is that does he need to mandatorily renounce the US citizenship when he turns 18 years old? Or can he hold the citizenship beyond that? What if he decides to move back to the US for post graduation let's say at the age of 21 or 22? Let me know.

Raja

[newacct]

Not sure what you are asking about. By default, he has US citizenship forever, unless and until he chooses to voluntarily renounce it (paying the fee and going through all the steps). Why would he want to renounce US citizenship? Was he also registered as an Indian citizen? Is the issue that he needs to renounce US citizenship or he will lose his Indian citizenship at age 18.5?

[rpa123]

Thank you for your response newacct

We don't want him to renounce the US citizenship. We just want to know the US citizenship rules. Since his age of 5, we are living in India. We thought there is a clause that at the age of 18, he needs to decide whether he wants to remain as a US citizen or take up the citizenship of India. Is there no such clause? This is what we want to clarify.

To your other question, he is not registered as an Indian citizen. He just has an Aadhaar card which is more of an identity in India.

[newacct]

As far as the US is concerned, he is a citizen forever, unless he wants to renounce. Nothing he does with other countries or other citizenships at any age affects his US citizenship, unless he wants to give up US citizenship.

As for whether his lack of Indian citizenship will cause issues for him living in India, that is a separate question.

[rpa123]

Okay. Thank you for clarifying that newacct. Appreciate your immediate response.

[bradleycooper]

Hi,
My son was born in the US in 2009 while me and my wife were working there. So, he is a US citizen and holds US passport. We both were working on non-immigrant US visas. We moved back to India in 2015 and since then we are living in India. We renewed his US passport in US Consulate, Chennai in 2021. He has the US passport valid till 2026. We do not have an intention to move back to the US. He doesn't have an inclination to move back to the US too. The question drift boss we have is that does he need to mandatorily renounce the US citizenship when he turns 18 years old? Or can he hold the citizenship beyond that? What if he decides to move back to the US for post graduation let's say at the age of 21 or 22? Let me know.

Raja

As a US citizen, your son has the right to maintain his citizenship for his entire life and does not need to renounce it when he turns 18 years old. He can choose to live in India or any other country while maintaining his US citizenship. If he decides to move back to the US for post-graduation studies or any other reason, he can do so with his valid US passport. However, it is important to note that he may have to fulfill certain obligations as a US citizen, such as filing taxes, even if he is living outside the US.

[andy2101]

Kid is born us citizen .he don't need to loose it unless he renounces it.i would say keep it and get OCI card. American citizenship will be beneficial for him to get scholarships,student loans and travel freedom.but us citizen have to pay taxes regardless where they make income just dont forget that

[rpa123]

Thank you bradleycooper and andy2101. This helps.