Hi tier1check,
VFS process is quite painful. I waited to hear from them (SMS/Email) if I had to go to VFS to give the passport for the U Sticker. However they didn’t send me anything so my wife went to give the passport with printout of the status page along with 3 (1 for each applicant) Royal mail special delivery envelopes. The same day in evening I got a message that the passports are ready for collection! Since it was after office hours, I didn’t know what they were up to. I called them again on Monday and the lady at the call centre again told me that my passport was ready for collection. When I told her that I had given RM envelopes, she said she will ask someone from OCI team to give me a call. I got a call but couldn’t pick up. The lady left a message that my passport has been send to HCI and I should ignore the SMS/mail; she didn’t leave a number so I couldn’t contact her to clarify. Tue was a holiday so there was another long wait. Finally I had enough of it, so I went to VFS Goswell road on Wednesday.
There was a very helpful lady at the enquiry counter who had incidentally taken my OCI application as well as passport from my wife. She remembered us as well! She went to check where my passports were. She told me that since I had applied on 4th March when VFS had still been instructed to hand deliver OCI book and that there was no need for U sticker, my application was fed in a system which was designed to give me a message when they scanned my passport a second time at VFS; that my passport is ready for collection. It had however been sent to HCI the same day and is with them. I went to HCI as well just in case they had a different story to tell. However, as expected, the babudom there was shocking and they managed to send me back without even letting me inside. The guard and another seemingly official person told me that I will certainly get my passport by Monday. If it doesn’t then I may come back and they will do something.
Thankfully by 3 pm yesterday I got a call that they have posted our passports after stamping. RM tracking also shows that the passports will be delivered today.
VFS still don’t know what the process is. I met a person at VFS who got 2 RM envelopes per applicant for OCI/passport as he had been told so by VFS call centre! He had already given 1 envelope during application for getting the original certificates back. Another person hadn’t given any envelope or paid for DX secure of VFS and had got his docs safely by RM 2nd class. I did learn that there is OCI town hall/ grievance meeting at HCI at 11 am -12 every Wednesday. So those of you who haven’t got any reply to your OCI and have not been able to reach public response unit of HCI on their 2 listed numbers (020 7632 3070/170), you can go to HCI on wed and can get to meet the officials to highlight your case. They did give me another number as well to call - 020 7632 3138 but it was always engaged which actually seems to be good news as someone was definitely there on the other end answering calls!
Final update
Application made in Person to VFS Goswell road (2 Adults + 1 Child) : 3 Mar 2015
Registration Status at Mission: LONDON
Date Of Acknowledgement (on website) : About a week after. I was using the old website for a while so didn’t see the acknowledgement being posted.
Originals Received: 17-03-2015
Documents Printing Status: Processed
Documents Printing Status PROCESSED On :
06-APR-2015
Dispatched From MOIA (OCI ) NEW DELHI On :
07-APR-2015
OCI Document received At HCI/VFS On :
08-APR-2015
Passport given to VFS in person on :
10-APR-2015
Passport posted by VFS on :
15-APR-2015
OCI status site
https://passport.gov.in/oci/statusEnqury does not show any update after the update of 8th Apr. It does not show that my passport was received for stamping or was posted, so this process seemed to have changed as those who applied at HCI before the move to VFS, seem to see these updates.
Hope it helps clear some of the confusion surrounding VFS process.