OCI Queries

[pogotosh]

Hi All,

I recently applied and acquired my British Citizenship and Passport. I am now in the process of surrendering my Indian Passport and applying for my OCI. As always, I am thankful to the members of immigration board for clarifying the plethora of ambiguities thrown up by such processes.

I am about to submit my Indian Passport over the next week or so and am planning to apply for my OCI at the end of October (assuming I receive the surrender certificate by then).

However, I have already started looking at the application form and the documents required for OCI and had a few queries.

1. In the online application form, we are required to input our Spouse's details. I recently got married. However my Indian Passport was issued before I got married and I do not have an Indian Marriage Registration certificate (only have a UK registration certificate). Hence, should I still input my Spouse's details in the application form or can I leave that blank.

2. The OCI website states that we need to submit the originals for all documents and these documents will be returned to us? I assume this includes our original British Passport and British Citizenship Certificate? Is this correct as they explicitly state that we need to submit the original of "Surrender of Indian Passport" certificate but nothing of that order is mentioned for British Passport and Citizenship.

3. With regards to the originals (especially British Passport and Citizenship), are these returned immediately by VFS on the day of our appointment or is this sent to the Indian Embassy as well and returned to us at a later date? If so, how is this returned to us and how many days does this normally take? And are these sent back to the VFS office for collection or to the address we indicate on the envelopes?

The reason I ask for this is because I need to travel to India during 1st week of December ( planning to apply for e-visa) and I was hence wondering if I might get back my originals in time to travel?

4. Finally, I notice that we are required to either submit 2 self addressed envelopes or pay for the courier service available at the VFS office. Can someone please clarify what each of the envelopes is meant for?

Thanks for your help in advance.

[KeepCalm4OCI]

As long as you have the Naturalisation certificate / surrender certificate and the British passport that would suffice for your submission.

http://www.immigrationboards.com/other- ... l#p1407287

[rmukherjee]

Hi All,

I recently applied and acquired my British Citizenship and Passport. I am now in the process of surrendering my Indian Passport and applying for my OCI. As always, I am thankful to the members of immigration board for clarifying the plethora of ambiguities thrown up by such processes.

I am about to submit my Indian Passport over the next week or so and am planning to apply for my OCI at the end of October (assuming I receive the surrender certificate by then).

However, I have already started looking at the application form and the documents required for OCI and had a few queries.

1. In the online application form, we are required to input our Spouse's details. I recently got married. However my Indian Passport was issued before I got married and I do not have an Indian Marriage Registration certificate (only have a UK registration certificate). Hence, should I still input my Spouse's details in the application form or can I leave that blank. I would put the details - don't leave it blank.

2. The OCI website states that we need to submit the originals for all documents and these documents will be returned to us? I assume this includes our original British Passport and British Citizenship Certificate? Is this correct as they explicitly state that we need to submit the original of "Surrender of Indian Passport" certificate but nothing of that order is mentioned for British Passport and Citizenship. For OCI you need to go to VFS twice. First time, they look at the original UK passport but take a photocopy of it. They may take other documents, e.g. original passport surrender certificate, for kids the parents' marriage certificate and maybe birth certificate. I cannot remember if they took the naturalisation certificate or not. Second visit, they will take the UK passport for 1 week.

3. With regards to the originals (especially British Passport and Citizenship), are these returned immediately by VFS on the day of our appointment or is this sent to the Indian Embassy as well and returned to us at a later date? If so, how is this returned to us and how many days does this normally take? And are these sent back to the VFS office for collection or to the address we indicate on the envelopes? UK Passport is not taken during the first visit. Any originals taken during the first visit are returned quickly by special delivery or courier (as you choose) - within about a week.

The reason I ask for this is because I need to travel to India during 1st week of December ( planning to apply for e-visa) and I was hence wondering if I might get back my originals in time to travel?

4. Finally, I notice that we are required to either submit 2 self addressed envelopes or pay for the courier service available at the VFS office. Can someone please clarify what each of the envelopes is meant for? This is because: 1st envelope (bigger) is for return of any original documents they take. The 2nd envelope (smaller) can be used later when you go with your UK passport after about 6-8 weeks once your OCI application has been approved - they will take the 2nd envelope and your UK passport, then return the UK passport + OCI booklet in that 2nd envelope.

Thanks for your help in advance.