Correction on Surrender Certificate

[AnIndianBrit]

Hi All,

I submitted my Application for Surrender of Indian Passport at VFS - Hounslow a week ago. The Customer Service Agent made a spelling mistake while entering my middle name - replacing an E with F. (I know its VFS because all their notification mails right from their initial acceptance of application, had this error.)

As a result, I got my Surrender Certificate by post today with the wrong spelling. You would think somebody somewhere will crosscheck the passport and application and not just go by the VFS record!

The VFS Call Centre was unapologetic and their system won't let me book another appointment so apparently I just have to go "any day between 9am-3pm" and explain the situation to them.

Please help me if anyone has had a similar experience of having a misspelt name on the Surrender Certificate.

1) Is it even worth the trouble correcting the Surrender Cert for the OCI application sake?
2) Where do you go for the correction - VFS or HCL?
3) Did VFS allow you to enter without an appointment letter?
4) What documents did they need you to submit, assuming you didn't have to make a fresh application?

I am concerned if I will just be kept waiting for hours and in the end, referred to HCL. To think all this trouble, after paying such ridiculous fees and inspite of the mistake being theirs !!

[longshift]

Hi,

did you get it corrected? Can you explain the process... I am in the similar situation as yours and got the same reply from vfs call centre to goto vfs centre between 8:30 and 3:30.

Just wanted to know how long it took for you to get it back and what other documents did they ask on the counter.

Thanks

[phantom2016]

Hi,
I had the same issue - recd. the surrender certificate last week (Oct 2016) with a minor spelling mistake in my name.
Went today to submit a tourist visa application and mentioned to the VFS staff about the spelling issue. He suggested that I get it corrected before I applied for my OCI (later). He asked me to write a letter pointing out the error along with the copy of the first and last pages of my Indian (revoked) passport along with the copy of the first page of my British passport & of course the original surrender certificate.

So, now I have applied for my tourist visa as well as the correction on my surrender certificate concurrently - the VFS guy said there should be no issues. He said (ideally) I should be able to collect my Visa as well as the corrected surrender certificate at the same time (as both services take between 3-4 days). Typically they do not allow collection of Surrender certificates in person - but he said this should be OK.. I asked for an acknowledgement for having retained my original surrender certificate - but he said they did not have such a system & that "everything will be fine" !

After coming out I realized that I had not even made copies of my surrender certificate -- now I am totally at their mercy ..

I will post the results once I know them ..

thx,
Phantom

[haiksuresh]

Hi,
One quick question. To book an appointment for surrender certificate, In the VFS appointment website asking me provide "OCI Registration Number". Could some one help me, what should i provide for "OCI Registration Number"

Regards,
Suresh

[rmukherjee]

Hi,
One quick question. To book an appointment for surrender certificate, In the VFS appointment website asking me provide "OCI Registration Number". Could some one help me, what should i provide for "OCI Registration Number"

Regards,
Suresh

I believe you can just give your passport number. VFS is aware you cannot give OCI reg. numbers for surrender applications, that field is just poorly labelled on the system.

[phantom2016]

Hello,

(Situation: As mentioned in my previous post, I had applied for a correction on my surrender certificate as well as for my visit visa / multiple entry / 12 months to India - on Nov 1st 2016.)

Both the above were processed in 2 days flat.

Around 3 PM on Nov 3rd, I recd. a phone call from VFS letting me know that they had recd. the corrected surrender certificate from the Indian High commission and that I could come & collect the same from their office. They also sent an email confirmation of the same and requested me to bring the print out of that letter as proof (as there was no other proof of application).

Later that evening (Nov 3rd) , status on my visa application also showed as processed. I went to the VFS Paddington office on the 4th of November and collected both the visa and the corrected surrender certificate with minimal fuss. (They also approved the 12-month multiple entry visa - this time they had got all name spellings correct..) ..

Thankfully it all ended well.

Phantom