Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI)

[llNicell]

Hi,
I recently got ILR for me and my family including my wife and my child who is born here. Now I have got British passport for my child as she was born here. Me and my wife are waiting to naturalise next year.

What do I do from this point?
Should I surrender my child's Indian passport and apply for OCI.
If so can I apply OCI for the child alone now and do for the adults next year when we get British passports or should I wait for us to get the British passports and apply for all of us together. In the mean time how can my child travel to India as we have both Indian and British passports for my child.

Please advice.
Thankyou.

First apply for her OCI which normally takes 12 -14 weeks to get ( cost you £165). If you need to go India before receiving her OCI card, apply any time for Tourist visa which takes 3 working days ( cost you about £75).

[mkumarInTheUK]

Should I surrender my child's Indian passport and apply for OCI.

You should immediately surrender the childs Indian passport as that is what Indian law requires - that is the Indian passport should be surrendered when one acquires the travel documents of another country.

If so can I apply OCI for the child alone now and do for the adults next year when we get British passports or should I wait for us to get the British passports and apply for all of us together.

Minor Children, whose both parents are Indian citizens are not eligible for OCI cards. It would be best if you apply for OCI cards once all of you become British. However if you havent returned your childs Indian passport in time it could complicate things when you apply for an OCI for your child.

In the mean time how can my child travel to India as we have both Indian and British passports for my child.

Your child will have to return her Indian passport and apply for a visa or PIO card.

[amreenmalik]

Thankyou for your replies.
I am going to surrender my child's Indian passport and then apply for Tourist visa for now.

If I submit the passport surrender form in the High Commission in London how long does it take for them to issue me a surrender certificate?

Is it immediate at the counter at the time of submitting the application ?
or
Same day around normal collection time which is about 15:30 or 16:00 hrs ?
or
A couple of days?
Please advice.
Thankyou.

[amreenmalik]

Dear All,
I am surrendering my child's passport only.
Should I take a thumb impression of my child in the application or should the parents sign on behalf of the child in the application.

And do they normally give a receipt when they take the passport and mention a date on that receipt for collection of surrender certificate as they normally do for passport renewal?

Please advice.
Thankyou.

[TC]

My two children who were Indian Citizens acquired British Nationality on 20 March 2010 (date on the Citizenship certificate). I applied for British passport only recently and got them on 25th and 28th June respectively. How much fees should I be paying for surrendering their Indian Passports? I guess £14, but I can't get any reply from the High Commission. Anybody in a similiar position? Any help appreciated.
Thanks a lot.

[PCB]

Hi,


Applied on : 3-Mar-2010
Date Of Acknowledgment :3-Jun-2010
Registration Status Granted : Under progress
Photo/Signature Scanned On : 5-Jun-2010
Documents Printing Status : Printed
Documents Printed On : 21-Jun-2010
Documents Dispatched to Concerned Mission/Office on :23-Jun-2010
Documents Received at Birmingham - 30-Jun-2010.


Another journey successfully completed......

Good Luck to others....

Cheers,
PCB

[peejay]

Our OCI has just been recieved in LONDON. Does anybody know how long its taking to collect by post now-a-days?

[TC]

My two children who were Indian Citizens acquired British Nationality on 20 March 2010 (date on the Citizenship certificate). I applied for British passport only recently and got them on 25th and 28th June respectively. How much fees should I be paying for surrendering their Indian Passports? I guess £14, but I can't get any reply from the High Commission. Anybody in a similiar position? Any help appreciated.
Thanks a lot.

Recieved email reply from High Commission. The fees is £14. Will be applying for surrender certificate by post. Thanks.

[benz52]

Hi all,

My British ceremony was conducted last week and I am yet to apply for a British Passport. Can I still travel to India on my Indian passport without getting any penalties?? I plan on applying for the Brit passport after coming back from India.

http://www.cgibirmingham.org/Renunciati ... ip_alt.htm

According to this link here, there is a 3 months grace period. But it does not clarify what it applies to? Making changes to the passport, surrendering the passport or travelling on it?

Many thanks to ur reply in advanced intimation.

T

[sunilkc]

Hi,

I applied for my OCI on 11 May in person at HCI London. But the online status is still unchanged after 2 months. Did anyone apply in the month of May and had their status updated?

Date Of Acknowledgment 11-MAY-2010
Application Status
Registration Status UnderProcess
Documents Printing Status NOT PRINTED
Documents Dispatched to Concerned Mission/Office on NOT DISPATCHED
Documents Received at LONDON NOT YET

Another question, I have seen other forum member pasting their track and they have an entry for Photo/Signature scanned. My question is whether "Registration Status" is updated first or "Photo/Signature Scanned" field should appear with a date on it first.

Thanks for your replies.

Regards,
sunilkc

[sunilkc]

Friends,

I found a tracker on immihelp.com of a person who applied exactly 2 weeks earlier than me. His tracker is:

Date Of Acknowledgment 27-APR-2010
Application Status
Registration Status Granted On 13-JUL-2010
Photo/Signature Scanned On 08-JUL-2010
Documents Printing Status PRINTED
Documents Printed On 14-JUL-2010
Documents Dispatched to Concerned Mission/Office on 15-JUL-2010
Documents Received at LONDON NOT YET


My expected OCI timeline (could vary by 1 week):

Date Of Acknowledgment 11-MAY-2010
Registration Status Granted On 27-JUL-2010
Photo/Signature Scanned On 22-JUL-2010
Documents Printing Status PRINTED
Documents Printed On 28-JUL-2010
Documents Dispatched to Concerned Mission/Office on 29-JUL-2010
Documents Received at LONDON 05-AUG-2010

I shall keep you posted whether my expected timeline is kept or not.

Cheers

[global gypsy]

My British ceremony was conducted last week and I am yet to apply for a British Passport. Can I still travel to India on my Indian passport without getting any penalties??

http://www.cgibirmingham.org/Renunciati ... ip_alt.htm

According to this link here, there is a 3 months grace period. But it does not clarify what it applies to? Making changes to the passport, surrendering the passport or travelling on it?

I believe the grace period refers to the max amount of time allowed for you to surrender your Indian passport.
Once you have had your citizenship ceremony, you are a British citizen. So it's illegal for you travel on Indian passport any more.
In fact, if you do so, you would most certainly have major issues later when you apply for OCI / Indian visa.

[chakku71]

Hi

Applied on : 3-Mar-2010
Date Of Acknowledgment :3-Jun-2010
Registration Status Granted : Under progress
Photo/Signature Scanned On : 5-Jun-2010
Documents Printing Status : Not Printed
Documents Printed On :
Documents Dispatched to Concerned Mission/Office on NOT DISPATCHED
Documents Received at Birmingham NOT YET

Regards
PCB

Thanks PCB- My date of application is only the 23rd of March so may be have to for another month.

After a long 4 months wait, I have received the OCI- the time lines are about 2 months longer for Birmingham compared to London

[sac_ag]

Hi There,
Does anyone got any status update who applied in May in London?
I applied on 25th May in person with no status update so far.

[sac_ag]

Grace Period is for travelling not for surrendering the passport.
I travelled within 3 months of getting the naturalization and surrender my passport after 8 months without any penalty.

My British ceremony was conducted last week and I am yet to apply for a British Passport. Can I still travel to India on my Indian passport without getting any penalties??

http://www.cgibirmingham.org/Renunciati ... ip_alt.htm

According to this link here, there is a 3 months grace period. But it does not clarify what it applies to? Making changes to the passport, surrendering the passport or travelling on it?

I believe the grace period refers to the max amount of time allowed for you to surrender your Indian passport.
Once you have had your citizenship ceremony, you are a British citizen. So it's illegal for you travel on Indian passport any more.
In fact, if you do so, you would most certainly have major issues later when you apply for OCI / Indian visa.

[sunilkc]

Hi There,
Does anyone got any status update who applied in May in London?
I applied on 25th May in person with no status update so far.

I know someone who applied in May and her application moved forward:

acknowledgement: 6 may
photo/signature scanned: 30 june
oci granted: 27 july
documents printed: 29 july

but still no update on my case- not even photo/signature scanned date.
sac_ag, did you get your photo/signature date updated yet? I tried calling HCI London and as expected no one picked up the phone. I think need to email them, hoping they will reply or act on my case!!??

[sac_ag]

Hi Sunil,
I do not have the photo scanned update yet.
Let me know if you have anything on your application

Hi There,
Does anyone got any status update who applied in May in London?
I applied on 25th May in person with no status update so far.

I know someone who applied in May and her application moved forward:

acknowledgement: 6 may
photo/signature scanned: 30 june
oci granted: 27 july
documents printed: 29 july

but still no update on my case- not even photo/signature scanned date.
sac_ag, did you get your photo/signature date updated yet? I tried calling HCI London and as expected no one picked up the phone. I think need to email them, hoping they will reply or act on my case!!??

[sunilkc]

I just called HCI london OCI department and they told me that they just started doing 2nd week of May now, so I should get some progress done over next 2 weeks. She advised me to call back after 2 weeks if I see no progress on my case (already 12 week today). I would like to assume that I should see my photo/signatures to be scanned this week and more progress next week. Fingers crossed!

[sac_ag]

Hi Sunil on which number and how you were able to reach them?
Generally they dont pick the phones at all.

Thanks

I just called HCI london OCI department and they told me that they just started doing 2nd week of May now, so I should get some progress done over next 2 weeks. She advised me to call back after 2 weeks if I see no progress on my case (already 12 week today). I would like to assume that I should see my photo/signatures to be scanned this week and more progress next week. Fingers crossed!

[sac_ag]

I Got someone's timeline as below

Date Of Acknowledgment
25-MAY-2010
Application Status
Registration Status
Granted
On
30-JUL-2010
Photo/Signature Scanned
On
30-JUL-2010
Documents Printing Status
PRINTED
Documents Printed On
02-AUG-2010
Documents Dispatched to Concerned Mission/Office on 04-AUG-2010
Documents Received at LONDON
NOT YET



ate Of Acknowledgment
14-MAY-2010
Application Status
Registration Status
Granted
On
29-JUL-2010
Photo/Signature Scanned
On
19-JUL-2010
Documents Printing Status
PRINTED
Documents Printed On
30-JUL-2010
Documents Dispatched to Concerned Mission/Office on 02-AUG-2010
Documents Received at LONDON
On
06-AUG-2010


Not sure whats the holdup for us

Hi Sunil on which number and how you were able to reach them?
Generally they dont pick the phones at all.

Thanks

I just called HCI london OCI department and they told me that they just started doing 2nd week of May now, so I should get some progress done over next 2 weeks. She advised me to call back after 2 weeks if I see no progress on my case (already 12 week today). I would like to assume that I should see my photo/signatures to be scanned this week and more progress next week. Fingers crossed!

[sunilkc]

There is a much welcome change in my status:

Application Status
Registration Status Granted On 09-AUG-2010
Photo/Signature Scanned On 05-AUG-2010
Documents Printing Status PRINTED
Documents Printed On 10-AUG-2010
Documents Dispatched to Concerned Mission/Office on 11-AUG-2010
Documents Received at LONDON NOT YET

I suspect it maybe ready for collection on Tuesday 17-AUG in London.

Where did you get your timelines? Are they for HCI London? If yes, I am glad I didn't find them earlier else would have made me nervous no end

Anyway the number to London OCI dept is 02076323074 but the time of enquiry is 2:30pm to 5:30pm. If you call out of these hours then the call is not attended. I guess this is what happens to most callers and they think they don't pick up the phone, but the reality is they do and are usually helpful (Or I am saying this because I am very happy to see the much needed progress after 3 months of wait ).

[sum-img]

hi guys,

Hope you can help me as I am going to apply for OCI card. I have collected the following documents, please check if possible.

1. Copy of British Passport
2. Copy of Naturalisation Certificate.
3. Copy of Indian Passport (where cancelled has been mentioned).
4. Application Fee (165 pounds).
5. All documents - self attested.
6. Two set of copies - with original photos and signatures.
7. Two Self Addressed Envelopes (one for sending the fee receipt and other special delivery pre-paid postage).
8. Reference number should be written on the reverse side of the postal order.

Guys I want to know whether I should go for postal order of 165 pounds, as I went to bank they do not understand what is demand draft..... Postal Order will cost me around 10 pounds.

Please suggest....

[sac_ag]

Best thing is go with Cash.
Also you need a certificate of passport surrender

hi guys,

Hope you can help me as I am going to apply for OCI card. I have collected the following documents, please check if possible.

1. Copy of British Passport
2. Copy of Naturalisation Certificate.
3. Copy of Indian Passport (where cancelled has been mentioned).
4. Application Fee (165 pounds).
5. All documents - self attested.
6. Two set of copies - with original photos and signatures.
7. Two Self Addressed Envelopes (one for sending the fee receipt and other special delivery pre-paid postage).
8. Reference number should be written on the reverse side of the postal order.

Guys I want to know whether I should go for postal order of 165 pounds, as I went to bank they do not understand what is demand draft..... Postal Order will cost me around 10 pounds.

Please suggest....

[sum-img]

I think you do not need surrender certificate if your passport is already cancelled by the authority.

Please read:

http://www.cgibirmingham.org/index.php? ... ages&id=25

Paragraph a reads

OCI/PIO/first time visa applicants who have acquired foreign nationality on or before 31st May, 2010 need no longer pay the “citizenship renunciation feeâ€

[oic-hopeful]

Question here.. re: point 7

7. Two Self Addressed Envelopes (one for sending the fee receipt and other special delivery pre-paid postage).


If I am going to the HCI in London personally to give my application do I need to give the two self-addressed envelopes as well?

I guess we are not expected to submit any original documents at the first instance, just the self attented photocopies only, i believe.

Also, has anybody been to HCI London personally to submit the application. If so how much time does it take? I guess you can go as early as 8.30 when the doors open.

Best thing is go with Cash.
Also you need a certificate of passport surrender

hi guys,

Hope you can help me as I am going to apply for OCI card. I have collected the following documents, please check if possible.

1. Copy of British Passport
2. Copy of Naturalisation Certificate.
3. Copy of Indian Passport (where cancelled has been mentioned).
4. Application Fee (165 pounds).
5. All documents - self attested.
6. Two set of copies - with original photos and signatures.
7. Two Self Addressed Envelopes (one for sending the fee receipt and other special delivery pre-paid postage).
8. Reference number should be written on the reverse side of the postal order.

Guys I want to know whether I should go for postal order of 165 pounds, as I went to bank they do not understand what is demand draft.....
Postal Order will cost me around 10 pounds.

Please suggest....