OCI process

[KumarJayx]

Applied OCI in person 23rd March BLS Brampton. No original documents taken.
As of today
BLS Status- Processing at consulate
OCI Service- No Records Found

Anyone with the similar timelines?

Hi, Do we need to take an appointment?
2) Did you surrender the passport also?

 

[KumarJayx]

Had good experience with BLS Brampton. There was a huge line of walk-ins but I had appointment so they just let me in straight. The service was prompt and courteous. I gave them all the documents and politely mentioned I do not want any optional service. They only charged me $8.10 per application for BLS Service fee on top of OCI draft .

Some observations:
- pickup timings are now Mon-Fri 3pm-4:30pm (Two months back it was Mon-Sat 3pm to 4:45pm)

- They are not looking at any originals. Make sure to attest each and every photocopy with "This is a true copy of the original" - sign and date

- The lines up for pickup are sometimes huge and only first 20-25 people may manage get-in. The guards continuously go at the back of queue and tell people that the gates will close at 4:30pm (as their computers shutdown at 5pm) and indirectly tell people not to wait and fight with them at 4:30pm.

- If you are clicking photo yourself, use proper camera rather than mobile. A 10 year old, 5mega-pixel camera will shoot a better passport photo than a AI-powered latest mobile phone (unless you know how to fiddle with complicated photo settings)

- If you don't want purolator drop-off, explicitly MENTION it or else they seem to add it by default as they don't want half of Canada standing in pickup line.

- Book early morning appointments, If there is any problem,they let you re-fill the form and come back to BLS centre same day again for re-submission before 1 pm

- I saw people complaining BLS charged them $5 for a single printout. Well, BLS is a business, they provided you a service and have charged for it. If you follow checklist and instructions carefully, you will not land in that situation.

Thanks for detailed information. May i know how to get an appointment? Did you call them or do we have to take it online?

 

[Risabh_Canada]

For Postal Applications for OCI . Are you guys submitting original candian passport and originial Citizenship certificate ?

 

[manu.yoganand]

For Postal Applications for OCI . Are you guys submitting original candian passport and originial Citizenship certificate ?

not required, I spoke to the helpline and they said only copies for postal applicatio.
BTW I am canceling my appointment at BLS Brampton for Saturday April 16, let me know if anyone wants it

 

[indigonation5]

Well looks like I got scammed by BLS Toronto - am so pissed off right now.

i am reading through posts and noticed that courier is completely OPTIONAL!

the lady at the counter told me that there is NO pick up service. i then pointed to the form they make us fill for courier delivery where it mentions optional service and she said it’s an “old” form which I now realise was a straight up LIE.

why do they do such scam with fellow Indians? I am so saddened and angry with this to be honest.

Please is there a way to cancel courier service and get refund? Any guidance please would be very helpful.

 

[DigitalDestiny]

Thanks for detailed information. May i know how to get an appointment? Did you call them or do we have to take it online?

Online. Any type of appointment will work. Plenty of appointments are available and people also cancel the appointments so keep checking and you will easily get one

 

[DigitalDestiny]

For Postal Applications for OCI . Are you guys submitting original candian passport and originial Citizenship certificate ?

For GTA, no originals are needed. You need to attest each photocopy "This is a true copy of the original" - sign and date

 

[DigitalDestiny]

To the future OCI applicants :

- When you print the OCI form pdf (that you filled online), make sure Barcode is printed at the bottom. You need to change printer setting to "Fit" and then the printer will shrink the PDF to fit on letter size page

- Previous Passport Number : I left it as blank because it's in the section where you enter Canadian Passport details so in my opinion it refers to Previous Canadian Passport.
- National Identification Number : I left it blank
- Visible Mark : It's a mandatory field so cannot be left blank, so as per Hciottawa sample form I put NONE

Lastly, after you submit your surrender/oci application please make sure to return to this thread and help fellow applicants. We benefitted from this thread so we should give back something to this community.

 

[Tamiltdot]

Hey did you receive OCI ?

Yes, collected from BLS in person!

 

[KumarJayx]

Online. Any type of appointment will work. Plenty of appointments are available and people also cancel the appointments so keep checking and you will easily get one

Which is better sending application by courier or taking an appointment?

 

[vvarma]

Does any one know the Surrey BLS is open on Sat? Are there any time for pick ups? I remember seeing between 3to 4:30 but cant find it now.

Hey - any update on your online status? And did you manage to collect it?

 

[Arunkumar_ALKS]

We received Canadian passports last week. We plan to surrender the Indian passport and apply for OCI. Can we submit both applications at the same time?

 

[sk6492]

Yes, collected from BLS in person!

My timeline Postal application to Brambpton -10 Feb , Acknowledgement on BLS website - 15 Feb (Processing at Indian Consulate) Acknowledgement on OCI - 01 Mar (Under Process), Document Processed, Dispatched from MEA, Document received at Toronto, all dated 30 March 2022 on OCI website, Counter Delivery to BLS Centre after OCI stamping Apr 4 on BLS website

Congrats @Tamiltdot
Did your status change to "Ready for Collection" on March 30 as well?

I opted for pickup in person as well, but the agent told me it will slower process than Purolator shipment. Not sure if it was just thier tactic or does it really impact?

 

[Arunkumar_ALKS]

Congrats @Tamiltdot
Did your status change to "Ready for Collection" on March 30 as well?

I opted for pickup in person as well, but the agent told me it will slower process than Purolator shipment. Not sure if it was just thier tactic or does it really impact?

Thank you. How do you get an appointment from BLS? i observe that getting an appointment is taking around 1 month. In addition to that, in OCI application, there is a field " Place of issue" but in the Canadian passport, we don't have a place of issue mentioned. In general, it says "Canada".

 

[manu.yoganand]

Thank you. How do you get an appointment from BLS? i observe that getting an appointment is taking around 1 month. In addition to that, in OCI application, there is a field " Place of issue" but in the Canadian passport, we don't have a place of issue mentioned. In general, it says "Canada".

Look at the bottom most line… issuing authority is place of issue