India PCC from Toronto

[Wacky1.nash]

are they really busy in talking to people, I never experienced like this , I had been to several countries, getting PCC form germany ,Uk and singapore are straight forward an their reply is quick.

I hear you! In fact getting an Indian PCC from BLS from these countries is also very quick. BLS Canada (and CGI Toronto)is...............special...

All I can say is, keep calling. It may take hours or even weeks, but you will eventually get through. Yes, your entire life will have to be compromised in the meantime while you have to deal with BLS...

Many of us here have been through the same thing. You may refer to my previous posts here.

 

[Wacky1.nash]

Hello,
I need some help!
I signed all the PCC application forms with a Blue ink pen ... will that be an issue?

Why do you think that would be a problem?

 

[canprind2020]

I am calling Bls from the morning. no response from them.

It's very hard to get them in any form of communication unless you are going in-person to BLS centers. You can post your questions here if you are just trying to get any information. Friends here could suggest based on their experience.

 

[bergfrue89]

Based on the timelines in the thread, the police verification will be initiated within a week after the application have been received by CGI.
You can try email passport.toronto@mea.gov.in. You may get a prompt/generic reply about the timelines OR no reply. I don't mean to shatter your hope. Unfortunately, all we can do is WAIT

Thank you @canprind2020 for your insights. On a side note seeing your PCC timeline, I saw that your CAT number was generated fairly soon in the process. May you or anyone else share where we can find this CAT number?

 

[canprind2020]

Thank you @canprind2020 for your insights. On a side note seeing your PCC timeline, I saw that your CAT number was generated fairly soon in the process. May you or anyone else share where we can find this CAT number?

You should be able to see CAT number in the "Police verification initiated" email. Also, you can see the CAT number by logging in Consulate website where you submitted the "PCC Application form"

 

[pranavrai2808]

Hi

ppl who applied at BLS Ottawa/ HCIOttawa- do we need to paste the photograph on the designated space in application form? Or it is to be left in the envelope along with other documents.
Also, as per the checklist it says 4 photographs required. So its 4 (1 for application form plus 3) or 5 (1 for application form plus 4).

 

[canprind2020]

I got My PCC today. I would like to thank each and everyone in this forum for the support and guidance. Let me give a little background of what I was going through which may help anyone who end up facing same kind of issue.

The journey was started on OCT 2020. the address in my passport is having US address since I renewed my passport when I was there. It's been long time since I visited India, My voter id has my old rental home address and no one from my family lives there now. To change address in any document from India, you need aadhar card which I dont have.

OCT 26 2020 - I filled the application form with the address where my parents recently moved in and went to BLS Center in Toronto as a walk-in applicant. After waiting the long queue, the support agent in the counter told me that address in the passport need to be changed first since I have US address. I explained that I dont have any address proof in India to submit application for changing the address in passport. She said that I can get affidavit from my parents and submit it with their address proof to change the address in passport. I was asking whether I can use the affidavit from my parents and their address proof for PCC application. And the reply I got was NO with cold face and she called for the next person in the queue. The total conversation was happened less than a min and I was waiting for an hour or two before reaching the counter .

I was frustrated and confused. In any case, I was in need of affidavit and address proof from my parents, so, I decided to get that ready.
My parents has to change their address in Aadhar card since they moved in to a home around same time of this was happening. And you can't change address in any other document without changing the address in aadhar card. They need to get a letter from local counselor to change the address in Aadhar card and the local counselor in that area was resigned recently. So, they got letter from the VAO and submitted to change the address in their aadhar card.

November end 2020(3 to 4 weeks later) - The application for aadhar card address change was rejected stating that they need to get the letter from different official instead of VAO.

December 2020 - It took around couple of weeks time for them to get the letter from the official and submitted again

Jan 2021 - Address changed in the system.

Meanwhile in Canada, On Feb 13 2021, I got ITA which I didnt except

Feb 2021 - My parents received the physical aadhar card with updated address and at the end of Feb 2021, they were able to get the affidavit.

Mar 2021 - I decided to apply PCC instead of changing address in Passport since I had only around 70 days to submit PR application

9-Mar-2021 - Purolator picked the postal application for PCC

10-Mar-2021 - Purolator delivered the application to BLS Brampton

Date	Application Status - BLS Website	Application Status - Passport portal
12-Mar	Under Process
15-Mar	Processing at Consulate General	PCC application along with fee details have been received. The same is under processing at the Embassy/Consulate. CAT number generated
15-Mar	Processing at Consulate General	PCC application is under review at Indian Embassy/Consulate.
18-Mar	Processing at Consulate General	Police Verification has been initiated and a request has been sent to Indian Embassy/Consulate. PCC needs to be collected from the Indian Embassy/Consulate where the applicant applied after a 'Clear' Police Verification Report is received at the Indian Embassy/Consulate.
27-Mar	Processing at Consulate General	Police Verification has been initiated and a request has been sent to Indian Embassy/Consulate. PCC needs to be collected from the Indian Embassy/Consulate where the applicant applied after a 'Clear' Police Verification Report is received at the Indian Embassy/Consulate.	Police verification completed in local police station and confirmed that the documents are submitted.
15-April	Processing at Consulate General	Police Verification has been initiated and a request has been sent to Indian Embassy/Consulate. PCC needs to be collected from the Indian Embassy/Consulate where the applicant applied after a 'Clear' Police Verification Report is received at the Indian Embassy/Consulate.	It looks like the local police station didnt submit the documents properly last time. Parents received call from local police station to get the details.
19 - April	Processing at Consulate General	Police Clearance Certificate has been printed.
20 - April	In transit from Consulate to BLS center	Police Clearance Certificate has been printed.
21 - April	Dispatched via Courier with Purolator tracking number	Police Clearance Certificate has been printed.

22-April-2021 - PCC delivered to my home.

 

[bergfrue89]

Hi

ppl who applied at BLS Ottawa/ HCIOttawa- do we need to paste the photograph on the designated space in application form? Or it is to be left in the envelope along with other documents.
Also, as per the checklist it says 4 photographs required. So its 4 (1 for application form plus 3) or 5 (1 for application form plus 4).

Hi @pranavrai2808 . I applied to HCI Ottawa and I sent 5 photos (1 on the form + 4 extra).

 

[pranavrai2808]

Hi @pranavrai2808 . I applied to HCI Ottawa and I sent 5 photos (1 on the form + 4 extra).

thanks for the response. did you staple the documemts together? or just kept them without stapling in the envelope for BLS to pick??

 

[bergfrue89]

thanks for the response. did you staple the documemts together? or just kept them without stapling in the envelope for BLS to pick??

No need to staple them together but if I would put them in order as mentioned in the checklist and then put the checklist on top.

 

[Vengayam]

I got My PCC today. I would like to thank each and everyone in this forum for the support and guidance. Let me give a little background of what I was going through which may help anyone who end up facing same kind of issue.

The journey was started on OCT 2020. the address in my passport is having US address since I renewed my passport when I was there. It's been long time since I visited India, My voter id has my old rental home address and no one from my family lives there now. To change address in any document from India, you need aadhar card which I dont have.

OCT 26 2020 - I filled the application form with the address where my parents recently moved in and went to BLS Center in Toronto as a walk-in applicant. After waiting the long queue, the support agent in the counter told me that address in the passport need to be changed first since I have US address. I explained that I dont have any address proof in India to submit application for changing the address in passport. She said that I can get affidavit from my parents and submit it with their address proof to change the address in passport. I was asking whether I can use the affidavit from my parents and their address proof for PCC application. And the reply I got was NO with cold face and she called for the next person in the queue. The total conversation was happened less than a min and I was waiting for an hour or two before reaching the counter .

I was frustrated and confused. In any case, I was in need of affidavit and address proof from my parents, so, I decided to get that ready.
My parents has to change their address in Aadhar card since they moved in to a home around same time of this was happening. And you can't change address in any other document without changing the address in aadhar card. They need to get a letter from local counselor to change the address in Aadhar card and the local counselor in that area was resigned recently. So, they got letter from the VAO and submitted to change the address in their aadhar card.

November end 2020(3 to 4 weeks later) - The application for aadhar card address change was rejected stating that they need to get the letter from different official instead of VAO.

December 2020 - It took around couple of weeks time for them to get the letter from the official and submitted again

Jan 2021 - Address changed in the system.

Meanwhile in Canada, On Feb 13 2021, I got ITA which I didnt except

Feb 2021 - My parents received the physical aadhar card with updated address and at the end of Feb 2021, they were able to get the affidavit.

Mar 2021 - I decided to apply PCC instead of changing address in Passport since I had only around 70 days to submit PR application

9-Mar-2021 - Purolator picked the postal application for PCC

10-Mar-2021 - Purolator delivered the application to BLS Brampton

Date	Application Status - BLS Website	Application Status - Passport portal
12-Mar	Under Process
15-Mar	Processing at Consulate General	PCC application along with fee details have been received. The same is under processing at the Embassy/Consulate. CAT number generated
15-Mar	Processing at Consulate General	PCC application is under review at Indian Embassy/Consulate.
18-Mar	Processing at Consulate General	Police Verification has been initiated and a request has been sent to Indian Embassy/Consulate. PCC needs to be collected from the Indian Embassy/Consulate where the applicant applied after a 'Clear' Police Verification Report is received at the Indian Embassy/Consulate.
27-Mar	Processing at Consulate General	Police Verification has been initiated and a request has been sent to Indian Embassy/Consulate. PCC needs to be collected from the Indian Embassy/Consulate where the applicant applied after a 'Clear' Police Verification Report is received at the Indian Embassy/Consulate.	Police verification completed in local police station and confirmed that the documents are submitted.
15-April	Processing at Consulate General	Police Verification has been initiated and a request has been sent to Indian Embassy/Consulate. PCC needs to be collected from the Indian Embassy/Consulate where the applicant applied after a 'Clear' Police Verification Report is received at the Indian Embassy/Consulate.	It looks like the local police station didnt submit the documents properly last time. Parents received call from local police station to get the details.
19 - April	Processing at Consulate General	Police Clearance Certificate has been printed.
20 - April	In transit from Consulate to BLS center	Police Clearance Certificate has been printed.
21 - April	Dispatched via Courier with Purolator tracking number	Police Clearance Certificate has been printed.

22-April-2021 - PCC delivered to my home.

Thank you so much! Would love to pin this post (but no options), this post might help many ppl.

 

[Vengayam]

Hi there,

I submitted my original passport to BLS Brampton for renewal as it's expiring soon. Now, I do not see any status about my application (BLS online).

It's been 2 weeks with no update, Can anyone tell me, when they would update the applicant's status online.

BTW, there is a fee discrepancy with my application, I took DD of 110.40 instead of 103.4.

Do they send the package again for fees discrepancy? I've informed them that I do not need refund fees, will they accept my request?

Please share your thoughts

Regards

 

[canprind2020]

Hi there,

I submitted my original passport to BLS Brampton for renewal as it's expiring soon. Now, I do not see any status about my application (BLS online).

It's been 2 weeks with no update, Can anyone tell me, when they would update the applicant's status online.

BTW, there is a fee discrepancy with my application, I took DD of 110.40 instead of 103.4.

Do they send the package again for fees discrepancy? I've informed them that I do not need refund fees, will they accept my request?

Please share your thoughts

Regards

I donot have experience in applying passport renewal in Canada. I would let anyone who has experience provide a confident comment on that. As far as I understand, unfortunately, there is more chance that your application will be returned if you are very sure that there is a discrepancy in the amount in money order. It is very hard to reach them over the phone or email. You have to spend lot of time to get them on the phone by keep on trying. I see BLS center is replying for google reviews(I never tried). You can try if that is ok for you.

 

[Wacky1.nash]

Hi there,

I submitted my original passport to BLS Brampton for renewal as it's expiring soon. Now, I do not see any status about my application (BLS online).

It's been 2 weeks with no update, Can anyone tell me, when they would update the applicant's status online.

BTW, there is a fee discrepancy with my application, I took DD of 110.40 instead of 103.4.

Do they send the package again for fees discrepancy? I've informed them that I do not need refund fees, will they accept my request?

Please share your thoughts

Regards

I have enquired about the fee for passport renewal (in my case needed because of name change), and BLS advised me it is $110.40

BLS gives conflicting information about fees.

My understanding is - the fees have changed since April 1 2021 on CGI's end, and BLS has not been consistent with their advice. I enquired about the fees for both passport renewal and PCC in February 2021 and they advised me the higher fee (which is applicable only after April 1) even though I was submitting in Feb. I submitted my PCC application on Feb 19 with the higher fee and even though the fee was lower at the time it did not get rejected. They probably pocketed the money...lol

In your case, the fee is probably correct if you have applied after April 1. Even if you are right and the fee is actually lower, I do not think BLS will reject your application. They will pocket the excess without informing you (as they evidently did in my case). Bunch of thieves....

 

[Nicholas0095]

My timeline (I reside in Ottawa jurisdiction and applied for BLS Police Clearance as it's a required document for CEC class candidates)

Mar 11 - Application picked up by purolator
Mar 12 - Application delivered by Purolator
Mar 15 - BLS requested for Invitation to Apply (ITA) document to begin the process for PCC. Since I didn't have ITA at that time, BLS decided to keep my application on hold. I received my ITA couple of days after so I decided to visit VAC in person (luckily I booked an appointment earlier for Mar 23rd)
Mar 23 - Submitted entire application in person and received automatic email from BLS that all documents were accepted. Tracking was showing "under process" on BLS website
Mar 24 - Tracking status was updated to "Under Process In Transit from BLS Centre to Consulate General" on BLS website
Mar 25 - Tracking status was updated to "Processing at high commission" on BLS website and "Application has been received" on CGI website
Apr 2 - Tracking status on CGI website was updated to "Police Verification is initiated. Once clear police certification will be done and report is received, PCC will be issued"
Apr 11 - Police in Ahmedabad (India) reached out to my parents [my father isn't keeping well so my mother took care of it]. Police asked for the documents like Aadhar card, passport photocopy, my airway ticket (when I was landed here for the first time) as well as latest lightbill of my parents.
Apr 12 - Luckily a close friend of my dad is a senior police officer who thoroughly helped with uploading all documents on their website that were sent by me on the same day which made the process quite faster than expected
Apr 21 - Tracking status was changed to "Police Clearance Certificate has been printed" on CGI website
Apr 22 - Tracking on BLS website was updated to "In Transit from Consulate to BLS center". In the afternoon, it was updated to "Ready for Dispatch" and then an hour after it was again changed to "Dispatched via courier". Purolator tracking says it should be delivered by April 23
Apr 23 - Received PCC through Purolator in the afternoon after long wait

Drawbacks:
-> During the entire process, I literally had hard time dealing with BLS either due to reaching them out by call which they never answer or chasing them by dropping multiple emails and expecting to hear back from them [which sometimes took several days for them to respond with incomplete details].
-> The problem is that BLS checklist on their website is quite confusing which I don't think they have updated for ages. In the checklist, they mentioned that original documents are expected to be submitted. However, in reality, they just ask for originals for verification for in-person application [only photocopies needed to be sent if postal application].
-> Apart from that, BLS only mentions one issue at a time to make us work which technically wastes our efforts, time and money. In my case, they had 3-4 issues with the application form and reference form which I submitted while doing postal application for the first time and they made me deliver 3-4 times by pointing out only one mistake at a time. In first time, they said "address is incorrect and send application form again". On second time, they said "name and parents name is not in the same sequence as passport". On third time, they said "ITA is mandatory part of the process". Then on fourth time, I decided to visit BLS to submit application in person
-> while filling application form, I had my parents name in the sequence (last name + first name + middle name) so I had to fill last name in first name column and first + middle name is last name column in order to get it printed correctly because website is not smart enough to detect automatically which is also little confusing. Same thing for address as well!!

To be honest, I am extremely happy of receiving my PCC finally after working hard and devoting plenty of precious time which I could have spent somewhere else.

I hope this may help to other applicants [ of Ottawa at least ]. Good luck with guys and please keep in mind that patience is the only key here