Are visa services being offered to Canadian citizens who are already in India?

[nivaan5]

That's great, will be super helpful! When is that expected? Also, which airport?

To note: My grace period of 3 months ends on the 26th of December, I'm traveling back on the 7th of January. Any idea if that will be a problem? Thank you, appreciate the help!

I landed in Delhi. I would recommend you travel within the specified grace period and surrender the passport to avoid any penalty and also I'm not sure if it would impact your future applications (visa/OCI). Besides you need to keep in mind of any change in rules regarding the grace period. I read some posts about that.

 

[abbas.pasha]

Hello everyone
Update so far. I surrendered my Indian Passport at RPO, Bangalore and obtained the surrender certificate. I have submitted my application for entry visa on the FRRO portal as I am planning for extended stay. Now the waiting game begins. I hope everything goes well.

You should expand on this so others can benefit:
-Time take for surrender certificate
-Fee
-Did you receive your Indian passport back after cancellation
-Documents required for surrender in India aka Checklist

 

[walter_white]

Hello everyone
Update so far. I surrendered my Indian Passport at RPO, Bangalore and obtained the surrender certificate. I have submitted my application for entry visa on the FRRO portal as I am planning for extended stay. Now the waiting game begins. I hope everything goes well.

Did you travel after obtaining your Canadian passport? Some sources seem to indicate the grace period only applies as long as you have not obtained a foreign passport.

 

[nivaan5]

Did you travel after obtaining your Canadian passport? Some sources seem to indicate the grace period only applies as long as you have not obtained a foreign passport.

I had my Canadian passport when I was traveling. I had even applied for e-visa before the ban. But it was not granted. I did mention this in my email to FRRO. But they mostly sent out a generic reply.

 

[walter_white]

I had my Canadian passport when I was traveling. I had even applied for e-visa before the ban. But it was not granted. I did mention this in my email to FRRO. But they mostly sent out a generic reply.

Great! Patiently waiting to hear news about your exit permit. Good luck!

 

[nivaan5]

You should expand on this so others can benefit:
-Time take for surrender certificate
-Fee
-Did you receive your Indian passport back after cancellation
-Documents required for surrender in India aka Checklist

The application itself is quite straight-forward. Similar to the form we fill for BLS (we did it for my spouse in Canada). But there's no checklist for supporting documents. I called the customer service twice. Got different answers each time. One even said all you need is the proof of citizenship and original Indian passport. It's a good idea to refer to the BLS checklist and take all documents that apply. However the documents I submitted are: Application form, Citizenship certificate, Original and 1 photocopy of Indian and Canadian passport, Proof of current Indian address. Apart from this they gave me a form which I had to fill and also asked to write an application letter. I did carry a photograph. But they clicked one at the centre when they took biometrics. They canceled my Indian passport and returned it back to me. They scanned all the other documents and uploaded it in their portal. I got the surrender certificate after half an hour.
Fees for surrender is Rs. 500.
Finally the first question. You should call the customer service and check for which RPOs offer the service. Bangalore has 3 passport offices. Surrender certificate service is available only at Koramangala office. The customer service said that you don't need appointment for surrender and you can walk-in. I had heard there's a line up and went at 8:30. But it was not required. Office opens at 9:30. The line up is once you go to the concerned department. I handed my application to them at 10:10 am and walked out with the certificate at 4:45pm! I don't know why it took so long. There was no apparent problem with my application except they asked me for one more proof of address which I submitted soon after I gave them the application. They deal with a lot of other passport related services, which is probably why it took them so long. Once I was called in for biometrics (at 4:15pm) it took 20-30 min to receive the certificate and cancelled passport.

 

[gimli]

Hello everyone
Update so far. I surrendered my Indian Passport at RPO, Bangalore and obtained the surrender certificate. I have submitted my application for entry visa on the FRRO portal as I am planning for extended stay. Now the waiting game begins. I hope everything goes well.

Hi @nivaan5 Did you get your passport back with “canceled” stamp on it?

EDIT: Thanks. I read your comment above. The page was not refreshed so I did not see it.

 

[mssmohit]

Hi @nivaan5 thanks for sharing your experience.
Hoping everything goes well and you get entry visa from FRRO.
Once you get your entry visa, would you then need to apply for exit permit if you decide to travel within granted visa Timeline ?

 

[destiny2016]

Hello everyone
Update so far. I surrendered my Indian Passport at RPO, Bangalore and obtained the surrender certificate. I have submitted my application for entry visa on the FRRO portal as I am planning for extended stay. Now the waiting game begins. I hope everything goes well.

Nicely done on the Indian Passport surrender certificate.

Good luck on the India entry visa. Was that easy to submit (i.e. documents etc) on the FRRO portal? What is the expected processing time for this entry visa?

Once you get this entry visa, you can even apply for your OCI while you are in India - is that an option for you?

Thanks for your updates - it will be very useful for many members here. Good luck!

 

[Utkarsh1236]

The application itself is quite straight-forward. Similar to the form we fill for BLS (we did it for my spouse in Canada). But there's no checklist for supporting documents. I called the customer service twice. Got different answers each time. One even said all you need is the proof of citizenship and original Indian passport. It's a good idea to refer to the BLS checklist and take all documents that apply. However the documents I submitted are: Application form, Citizenship certificate, Original and 1 photocopy of Indian and Canadian passport, Proof of current Indian address. Apart from this they gave me a form which I had to fill and also asked to write an application letter. I did carry a photograph. But they clicked one at the centre when they took biometrics. They canceled my Indian passport and returned it back to me. They scanned all the other documents and uploaded it in their portal. I got the surrender certificate after half an hour.
Fees for surrender is Rs. 500.
Finally the first question. You should call the customer service and check for which RPOs offer the service. Bangalore has 3 passport offices. Surrender certificate service is available only at Koramangala office. The customer service said that you don't need appointment for surrender and you can walk-in. I had heard there's a line up and went at 8:30. But it was not required. Office opens at 9:30. The line up is once you go to the concerned department. I handed my application to them at 10:10 am and walked out with the certificate at 4:45pm! I don't know why it took so long. There was no apparent problem with my application except they asked me for one more proof of address which I submitted soon after I gave them the application. They deal with a lot of other passport related services, which is probably why it took them so long. Once I was called in for biometrics (at 4:15pm) it took 20-30 min to receive the certificate and cancelled passport.

Thanks Man, helped a lot. looking forward to hear your Exit Permit application status.

 

[nivaan5]

Hi @nivaan5 thanks for sharing your experience.
Hoping everything goes well and you get entry visa from FRRO.
Once you get your entry visa, would you then need to apply for exit permit if you decide to travel within granted visa Timeline ?

I'm not sure about that. I will try to find out. Just in case I need to travel.

 

[nivaan5]

Nicely done on the Indian Passport surrender certificate.

Good luck on the India entry visa. Was that easy to submit (i.e. documents etc) on the FRRO portal? What is the expected processing time for this entry visa?

Once you get this entry visa, you can even apply for your OCI while you are in India - is that an option for you?

Thanks for your updates - it will be very useful for many members here. Good luck!

Yes. I will be applying for OCI. I'm not sure where I read it but I think one is eligible to apply for OCI from India after residing in India for 6 months. Again I need to re-check this information. Just taking things one at a time.

 

[destiny2016]

Did FRRO confirm that they are actually processing/issuing entry visa in India for Canadian passport holders currently? I am asking this because of the present situation - some folks applied for e-visa online just before the visa suspension but never heard back. Hope FRRO is transparent with you with their responses. Good Luck.

 

[Hem.georgian]

Hello everyone
Update so far. I surrendered my Indian Passport at RPO, Bangalore and obtained the surrender certificate. I have submitted my application for entry visa on the FRRO portal as I am planning for extended stay. Now the waiting game begins. I hope everything goes well.

Hi @nivaan5 - any update from the FRRO office?

 

[nivaan5]

Hi @nivaan5 - any update from the FRRO office?

Hi
I got an email next day that my application has been received and is in process.