Thanks Tommy for the reply. Here is my experience today.
I went at around 10:30 AM to 60 Gillingham although my appointment said 40 Gillingham. Explained to the security guard that I needed to apply for both surrender and entry visa but my appointment said 40 Gillingham. Either he didn't understand me or he thought it was ok. He told me that he would let me in if I came back at 11 AM (my appointment time) and he let me into the building with a token number when I returned at 11AM. (just rested at Tims closeby for 30 minutes)
Went to the 4th floor (BLS office) and there were few people with token numbers lower than mine. No seating arrangement here. Everyone waits in line as per their token number. So 11 AM appointment means that you will be allowed to enter the building at 11AM, but it was almost 11:30 when my token number was called.
When I went to the counter, the lady at the counter asked me if I was submitting one or two applications. When I said two, she asked me if I walked in or if I had an appointment. When I said appointment, she said "well, you need 2 appointments". I said "I couldn't book 2 appointments". She said "you have to book surrender one with Indian passport number and entry visa with Canada passport number". I said "I booked my appointment 45 days ago and I got my Canadian passport only 2 days ago". She unwillingly said "For this time I will process both, but not next time". I thought "why will I ever apply for them in the future", but said "Thank you so much". Opted for pickup. She tried to convince me for Purolator delivery, but I said that I had problems with my landlord and that I didn't want to risk these coming in by mail. It took about 10 minutes for her to verify documents. and then she gave me receipts with tracking numbers and I left.
For entry visa, indian passport copy is needed. It is not in the checklist. So better to carry extra copies of your documents. Passport collection will be at 40 Gillingham between 3 to 4 PM only. I should say I was very lucky that she processed both surrender and entry visa with one appoinment, but this may not happen for all, so please plan accordingly. Walkin queue was really long which was not a surprise. An elderly couple who waited since 5 AM were asked to redo the forms because they made some mistake. they said "we are not young, we cannot wait from 5 AM one more time". They were told to talk to someone. I don't know what happened afterwards. I saw that some of the officers were asking applicants to scan QR code to post feedback in google. I think this explains why there are so many google reviews with officer names mentioned.
