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Are you sure? I went for a walk-in in March at BLS Toronto (Lawrence location); and when I got there, they had already told the people gathered that they don't accept Walk-Ins anymore and to go home. I waited there in -10 C for 2 hours, and the walk-in line never moved at all. :(
That is weird tbh.. there website mentions walk ins are open
even CGI Toronto website has this update end of Jan: https://www.cgitoronto.gov.in/alert_detail/?alertid=225
 
OK, I will try walk-in again. I had an appointment last Thursday and there was a line there for walk-in then too. But I wasn't there long enough to know whether it worked or not.
 
OK, I will try walk-in again. I had an appointment last Thursday and there was a line there for walk-in then too. But I wasn't there long enough to know whether it worked or not.
End of March my next door neighbor did a walk in (OCI application) at BLS Brampton and after few hours of waiting in the line they were able to enter the BLS center
 
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I went to BLS Vancouver today to submit my surrender application. I had an appointment at 10:45 AM.

After reading all your horror stories I was expecting the worst but the process was so straightforward. No one else was ahead of me, they looked at my documents and asked me to pay the fee. No fuss over photos or anything. I didn't ask for pick up anyway because I can't take too much time off during the day for it.

They said I should get everything back by the end of May
 
Are you sure? I went for a walk-in in March at BLS Toronto (Lawrence location); and when I got there, they had already told the people gathered that they don't accept Walk-Ins anymore and to go home. I waited there in -10 C for 2 hours, and the walk-in line never moved at all. :(
Yeah, I have seen the front security sending people back in BLS Toronto around noon because they didn't have any appointments.
 
I went to BLS Toronto for passport surrender on March 9. I waited 1.5-2 hrs there. I also got the "mandatory" passport cover :) Status is still "Surrender certificate is under review at Indian Embassy/Consulate".
 
Are you sure? I went for a walk-in in March at BLS Toronto (Lawrence location); and when I got there, they had already told the people gathered that they don't accept Walk-Ins anymore and to go home. I waited there in -10 C for 2 hours, and the walk-in line never moved at all. :(
I was also sent back at Toronto BLS (walkin). I then tried at Brampton and it worked- this is for passport surrender. For OCI, lines are pretty long as Abbas Pasha mentioned.
 
hey - how big was the line near the building #40? I believe that's for OCI :)
Yup I believe most people there were for OCI. When I got there just before 12, there were around 20 people lined up at #40. The line wasn’t moving fast. The security guard came out and warned everyone that they won’t accept anyone after 1 pm and many of them would likely not be able to get through.
 
Dear All, Asking on behalf of relatives - they are residing in montreal, can someone please advise on the below:
1. Is it mandatory that surrender and OCI needs to be applied separately or can they be applied together in 2023
2. Also, is it mandatory that applicant needs to go in for surrendering the indian passport in Montreal or can it be done by anyone. They are not preferring post/courier due to issues which they had during last passport renewal.
3. One last query would be whether walkin is allowed in Montreal BLS - can any recent applicant share their experience with Montreal BLS please?
 
Dear All, Asking on behalf of relatives - they are residing in montreal, can someone please advise on the below:
1. Is it mandatory that surrender and OCI needs to be applied separately or can they be applied together in 2023
2. Also, is it mandatory that applicant needs to go in for surrendering the indian passport in Montreal or can it be done by anyone. They are not preferring post/courier due to issues which they had during last passport renewal.
3. One last query would be whether walkin is allowed in Montreal BLS - can any recent applicant share their experience with Montreal BLS please?
  • Surrender and OCI cannot be applied together.. Surrender first and after surrender certificate is received then apply for OCI
  • Applicant themselves need to submit. The applicant can however submit the application for other members of the family as well
  • https://www.hciottawa.gov.in/whatsnew?id=102 Applications for services can now be submitted at BLS International Centers in Montreal (for Consular jurisdiction of High Commission of India, Ottawa) under walk-in
 
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  • Surrender and OCI cannot be applied together.. Surrender first and after surrender certificate is received then apply for OCI
  • Applicant themselves need to submit. The applicant can can submit the application for other members of the family as well
  • https://www.hciottawa.gov.in/whatsnew?id=102 Applications for services can now be submitted at BLS International Centres in Montreal (for Consular jurisdiction of High Commission of India, Ottawa) under walk-in
Thank you very much for the response
 
It now says certificate has been printed on the Passport website, BLS says its under process at consulate. Will wait and see how long it takes now.
Could you please share when you've submitted the request for passport Surrender. In person or mailed in?