Indian PCC for Canadian Citizens of Indian Origin

[Shoshana]

Hi,

I am a Canadian Citizen of Indian Origin and holding a Canadian passport. I need Indian PCC for immigration/visa purposes to another country.

I was asked to submit all my original passports (past and present) both Indian and Canadian which BLS mentioned that they will hold for 2 months or until the time they issue the PCC. They have also asked for Canadian Citizenship Certificate, Passport Surrender and OCI. Multiple copies of personal form and application form with same photos.

Qn: 1. Did anyone of you face such a situation? If so what was your expereience?
Qn; 2. Is this requirement for all Canadian Citizens of Indian Origin the same?
Qn: 3. Is this normal and legal? That one country can hold the passport of another country for this period?

 

[Vami]

Is it postal application ? For walkin, the original documents are only for verification i suppose

 

[Shoshana]

Is it postal application ? For walkin, the original documents are only for verification i suppose

Walk-in application. But they wish to hold for 4-8 weeks including all Canadian passports.

 

[beckhsrules]

Can I know which country visa you are applying for? I don’t think it makes sense for BLS to hold your originals when you are applying for visa of a different country.

 

[Shoshana]

Israel, even they responded that this was crazy of BLS to hold my originals. I have emailed the consulate directly but haven't heard back.

 

[abbas.pasha]

Its a requirement by the Consulate General of India for issuing Indian PCC.
When we applied for PR back in 2018 as Indian citizen here in Canada on a work permit, they kept our Indian passports as well. Back then it took about 4 weeks to receive the PCC.

 

[Shoshana]

I also applied in 2018 for employment clearance, I was a Canadian citizen. They didn't take any passports or any documents. They only verified during submission. But they took nearly 1.5 years to issue it. Holding Indian passports is different from holding foreign passports. In case they are concerned that we will travel they can always have an agreement signed that we should not travel to India. That would make sense.