OCI application process for Indian Canadians - avoid common pitfalls
- Thread starter cleansystem
- Start date
I have no idea. When I tried calling them, it went to voicemail, and it stated that their voicemail was full, and hung up on me.
Their website literally says "Marriage certificates must be issued by a provincial or territorial vital statistics office. They do not need to be notarized." (https://www.international.gc.ca/gac-amc/about-a_propos/services/authentication-authentification/step-etape-2.aspx?lang=eng) and reading further, it stated that some documents can be notarized and others can't (following the legal changes made this January).
Then, I found another segment that stated: "If we receive these documents after January 11, 2024, we will return them to the applicants without being authenticated." (https://www.international.gc.ca/gac-amc/about-a_propos/services/authentication-authentification/apostille-convention.aspx?lang=eng#a1)
The Indian Consulate said in their e-mail: "Mandatory required: Attested by the Ministry of Ontario and Consumer Services or the concerned Province Authorities and thereafter by the Consulate General of India, Toronto."
I don't live in Ontario. So, I can't have my document attested by the Ministry of Ontario. I called BLS asking for clarification on this, because CGI Toronto just responded to my e-mail copy-pasting that one line, when I asked. BLS stated go to Service Ontario. I said that I live in New Brunswick, not Ontario. They said go to Service New Brunswick and have it attested by the Ministry of New Brunswick. I said that we don't have a Ministry of New Brunswick and they said that Service New Brunswick can attest it then.
When I went to Service New Brunswick, they said that this is not within their scope and that Vital Statistics handles everything related to Marriage Certificates, and that our Marriage Certificate was already issued with their stamp and seal. So, it's already attested and doesn't require further attestation.
I'm at a loss here and don't know what I can do about this.
I'm heading to our local MLAs office tomorrow morning to see if she can attest it and put GNB's stamp on it alongside writing the only words the Indian government seems to consider as any form of attestation: "Attested: This is a true copy of the original document" from what I've read on these forums.
Location/Jurisdiction : Toronto
Application centre: BLS Mississauga
Date of Application: 25th October 2024
Date of Acknowledgment: 4th November 2024
Current status: OCI processed
Those looters at BLS had told me that my application may be rejected saying that my photo needs to be retaken. I declined and insisted on going with the photo I had taken from a studio with the specifications on the CGI website and even showed them the photo sample/specifications on CGI website/the one that came with the application form. They said that the specifications on the CGI website is outdated and needs more shoulder visible in the picture. I fought politely and refused. They even had a photo of an applicant pinned near the counter with a different specification(extra shoulder), contrary to the “uncle”’s photo shown on the CGI checklist. They are only focused on maximizing their profits and I have heard from these forums
that they have “daily quota” for pushing the applicants to retake their photo by giving them invalid but convincing reasons. Beware!
Pro tip: Date of marriage registration- If you are married in Ontario, then you can use your date of marriage registration that’s on your Ontario marriage registration. (Honestly I think, we can actually put the actual date of marriage here. But I didn’t want to take any costly risk with the BLS people). Also, make sure you upload the marriage certificate with your application and get the marriage certificate copy printed. Another mandatory document(from BLS perspective) is employment letter(both uploaded and hard copy)
Pro tip: Have the CGI checklist page with the photo specifications ready and also get your photo stamped in the back with the date it was taken by the photographer. Then, if you are confident, decline their “loot”/offer. They will try to persuade you saying that they can send the application at your risk and that you may have to come back if it’s rejected. Relax and tell them, “that’s ok” and ask them to send the application.
Then the next thing they tried was insisting on getting my spouse’s passport copy though I am getting OCI based on my origin and the spouse passport is not even mentioned on the checklist. I didn’t fight much on that and sent them the spouse’s passport by email to them and they printed that in low quality black and white and charged me some money.
Pro tip: If you are married, get hard copies of your spouse’s passport/OCI even of you are getting OCI based on your previous Indian passport.
Also, pro tip: there are different versions of the BLS checklist available if you Google “BLS OCI checklist”. If you are confused, print all of them and fill them if you have a printer rather than paying the BLS looters extra.
I saw a lot of applicants making mistakes with “Previous passport number” field where the entered the Indian passport number. You are required to enter your old Canadian passport number here if you have one, else leave this field blank.
Pro tip: Watch enough YouTube tutorials/guide videos on OCI before you apply to avoid these costly mistakes.
Bonus pro tip:
If your appointment is at 12 PM/noon, they will let you in at 11:45 AM with a token number and will take you another 1-2 hours for your token number to be called on the screen. You might be wondering, “then, what is the purpose of the appointment then?”. Welcome to BLS, where they deliver the Indian SBI experience, even if you are thousands of miles away. So, don’t expect to walk out by 12:20 PM, if your appointment is at 12 PM. You may be able to walk out by 1:30 PM only, after handing out your application(successfully). Plan your day accordingly! Also, use your Canadian passport number for booking your appointment, not your Indian passport number.
Application centre: BLS Mississauga
Date of Application: 25th October 2024
Date of Acknowledgment: 4th November 2024
Current status: OCI processed
Those looters at BLS had told me that my application may be rejected saying that my photo needs to be retaken. I declined and insisted on going with the photo I had taken from a studio with the specifications on the CGI website and even showed them the photo sample/specifications on CGI website/the one that came with the application form. They said that the specifications on the CGI website is outdated and needs more shoulder visible in the picture. I fought politely and refused. They even had a photo of an applicant pinned near the counter with a different specification(extra shoulder), contrary to the “uncle”’s photo shown on the CGI checklist. They are only focused on maximizing their profits and I have heard from these forums
that they have “daily quota” for pushing the applicants to retake their photo by giving them invalid but convincing reasons. Beware!
Pro tip: Date of marriage registration- If you are married in Ontario, then you can use your date of marriage registration that’s on your Ontario marriage registration. (Honestly I think, we can actually put the actual date of marriage here. But I didn’t want to take any costly risk with the BLS people). Also, make sure you upload the marriage certificate with your application and get the marriage certificate copy printed. Another mandatory document(from BLS perspective) is employment letter(both uploaded and hard copy)
Pro tip: Have the CGI checklist page with the photo specifications ready and also get your photo stamped in the back with the date it was taken by the photographer. Then, if you are confident, decline their “loot”/offer. They will try to persuade you saying that they can send the application at your risk and that you may have to come back if it’s rejected. Relax and tell them, “that’s ok” and ask them to send the application.
Then the next thing they tried was insisting on getting my spouse’s passport copy though I am getting OCI based on my origin and the spouse passport is not even mentioned on the checklist. I didn’t fight much on that and sent them the spouse’s passport by email to them and they printed that in low quality black and white and charged me some money.
Pro tip: If you are married, get hard copies of your spouse’s passport/OCI even of you are getting OCI based on your previous Indian passport.
Also, pro tip: there are different versions of the BLS checklist available if you Google “BLS OCI checklist”. If you are confused, print all of them and fill them if you have a printer rather than paying the BLS looters extra.
I saw a lot of applicants making mistakes with “Previous passport number” field where the entered the Indian passport number. You are required to enter your old Canadian passport number here if you have one, else leave this field blank.
Pro tip: Watch enough YouTube tutorials/guide videos on OCI before you apply to avoid these costly mistakes.
Bonus pro tip:
If your appointment is at 12 PM/noon, they will let you in at 11:45 AM with a token number and will take you another 1-2 hours for your token number to be called on the screen. You might be wondering, “then, what is the purpose of the appointment then?”. Welcome to BLS, where they deliver the Indian SBI experience, even if you are thousands of miles away. So, don’t expect to walk out by 12:20 PM, if your appointment is at 12 PM. You may be able to walk out by 1:30 PM only, after handing out your application(successfully). Plan your day accordingly! Also, use your Canadian passport number for booking your appointment, not your Indian passport number.
Last edited:
