Here are my Passport Reunification and OCI application experience.
So I went to BLS Brampton around 8:10. There were not many people there, maybe 3-4. I took no. from reception and then I was immediately called in. Submitted both applications in the first try.
Passport Reunification:
It is a pretty straightforward application. I took documents according to document checklist. Nothing else needed apart from that.
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OCI Application:
This application looks complicated as they have provided all the information on the checklist, but it is also pretty straightforward.
Filling out PART A & B:
Names:
Make sure to include your and parents exact names as it is on the Indian passport. If you have xyzkumar or xyzbhai then make sure you write exactly what you have on your Indian passport. They will tell you to resubmit the online application if that "Kumar" or "bhai" or something else is missing in the name.
Indian address:
Make sure to write exactly as it is on Indian Passport.
Native address:
I wrote my Indian address as the Native place. I have same on my Indian passport as well.
Documents Uploaded:
Don't worry if you see the same documents uploaded twice. If you click twice on upload document it will upload it twice but not to worry.
- For Marriage certificate, I uploaded a photocopy of notarized marriage Certificate along with No objection certificate from the spouse (NOC letter), and a copy of her passport bio pages. All the pages were self-attested. Yes, NOC letter and spouse bio-pages are sort of not on the checklist. See Marriage Certificate section below for more detail.
- All the documents I uploaded were self-attested.
Make sure to double check all the information with your Foreign/Indian passport before going to BLS for submission. Then you print it and sign it.
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Document checklist:
Please make sure that all document (photocopy) has to be self-attested. You have to write "This is a true copy of the original" on all photocopies and have to sign it and date it.
Photographs: It has to be same as you uploaded online.
Surrender Certificate: If you are submitting the application for reunification and OCI at the same time then don't worry about this part. As BLS will issue you are tracking receipt which will be then attached with your OCI application.
Marriage Certificate: Yes this part is little confusing. So here what it says on the checklist and here I quote,
"
If married in India:
Marriage Certificate should be attested by the State Home Dept. where the marriage was registered and further more attested
by the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi (MEA). Please note: If the applicant does not have Marriage certificate attested by
MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) New Delhi, but is issued by the Marriage Registrar of a State Home Government in India, then
the pplication can be accepted along with Notarized joined Affidavit, containing both- photograph and signatures of the couple, from
Notary Public or lawyer in Canada."
I spoke to 3 different BLS representatives over the phone, and they all said that this is the old requirement. If your marriage certificate is issued by state/province then a photocopy will suffice.
My spouse has never been to Canada, so here is that they required of her in order to process my application:
- Notarized marriage certificate. I got it Notarized from India as I don't have original with me here. Though they said photocopy would be ok, I still got it notarized just in case.
- NOC Letter from the spouse (Original). Stating that She doesn't have any objection in me applying for NOC. It has to be signed by your spouse.
- Her passport bio-pages. Signed by your spouse.
- Also they didn't tell me over the phone, but they made me write a letter at BLS saying that my spouse has never been to Canada as that's why we cannot provide you with Landing paper, and also original marriage certificate is not available as it is required in India for some purposes, and then I signed the letter.
That's pretty much it for Marriage Certificate. I didn't get anything notarized from Canada. This was for me please check if you are required to notarize any of your documents in Canada.
COPR(Landing Paper) & Citizenship certificate:
They did take my Original COPR/Landing paper for OCI but they never asked me for my original Citizenship certificate.
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BLS Courier Fees:
They never asked me to if I wanted to opt out this option, but if you want to opt out do tell them as soon as you hand them over your application. They won't even tell you how much the charges are. I actually wanted the courier services as I live far for BLS Brampton. In total, they charged me around $90ish for courier. for both OCI and Passport reunification.
You can pay for Passport reunification at BLS, but for OCI you have to get a draft of $282 payable to The Consulate General of India - Toronto" (For Toronto Jurisdiction only).
I hope this helps. Good Luck.
