OCI process

[rizingphoenix]

Hello all for a fresh oci application do we need to self attest the photo copies of cancelled indian passport, surrender certificate, canadian passport, citizenship certificate , employment letter. I do recall when i was applying for surrender certificate you needed to self attest the photo copies.

Also one more question i had there are two checklists one from bls toronto. and another checklist is provided from cgi toronto. which checklist do we need to take print out off. or is both the checklists needed.

 

[forw.jane]

Hello all for a fresh oci application do we need to self attest the photo copies of cancelled indian passport, surrender certificate, canadian passport, citizenship certificate , employment letter. I do recall when i was applying for surrender certificate you needed to self attest the photo copies.

Also one more question i had there are two checklists one from bls toronto. and another checklist is provided from cgi toronto. which checklist do we need to take print out off. or is both the checklists needed.

Yes self attest photocopies. There is only one checklist from BLS. I don't see any other.

 

[rizingphoenix]

Yes self attest photocopies. There is only one checklist from BLS. I don't see any other.

Thanks for the quick response. So this is the correct checklist site https://www.blsindia-canada.com/tor...t-and-Information-Booklet-for-OCI-Jan2022.pdf, please confirm

Also for OCI application do you need to physically attach the photos, the instructions are not very clear. I have already uploaded the photos online along with the signature for the oci application.

In the checklist it has been mentioned to attach the same photo which was uploaded online, was wondering where we need to attach the photo. The instructions are not very clear on this

 

[forw.jane]

Thanks for the quick response. So this is the correct checklist site https://www.blsindia-canada.com/tor...t-and-Information-Booklet-for-OCI-Jan2022.pdf, please confirm

Also for OCI application do you need to physically attach the photos, the instructions are not very clear. I have already uploaded the photos online along with the signature for the oci application.

In the checklist it has been mentioned to attach the same photo which was uploaded online, was wondering where we need to attach the photo. The instructions are not very clear on this

Yes correct one. If you going for in-person you need to give the photo during submission. For postal keep it in a small envelope. You don't paste it anywhere.

 

[Shahanastar]

Hi, I will be going to BLS Vancouver or Surrey. But I will call them on phone also try to ask them. I have sent an email to OCI helpdesk .
Also I found below in official OCI 2021 circular - Page 15 point 33(4) - from their website FAQ section:

"Children and spouse of foreign military/police personnel either in service or retired and foreign nationals working in Private Security Agencies, Home Offices, Prisons, National Probation Service and companies or organisations associated with the Flome Office or military institutions, i.e. those who are not directly employed in military or police, may be considered for registration as OCI Cardholders subject to fulfilling the eligibility criteria as provided in section 7 A of The Citizenship Act, 1955. :

Hey. You should answer No as you’re working for a private security provider. The question deals with military or related security services. Please don’t confuse it with private security providers such as Blackwater that privately serve diplomats, former heads of states etc. and your employment is outside that domain.

 

[Mazallstar]

Sharing my experience for OCI Walk-in Application at the Brampton location.

Arrived at the location at around 6.25am and there were around 18 people ahead of me, the first person in line had queued up at 5am in the morning. Doors opened at 8am and around 8 to 10 walk-in applicants were given tokens and were asked to wait inside. It seems that between 8am to 9am there aren't any appointments so they let in walk in applicants until the appointment candidates start to show up.

At around 8.20 I was given the token. Lady at counter 9 asked for the checklist and documents, as far as the original documents goes, we were only asked for the Indian Passport and all the documents were validated against the Indian passport.

At the end she asked for the photographs and pointed that the shoulders are not visible, I showed her the sample format that is available on their website where the specifications and sample images where similar to what we had. She refused saying that the shoulder should be visible, she will submit the application with these pics however there is a possibility that it will be rejected.

Since I drove all the way from East end, I was in no mood to start this process all over again so I opted for the Photo service and paid $15 for two copies of 2x2 photos, gave the copies to the lady while share arranged for the OCI drop service. In total I paid approximately around $100 for two applicants. (Photo + Courier + Admin charges). I was out by around 8.50 am.

Thanks to this community for the guidance and help in getting this through in my first attempt. Cheers!

 

[Bob_pat]

My time line for miscellaneous services - renew of OCI
BLS walk-in submission -20 July
Date of acknowledgement - 27 July
Mission - Toronto
Document printing status, dispatched from MEA, received at Toronto - 29 Aug
Received - 31 Aug
Total days - 42 days

 

[pHrankee]

Timeline for by OCI Application:
BLS Brampton Walk-in Submission - 25 July
Date of Acknowledgement by Consulate - 4 Aug
Toronto Consulate Approved/Document printing status/Dispatched from MEA/Received at Toronto - 28 Aug
Dispatched by BLS - 29 Aug
Received at my address - 30 Aug
Total of 36 days

Just a few points:
- BLS Brampton told me the total time is 2 months but you may get it sooner. That's what happened.
- For the documents to be uploaded, there is no option to upload Surrender Certificate or Canada Citizenship certificate. I had already submitted my application without them and only after submission i read in this thread that people attached the SC to the cancelled Indian passport and Citizenship cert to the Canadian passport upload. I was worried that may cause an issue but seems like there is no issue if you dont.

Finally, I want to thank you all the valuable tips and answers to questions I had, to the users of this thread. That's the main reason I was able to submit my application the first time without any issues whatsoever. You guys are awesome.

 

[kurtrules]

Also one more question i had there are two checklists one from bls toronto. and another checklist is provided from cgi toronto. which checklist do we need to take print out off. or is both the checklists needed.

The BLS checklist is a copy of the CGI checklist arranged in a document format. The instructions for both are same.

 

[h3xx_r_d]

Timeline for by OCI Application:
BLS Brampton Walk-in Submission - 25 July
Date of Acknowledgement by Consulate - 4 Aug
Toronto Consulate Approved/Document printing status/Dispatched from MEA/Received at Toronto - 28 Aug
Dispatched by BLS - 29 Aug
Received at my address - 30 Aug
Total of 36 days

Just a few points:
- BLS Brampton told me the total time is 2 months but you may get it sooner. That's what happened.
- For the documents to be uploaded, there is no option to upload Surrender Certificate or Canada Citizenship certificate. I had already submitted my application without them and only after submission i read in this thread that people attached the SC to the cancelled Indian passport and Citizenship cert to the Canadian passport upload. I was worried that may cause an issue but seems like there is no issue if you dont.

Finally, I want to thank you all the valuable tips and answers to questions I had, to the users of this thread. That's the main reason I was able to submit my application the first time without any issues whatsoever. You guys are awesome.

I did a similar thing for my application. Didn’t upload surrender certificate or Canadian citizenship certificate on the OCI portal. I uploaded only 3 documents -
1. Current Passport
2. Employment Letter
3. Cancelled Indian passport

I had no issues as well. The total processing time for my application (submitted in-person at BLS Toronto) was 38 calendar days.

 

[Mazallstar]

Timeline for by OCI Application:
BLS Brampton Walk-in Submission - 25 July
Date of Acknowledgement by Consulate - 4 Aug
Toronto Consulate Approved/Document printing status/Dispatched from MEA/Received at Toronto - 28 Aug
Dispatched by BLS - 29 Aug
Received at my address - 30 Aug
Total of 36 days

Just a few points:
- BLS Brampton told me the total time is 2 months but you may get it sooner. That's what happened.
- For the documents to be uploaded, there is no option to upload Surrender Certificate or Canada Citizenship certificate. I had already submitted my application without them and only after submission i read in this thread that people attached the SC to the cancelled Indian passport and Citizenship cert to the Canadian passport upload. I was worried that may cause an issue but seems like there is no issue if you dont.

Finally, I want to thank you all the valuable tips and answers to questions I had, to the users of this thread. That's the main reason I was able to submit my application the first time without any issues whatsoever. You guys are awesome.

Where and how to track your application? I did a walk-in application on the 1st of Sept and when I checked on BLS tracking page it shows the application status as "Processing at Consulate General " will the status progress to Acknowledged by consulate or is there any other place that I need to check? Thanks

 

[pHrankee]

Where and how to track your application? I did a walk-in application on the 1st of Sept and when I checked on BLS tracking page it shows the application status as "Processing at Consulate General " will the status progress to Acknowledged by consulate or is there any other place that I need to check? Thanks

The consulate status tracking link is this https://ociservices.gov.in/statusEnqury

It took 10 calendar days from the day I submitted at BLS for my application status to be updated at the above link.

For tracking at this link, use your Canadian passport and the reference number starting with CAN to track your application.

 

[shiremag]

OCI Timeline Vancouver
BLS Portal Status:
01 Sep: In-Person Application BLS Vancouver
01 Sep: under process
05 Sep: Processing at Consulate General



OCI Enquiry Website:
05 Sep: Date Of Acknowledgment
05 Sep: UNDER-PROCESS

 

[forw.jane]

OCI Timeline Vancouver
BLS Portal Status:
01 Sep: In-Person Application BLS Vancouver
01 Sep: under process
05 Sep: Processing at Consulate General



OCI Enquiry Website:
05 Sep: Date Of Acknowledgment
05 Sep: UNDER-PROCESS

How much time it took for Surrender certificate?

 

[shiremag]

How much time it took for Surrender certificate?

Surrender Certificate - Vancouver
11 Aug: In-person Application BLS Vancouver
14 Aug: Processing at Consulate General
25 Aug: Certificate Printed
29 Aug: In transit from Consulate General to BLS
30 Aug: Received from Consulate General
30 Aug: Shipped via Purolator
31 Aug: Delivered

Total: 10 business days + delivery time