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Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

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jsms10
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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by jsms10 » Fri Dec 13, 2019 11:06 pm

My experience at JFK boarding Kuwait airways today....when I presented with my kids passport with OCI on the expired passport....they started checking if that was valid for travel....they knew that kids can’t travel on OCI on expired passport...as a backup I had gotten eVisa for the kids and they let us proceed on the basis of it....worthwhile $25 spent....I suggest anyone lacking time to renew OCI apply for an EVisa as a backup to avoid surprises at the airport....else it is a game of luck....

eVisa was quick, I applied on Sunday night and get them within 72 hours of applying.....

Bon Jour!!

jojo001
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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by jojo001 » Sat Dec 14, 2019 11:42 pm

Luv1 wrote:
Fri Dec 13, 2019 8:52 pm
https://boi.gov.in/content/overseas-cit ... cardholder

Clearly says U visa not required if you have valid Oci card with foreign passport ( except pak & bgld).
Why this is not followed and confusion ??
Because the indian government created these rules which are now on TIMATICWEB.

As I said this is the database that checkin agents use.

You can check it for yourself as some airlines allow you to access this

For example

See

https://www.koreanair.com/global/en/tra ... imaticweb/

And upload your details

In OCI it says that OCI has to be renewed with each new passport till the age of 20.


The actual wording is



Important:
Passengers who are 20 years and younger must apply for a new OCI card every time they get a new passport.
Passengers who are 21 and younger than 50 years are not required to apply for a new OCI card when they get a new passport. They can present the OCI card with a valid passport.
Passengers older than 50 years must apply for a new OCI on the first renewal of the passport after 50 years. If the OCI card is issued for the first time after the passenger is older than 50 years, there is no need to issue a new OCI every time a new passport is issued.





These are actual OCI rules which India itself does not follow :D
I still have not heard of anyone not allowed in as OCi had not been renewed..

It's the airline which is finding it difficult to board passengers( they can get heavy fines if they allow passengers to fly without following the rules ) and unless Indian government changes the rules an evisa is the safest option .

sach_sach
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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by sach_sach » Sun Dec 15, 2019 2:50 am

My wife travelled today with my minor daughter with old/new passport & oci through Cathay from SFO to Hyd and no issues. No one said or stopped due to mismatch of passport number on oci.

jojo001
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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by jojo001 » Sun Dec 15, 2019 7:04 am

sach_sach wrote:
Sun Dec 15, 2019 2:50 am
My wife travelled today with my minor daughter with old/new passport & oci through Cathay from SFO to Hyd and no issues. No one said or stopped due to mismatch of passport number on oci.
They were lucky and the check in agent must have missed the note.

Not worth the risk in my opinion.

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by Anaylsethis » Sun Dec 15, 2019 7:47 am

We got boarding denied yesterday (14th) on Alitalia at Heathrow. Had tickets booked since Feb. Were looking forward to this trip. But the check-in staff showed the 23. 10.2019 notice from hci London reiterating the requirement of OCI renewal for under 20. Didn't expect it at all. Whole family devastated. Very frustrating with varying experience. Someone should be held responsible for all this confusion caused.

jojo001
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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by jojo001 » Sun Dec 15, 2019 10:34 am

Anaylsethis wrote:
Sun Dec 15, 2019 7:47 am
We got boarding denied yesterday (14th) on Alitalia at Heathrow. Had tickets booked since Feb. Were looking forward to this trip. But the check-in staff showed the 23. 10.2019 notice from hci London reiterating the requirement of OCI renewal for under 20. Didn't expect it at all. Whole family devastated. Very frustrating with varying experience. Someone should be held responsible for all this confusion caused.
Not sure what the confusion is ..The rules have always been the same for well over a decade

It just was not enforced by the airlines so far.

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by Anaylsethis » Sun Dec 15, 2019 3:01 pm

If this is the law, why is it not enforced by the government themselves at the time of arrivals? My kids have travelled before with OCI still attached to the expired passport but no objections were raised by the airline or immigration officials. If this is the law then it needs to be applied consistently across the board. If Indian government start to enforce it at all airports (which is not too much to ask as it is their law) then everyone will know the reality and do the right thing. Now we are at the mercy of individual airlines and the attentiveness of their check-in staff.

jojo001
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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by jojo001 » Sun Dec 15, 2019 8:31 pm

Anaylsethis wrote:
Sun Dec 15, 2019 3:01 pm
If this is the law, why is it not enforced by the government themselves at the time of arrivals? My kids have travelled before with OCI still attached to the expired passport but no objections were raised by the airline or immigration officials. If this is the law then it needs to be applied consistently across the board. If Indian government start to enforce it at all airports (which is not too much to ask as it is their law) then everyone will know the reality and do the right thing. Now we are at the mercy of individual airlines and the attentiveness of their check-in staff.
Agree with you about the inconsistency in applying the rules on arrival in India. But it's the Indian government themselves who have sent the updated notification to the airlines.

So its not the airlines fault as the checkin staff/airline will be held responsible if the passenger is denied entry at destination if they allow them to board. They will not go against what's on TIMATIC Web.


Even my relative who was denied boarding ( over 50 and OCI was not renewed and then had to take evisa) was allowed into india using her 'expired'OCI. :D

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by Anaylsethis » Sun Dec 15, 2019 9:12 pm

I agree that it is not airlines' fault. Alitalia showed me a new notification they received from hci London on 23rd Oct about this rule. Would have been helpful if they had sent the same memo to their own immigration officials in India so this could have made the news and every one would have been aware that this policy is now going to be enforced by airlines.

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by scammy » Sun Dec 15, 2019 9:50 pm

My son age 20 with OCI originally supplied on old expired passport with LIFELONG U-Visa sticker on old passport.

He travelled today from Chicago to Delhi on Air India with no problem. The key is that you need to carry the OLD passport with the U-Visa sticker along with the OCI book. My son has travelled numerous times this way after his original passport expired.

OCI issued the last several years no longer has the U-Visa sticker on the passport. Rather, the OCI Card states LIFELONG. So, if a minor travels with an OCI Card that did not have the U-Visa on the old passport, there may be a problem with the airlines denying boarding due to the confusing (and money-making) rules.

The airlines view the U-Visa sticker on the passport (including expired passports) as a stand alone VISA and therefore do not have any issue. If you have this situation, make sure to carry the old passport containing the U-Visa and you will not have any problems. I was told this by numerous airlines and Indian immigration officials as well as the Indian Consulate in Chicago.

If you have a young child it is worthless to get an OCI until they are over age of 21. It is better just to get a Visa.

I hope this clarification helps others.

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by txs89378 » Sun Dec 15, 2019 10:12 pm

scammy wrote:
Sun Dec 15, 2019 9:50 pm

I hope this clarification helps others.
Scammy (not sure why you chose this name :D :D ) - thanks for the clarification. And I agree with you, OCI was sold as a lifelong visa but it is not. Better to get OCI after age 21.

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by scammy » Sun Dec 15, 2019 10:21 pm

Yes, you are correct. The key clarification here is that the airlines see the U-Visa sticker as a LIFELONG visa and have no issues even though the U-Visa is tied to the OCI Card. Just like a regular visa in a old passport is considered perfectly legal, the airlines consider this as a regular visa. Theoretically, if you were lucky enough to have the U-Visa stamped on your old passport, you can carry that along all the time.

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by Indimom » Mon Dec 16, 2019 5:56 am

My son's OCI was issued in 2016 and his passport did not have the UVisa sticker (since ut was discontinued from 2015). He got a new passport in July (he is 20). Yesterday Qatar Airways (from Chicago) did not accept his OCI. They asked for his old passport and I assume they were looking for the sticker (he is travelling by himself to India, where we live). We had got him an eVisa to be safe and so he showed that in the end. I have heard from other parents whose kids travelled yesterday from Chicago on other airlines (Lufthansa, Air Canada, BA) who did not have problem presumably because their old passports had the sticker? All this is very confusing and frustrating!!

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by Anaylsethis » Mon Dec 16, 2019 7:27 am

I had showed Alitalia the lifelong sticker in the old passport but that didn't satisfy them either. They were simply going by a statement on their system which said that that passport number on the OCI document must match the passport in hand. That was their sticking point.

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by Luv1 » Mon Dec 16, 2019 9:38 am

Reading above messages seems like worth taking evisa for kids then !! Can we have lifelong evisa ?
Also there is a petition going online to change this u sticker / old passport chaos , hope you all have signed and please forward to as many as possible , thanks !

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by Anaylsethis » Mon Dec 16, 2019 10:16 am

Hi, can you please post the link to that petition. Thanks.

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by CR001 » Mon Dec 16, 2019 10:35 am

Anaylsethis wrote:
Mon Dec 16, 2019 10:16 am
Hi, can you please post the link to that petition. Thanks.
Not permitted as it identifies people.

Simply search for it on the change.org website, title of petition is : Remove the travel restrictions of OCI Cardholders (under 21 years and above 50 years old)
Char (CR001 not Casa)
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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by CR001 » Mon Dec 16, 2019 10:38 am

Luv1 wrote:
Mon Dec 16, 2019 9:38 am
Reading above messages seems like worth taking evisa for kids then !! Can we have lifelong evisa ?
Also there is a petition going online to change this u sticker / old passport chaos , hope you all have signed and please forward to as many as possible , thanks !
Please do NOT post this petition link. It will be removed each time you post it. If you persist, your access to the forum will be restricted.
Char (CR001 not Casa)
In life you cannot press the Backspace button!!
Please DO NOT send me a PM for immigration advice. I reserve the right to ignore the PM and not respond.

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by Luv1 » Mon Dec 16, 2019 10:39 am

Anaylsethis wrote:
Mon Dec 16, 2019 10:16 am
Hi, can you please post the link to that petition. Thanks.
Sorry seems I can not post it here but search the link Oci petition and you will find it 👍🏻

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by Anaylsethis » Mon Dec 16, 2019 11:40 am

Thanks. Got it and signed. Too late for me now but hopefully will help others. I stand to lose most of £2200 I paid for tickets as I can't reschedule now so close to holidays.

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by jojo001 » Mon Dec 16, 2019 12:58 pm

Duration and cost of evisa depends on your current nationality.
But it's quite reasonable.

UK nationals can get a 5 year multiple entry e Visa ( upto 180 days stay per year ) for around $80.

Considering that you do not have to send passport etc by post and that you get it in a few days by email, I feel it's very good value for money.

For kids most of my friends in the UK have not bothered renewing OCI and are all travelling on evisa for kids.

For OCI in UK you have to make at least one visit to VFS ( used to be two) and if you have to renew every 5 years its unnecessary hassle.

The only people who have to renew is if kids are staying longer there with grandparents etc or going to school etc in india .

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by Luv1 » Mon Dec 16, 2019 3:53 pm

Anaylsethis wrote:
Mon Dec 16, 2019 11:40 am
Thanks. Got it and signed. Too late for me now but hopefully will help others. I stand to lose most of £2200 I paid for tickets as I can't reschedule now so close to holidays.
That is a lot of money and I hope you get some refund from the airline/ insurance my friend !
I wish if some big hearted person in Indian embassy side look into this problem ASAP and resolve ?
Thanks to all for the advice etc .

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by Rajjy » Mon Dec 16, 2019 5:02 pm

I went with my 3 children April 2018 and then December 2018 and had no issues. We all have OCI with U sticker and the children are all under 15 years old. No problems either boarding or entering on both trips.

However, it seems since November 2019 the airlines may be getting stricter. Even with evisa prices now lower it stills an extra unnecessary expense when our original OCIs were granted under the lifetime validity.

We go again in April 2019 so will keep a look out as to what is happening. I’m sure for the odd one you hear about being refused there are far more allowed to board their flight. But as I have said above it seems since November 2019 more airlines could becoming stricter.

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by StealthGT7 » Mon Dec 16, 2019 8:19 pm

Please help me with my case. I am 19 years old and I am studying in India . My Parents live in Denver. I've come to visit my parents in US for the vacations.

I read about the OCI problems people were facing hence I contacted FRRO Hyderabad and they told me to apply for a new OCI card I did the same but my application is still in process , before leaving for the US I emailed FRRO Hyderabad regarding the same they told me to carry Old Passport , New Passport , OCI and acknowledgment slip stating my application is in process. Before leaving from Delhi I confirmed the same at the Immigration office.

Now after reading so many cases of denied Boarding I am confused as to what I should do at this point.I have a residence proof (Aadhar Card) and all other documents stating I reside in India including a Bonafide Certficate from my college.I am flying Lufthansa from Denver on the 1st of Jan .

What should I do at this point? Should I apply for an e-visa ?(I reside in India hence I'm confused about that ). I am really confused right now .

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Re: Child pasport renewed - no time to renew OCI - urgent travel

Post by jojo001 » Mon Dec 16, 2019 9:45 pm

Rajjy wrote:
Mon Dec 16, 2019 5:02 pm
I went with my 3 children April 2018 and then December 2018 and had no issues. We all have OCI with U sticker and the children are all under 15 years old. No problems either boarding or entering on both trips.

However, it seems since November 2019 the airlines may be getting stricter. Even with evisa prices now lower it stills an extra unnecessary expense when our original OCIs were granted under the lifetime validity.

We go again in April 2019 so will keep a look out as to what is happening. I’m sure for the odd one you hear about being refused there are far more allowed to board their flight. But as I have said above it seems since November 2019 more airlines could becoming stricter.
Oci rules have not changed at all..The rule that OCI has to be renewed with each passport change till 20 and then once over 50 has been there for well over a decade if not longer.

The problem is that Indian immigration has been lax in enforcing this rule and is still allowing people to enter India in spite of not following the rule.

The airlines also never used to bother till a few months ago but it was the Indian government itself which sent the notification to the airline which has been uploaded to their database.

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