Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI)

[daveg]

Here's my updated status:

pplication date: 09/11/2018
VFS centre: VFS Goswell, London
Date of acknowledgement: 12/11/2018
Original docs received: 16/11/2018
Documents Printing Status: Processed
Dispatched From MOIA (OCI ) NEW DELHI: 05/12/2018
Document received At London: 05/12/2018
PASSPORT SUBMITTED IN PERSON at VFS:
Passport & OCI documents received:

All those who has got similar application date please check your status, I think it should be updated by now. All the best!!

[jfrusc]

Here's my updated status:

pplication date: 09/11/2018
VFS centre: VFS Goswell, London
Date of acknowledgement: 12/11/2018
Original docs received: 16/11/2018
Documents Printing Status: Processed
Dispatched From MOIA (OCI ) NEW DELHI: 05/12/2018
Document received At London: 05/12/2018
PASSPORT SUBMITTED IN PERSON at VFS:
Passport & OCI documents received:

All those who has got similar application date please check your status, I think it should be updated by now. All the best!!

My wifes application was same day at Goswell, but still showing under process

Presume yours isn't spouse application, hence it was process faster.

[bbreddy]

Our son has just got his British Passport. But we (parents) are still on ILR.

Can you please advise on the below:

Can I submit my OCI application just for my son (only) for now? or Do I need to wait for at least one of the parents to be British?

Due to our travel plans, we want the OCI to be back asap. But looking at the appointments available - London Hounslow has early appointments than at the Goswell Rd one. But Goswell Rd is closer to where we live. Can we say submit our initial application at the Hounslow one? and then submit the passport (once status changes accordingly) at the Goswell one? Or should they be both done at the same centre?

[jfrusc]

Our son has just got his British Passport. But we (parents) are still on ILR.

Can you please advise on the below:

Can I submit my OCI application just for my son (only) for now? or Do I need to wait for at least one of the parents to be British?

Due to our travel plans, we want the OCI to be back asap. But looking at the appointments available - London Hounslow has early appointments than at the Goswell Rd one. But Goswell Rd is closer to where we live. Can we say submit our initial application at the Hounslow one? and then submit the passport (once status changes accordingly) at the Goswell one? Or should they be both done at the same centre?

Whats ILR?

On the other question yes you can submit your passport at a different centre. I submitted our applications at Goswell as they are the only ones that do walk in service. But then submitted the passport at Hounslow. OCI were received fine.

[bbreddy]

Whats ILR?

On the other question yes you can submit your passport at a different centre. I submitted our applications at Goswell as they are the only ones that do walk in service. But then submitted the passport at Hounslow. OCI were received fine.

Thank you jfrusc. ILR = indefinite leave to remain in the UK (but are still Indian nationals).

It is good to know we can do the process at 2 different centres.

Could you elaborate a bit further on the 'walk in service' at Goswell. Looking at the current available appointments, the next one is on Jan 2, 2019 - which is too late for me. Can we go there without appointment (with all required docs of course)?

[jfrusc]

Whats ILR?

On the other question yes you can submit your passport at a different centre. I submitted our applications at Goswell as they are the only ones that do walk in service. But then submitted the passport at Hounslow. OCI were received fine.

Thank you jfrusc. ILR = indefinite leave to remain in the UK (but are still Indian nationals).

It is good to know we can do the process at 2 different centres.

Could you elaborate a bit further on the 'walk in service' at Goswell. Looking at the current available appointments, the next one is on Jan 2, 2019 - which is too late for me. Can we go there without appointment (with all required docs of course)?

Ok in that case I can answer your other question as well. My parents both still hold their Indian passports with ILR. Myself and my children hold UK passports. I had no problem getting our OCI's based on my parents Indian passports.

Your childs right to an OCI card is based solely on them being of Indian Origin, not on the current status of the parents. All they need is some way to prove that they are off Indian Origin.

That could be

- Birth Certificate,
- Passport,
- Landing Card
- OCI
- or some other document

of Great Grand Parents/Grand Parents or Parents proving Indian decent.

In your case your Indian Passports plus a birth certificate showing they are your child will be sufficient. If the Birth Certificate is Indian you wont need an Apostle. If its a UK Birth Certificate you may want to get it Apostilled to be safe:

https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised

In my case my childrens Birth Certificates were already Apostilled, but mine wasn't. So it appears they aren't stringent on requiring UK Birth Certificates to be Apostilled.

WRT walk in service. At Goswell Road you can submit your application without appointment. You just turn up with all your paperwork on any day the centre is open. You will be put in a separate queue for walk in customers so it takes a little time to get your turn. I did it twice, first for myself and children, then for my wife (she's applying through spouse route so I needed my OCI first). On both occasions there was approximately a 2 hour wait.

It will cost more doing the Walk In service as they force you to use their courier service for all the documents. In total it cost £230 per application, instead of the £185 (plus cost of your own prepaid envelopes). Unfortunately if time is of the essence you have no choice as appointments are a month or more in advance.

Good luck

[bbreddy]

Thank you again, jfrusc. That is very informative.

One last Question - is there a max time limit for us to - (1) surrender Indian passport after getting BC and (2) applying for OCI from the time of getting naturalization certificate (in case of change of nationality in our case)/British passport (in my son's case)?

[jfrusc]

Thank you again, jfrusc. That is very informative.

One last Question - is there a max time limit for us to - (1) surrender Indian passport after getting BC and (2) applying for OCI from the time of getting naturalization certificate (in case of change of nationality in our case)/British passport (in my son's case)?

Sorry I can't answer (1). I was born in the UK, so this question never arose for me and my Children.

(2) I believe you can Apply for OCI whenever you like. After all people are allowed to apply on the basis of Great Grandparent, so clearly the Indian Government aren't concerned with time limiting the right to OCI

I would however apply sooner rather then later for two reasons:

A) I imagine the more current your Indian Passport and paperwork, the easier it will be for them verify you as part of the OCI process.

B) This is the Indian Government we're talking about. Best to avail of the rights on offer before someone else gets into power or they have a change of attitude for some other reason :/

Months don't really matter, but I wouldn't leave it years.

[jfrusc]

WRT (1) I do recall someone mentioning on another thread there is a 3 month grace period after you attain citizenship of another country. I would of course check that with HCILondon and get it in writing.

Past any grace period don't be tempted to use your Indian passport. The penalty's are pretty severe if caught. I recall on another thread someone had to pay a £3000 fine. And they wouldn't allow them back into Indian until they'd paid.

I would time your attainment of British Citizenship around a period you don't need to travel to India. That way you can immediately surrender your Indian Passport and then Apply for an OCI without worrying about an upcoming trip.

[bbreddy]

Ok thank you very much

[nikitasha8]

bbreddy wrote: ↑Thu Dec 06, 2018 12:35 pm
Thank you again, jfrusc. That is very

My application was based on indian origina and we applied as a family of 3.

[jfrusc]

bbreddy wrote: ↑Thu Dec 06, 2018 12:35 pm
Thank you again, jfrusc. That is very

My application was based on indian origina and we applied as a family of 3.

Thanks for confirming.

My wifes is spouse application around same time, but still waiting

[jeet1]

Hello everyone i hope you can help us with oci family application

we want apply for oci for family of four(two adults and two minors), i been reading information on this forum and other places that their is a option on oci website for family or individual application.

For some reasons I can not find the family option on oci website. Any suggestions please.

Thank you.

[bbreddy]

Hello everyone i hope you can help us with oci family application

we want apply for oci for family of four(two adults and two minors), i been reading information on this forum and other places that their is a option on oci website for family or individual application.

For some reasons I can not find the family option on oci website. Any suggestions please.

Thank you.

Not 100% sure, but what I understand is that you need to make separate OCI Applications for each of them, but a single group appointment can be booked for multiple people through VFS

[mdk123]

Hi
Please can someone comment on how long a spouse based application took. mine has been 4 weeks and still showing under-process

[jfrusc]

Still under process, over a month now

Tried to call HCILondon a few times. But each time, after an hour of the recording telling me my call is very important to them, they cut me off :/

[jfrusc]

It seems they were waiting for me to complain online checked now on a whim and its processed:

Date Of Acknowledgment: 09/11/18
Documents Printing Status: 12/12/18

Just over a month in total for a spouse OCI

Hope the info is useful to anyone else that comes across this. I know I would have appreciated others coming back to share their timelines.

[sureshmm]

Hi,

I'm looking to apply for OCI for myself, my wife and 2 children( 10 and 8 years). Could someone please confirm on the below?

Can we apply all together at the same time? or spouse and children have to wait until I get my OCI?

Do we need to fill separate applications on OCI gov site? I can't seem to find application type field as mentioned on some sites?

Thank you for your help in advance.

Regards
Suresh

[jfrusc]

Hi,

I'm looking to apply for OCI for myself, my wife and 2 children( 10 and 8 years). Could someone please confirm on the below?

Can we apply all together at the same time? or spouse and children have to wait until I get my OCI?

Do we need to fill separate applications on OCI gov site? I can't seem to find application type field as mentioned on some sites?

Thank you for your help in advance.

Regards
Suresh

If they are all of Indian Origin they can apply at the same time.

I applied on the basis of my parents being Indian and holding Indian passports. My children were able to apply on this basis as well (their grandparents, i.e. my parents, were their proof of Indian Origin).

My wife is not of Indian Origin. She could apply on the basis that I, her spouse, was of Indian Origin. But I was advised I would have to wait until my own OCI card was approved. I presume to establish my own Indian Origin first.

Ofcourse if your spouse is of Indian Origin, you dont have this problem. And she can apply at the same time as you and your children. She will just have to furnish her own proof of Indian Origin (parents details, etc).

[mdk123]

It seems they were waiting for me to complain online checked now on a whim and its processed:

Date Of Acknowledgment: 09/11/18
Documents Printing Status: 12/12/18

Just over a month in total for a spouse OCI

Hope the info is useful to anyone else that comes across this. I know I would have appreciated others coming back to share their timelines.

Thats good news, nice to know timescale. Thanks for updated. I hope mine gets processed soon, mine was acknowledged 14/11.

[jfrusc]

It seems they were waiting for me to complain online checked now on a whim and its processed:

Date Of Acknowledgment: 09/11/18
Documents Printing Status: 12/12/18

Just over a month in total for a spouse OCI

Hope the info is useful to anyone else that comes across this. I know I would have appreciated others coming back to share their timelines.

Thats good news, nice to know timescale. Thanks for updated. I hope mine gets processed soon, mine was acknowledged 14/11.

NP, I wish other people would bother to come back and update their timelines. Would be helpful to everyone that follows them. Otherwise this is just a pointless thread :/

Doesn't make a difference to me now. But I hope this is representative of the new timelines for spouse OCI, rather then just an exception.

If so, you may just get an early XMAS present

[hanifareed]

hey guys just need help.
i have got inquiry i couldn't get answer from no one.
i am foreign nationality holding OCI Card as Indian origin the question is: my spouse (wife) foreign nationality non Indian origin which our marriage has been over 11 yeas now, can i apply OCI for her and is she legally able to get OCI.
the same thing about my 2 daughters which they are under 10 years old.

thanks for help in advance for every one who will give me the right consultant and advice based on law of OCI.

[jfrusc]

hey guys just need help.
i have got inquiry i couldn't get answer from no one.
i am foreign nationality holding OCI Card as Indian origin the question is: my spouse (wife) foreign nationality non Indian origin which our marriage has been over 11 yeas now, can i apply OCI for her and is she legally able to get OCI.
the same thing about my 2 daughters which they are under 10 years old.

thanks for help in advance for every one who will give me the right consultant and advice based on law of OCI.

Since you have an OCI card (and have therefore established your Indian Origin) your wife and children can also attain an OCI card. My wife's OCI application was just processed and she is not of Indian Origin, but she was entitled to an OCI card as my spouse.

However, the standard exclusions still apply. For example people who've held Pakistan or Bangladesh nationality. People who work for foreign government agency's like the army, security services, etc. People who are journalist. None of these can apply for an OCI card, wether they are of Indian Origin, or spouse/child of an OCI holder.

Fill in the online form, this is all laid out there. Or give them a call/email with your particulars.

[Ss73]

I wonder if somebody can help. I am applying under OCI miscellaneous service for my son, who has a new passport. Where do we stick the photo on the application form? When I applied for the original OCI, the application printout had a space to stick the hard copy of the photo, but now the uploaded photo and signature comes along with the printout in that space. But the instructions still say we have to affix photographs? Where exactly! Thank you.

[sreemtech]

Type : Adult Application
Delivery Service : DX
VFS centre : VFS Goswell, London

Timeline
Application date: 01 Nov 2018
Date of acknowledgement: 02 Nov 2018
Original docs received: 12 Nov 2018
Documents Printing Status: Processed On: 26 Nov 2018
Dispatched From MOIA (OCI ) NEW DELHI: 26 Nov 2018
Document received At London: 26 Nov 2018
PASSPORT SUBMITTED IN PERSON at VFS: 27 Nov 2018
Passport & OCI documents received: 03 Dec 2018