donblount wrote:Couple of questions regarding these processes
1) After receiving the British passport can the surrendering of the passport and applying for the OCI be done at the same time. Or does one need to complete the surrender process, wait the appropriate acknowledgement and papers from the embassy before starting the OCI process.
My understanding is, no it cannot be done at the same time. You have to go to VFS once to surrender your passport. They'll post the surrendered passport and a surrender certificate back to you -- usually within a week, assuming the High Commission approves your surrender application. After that, with the surrender certificate you can apply for an OCI. This involves uploading some documents to a website, plus TWO visits, not one, to VFS. The first visit is with documents + passport, 2nd visit is later (at least 6 weeks later), when your OCI application is approved in-principle, and you go to VFS again with just the passport and a self-addressed special delivery or courier envelope.
2) If I use the VFS global service I will have to take the original documents ( with photocopy) of my current UK passport / citizenship to the appointment. Would these originals be sent the Indian embassy/consulate or would they need only the photocopy after verification at the VFS facility.
As far as I remember they look at the original and then take the photocopy in most situations. However for the 2nd OCI visit (not first), they take the UK passport. They then post the OCI booklet and the passport back to you (via special delivery or courier) within a week. So you don't have your UK passport for about a week if you apply for OCI.
