Posted on: 18-04-15 11:31:28
I would like to share my experience here.
I applied OCI card for my new born baby at Brampton after getting his Canadian passport. My wife and myself are Indian citizens and our baby is Canadian by birth. It was a smooth process at BLS Brampton. I filled the application form and took the print out at home. I had an address proof (utility bill), mine and my wife's passport and baby's Canadian passport and birth certificate with me. They took our passports and baby's birth certificate for verification and gave the baby's Canadian passport back. After two weeks, we got our passport back with acknowledgement slip through FedEx courier. I was able to track the status through BLS website. Also, after getting the acknowledgement slip, I was tracking the OCI status in the India government site (http://passport.gov.in/oci/statusEnqury). The below are the significant dates:
Applied at BLS Brampton : 14-FEB-2015
Date Of Acknowledgment : 23‐FEB‐2015
Documents Printing Status : 23‐MAR‐2015
Dispatched From MOIA (OCI ) : 24‐MAR‐2015
Document received At : 31‐MAR‐2015
Passport dropped at BLS for OCI stamping, Brampton : 04-APR-2015
Passport & OCI certificate collected on : 17-APR-2015
Yeah ..2 month seems to be the standard time.
With the new OCI..where the OCI U-Visa sticker is no longer required to be pasted on the Foreign PP, hopefully 1-2 trips will be less now.
As OCI card is all you need now and the U-Visa sticker will probably be pasted in the OCI booklet itself. So you won't have to return to submit your Foreign PP for the sticker pasting and then going again to pick up the PP after the sticker has been pasted.
So hopefully the last 2 steps are NOW eliminated with the NEW OCI card.
It is still at 2 months, which is good. I was expecting the processing time to be more since there is no longer any PIO, OCI volume would jump up significantly. I think the OCI booklets are printed in India.
Now they have made it optional to carry the old passport with U-Visa sticker as immigration in India will not insist on it and it will not be stamped anymore for new OCIs.
One problem I can see now is that once your Canadian (or other nationality) passport number changes after renewal, it is not going to match what is given in the OCI booklet. Basically your travel document's passport number does not match your current passport number. I do not think any rules have been announced for that.
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Quote:
Originally posted by rajcanada
One problem I can see now is that once your Canadian (or other nationality) passport number changes after renewal, it is not going to match what is given in the OCI booklet. Basically your travel document's passport number does not match your current passport number. I do not think any rules have been announced for that.
The OCI booklet merely acts as your visa with your name and personal details. The passport (current) acts as your ID for the immigration officer to determine that the holder is indeed the same person as the OCI booklet. Since it is lifelong, they need not tie it to your passport, which is not lifelong. I hope this makes the process smoother, but I am not confident about the security features on the OCI booklet they hand out - it can easily be duplicated. However, they will necessarily have all the relevant information on their 'secure' computer which will be accessed at the time of entry... so that bring down the security risk.
Anyways, I believe a few people will be inconvenienced during this transition phase and eventually everything will be smooth.
Hiren
Quote:
Originally posted by rajcanada
It is still at 2 months, which is good. I was expecting the processing time to be more since there is no longer any PIO, OCI volume would jump up significantly. I think the OCI booklets are printed in India.
Now they have made it optional to carry the old passport with U-Visa sticker as immigration in India will not insist on it and it will not be stamped anymore for new OCIs.
One problem I can see now is that once your Canadian (or other nationality) passport number changes after renewal, it is not going to match what is given in the OCI booklet. Basically your travel document's passport number does not match your current passport number. I do not think any rules have been announced for that.
For Old OCI holders , you will still need to carry the old foreign PP with the U-Visa sticker on it, as they haven't eliminated the need to SEE your U-Visa sticker yet.
With the new OCI holders , the U-Visa sticker will be stuck on the OCI booklet itself and NOT on the foreign PP anymore. But the U-Visa sticker is still going to be there..just in a different place.
But they STILL want to see BOTH , the OCI booklet & the U-Visa sticker , irrespective of where the U-Visa sticker is , on your old PP or the OCI booklet itself.
Just update:
one week ago, I did submit all the requires documents for OCI sticker renewal for my son.
experience at BLS - Brampton:
Lady did not accept our application because in the application I did not mentioned that my son (13 Yrs) is "UNMARRIED" or "SINGLE"... ya..ya.. she is right that 13 yrs old kid can get married...."How stupid was". we waited more than three hours and because of this mistake she did not accept our application. ...great..
She told me that you have to come back again with new application....went home update in old file by editing as a "UNMARRIED" or "SINGLE"... submitted all the documents.
***side note, when I filled up online application that time old data automatically pulled up by previous file and not allowing me to update in new application....all other documents was ok and nothing was missing in the application***
I called BLS office waited more than 20 minutes on the phone finally someone answered and told me that select two options when you fill up the form and edit old information and print it out new form....
submission time I asked her and she told me that it is compulsory that up to 20 years of age every time I have to put a new sticker on new passport....I am not sure how far she is right?
as per her, we are going to receive our original documents after one week than I have to wait until online status change at CGI website shows documents received and acknowledged...than go again to submit original Canadian passport for OCI sticker stamping and wait for another one and half month for collect passport at BLS office.
Hope that we are going to get our passport back before 26th June as my son is going to travel India...
Quote:
Originally posted by adamthorat
...
For Old OCI holders , you will still need to carry the old foreign PP with the U-Visa sticker on it, as they haven't eliminated the need to SEE your U-Visa sticker yet.
With the new OCI holders , the U-Visa sticker will be stuck on the OCI booklet itself and NOT on the foreign PP anymore. But the U-Visa sticker is still going to be there..just in a different place.
But they STILL want to see BOTH , the OCI booklet & the U-Visa sticker , irrespective of where the U-Visa sticker is , on your old PP or the OCI booklet itself.
From http://www.cgitoronto.ca/content/oci-0
CGI Toronto has kept both old and new content to create confusion but here is the new content anyway. To be safer, it is good to carry both passports and OCI booklet.
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New:
Vide circular No. 26011/06/2015-OCI dated 29th January, 2015 of Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, all immigration authorities in India will not insist on production of the foreign passport containing the 'U' Visa Sticker in the case of OCI Cardholders while they enter/exit India and the immigration clearance will be granted based on production of the 'OCI CARD ONLY'
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