OCI process

[lifein360]

I received my OCI booklet just now.

This ends the immigration process for me .

Well done. Now only Nexus eh

 

[ajit90]

Anyone know if I can do a walk-in without appointment at BLS Brampton/ Toronto for my Passport Surrender Application ?
Unable to find any slot this month at BLS website and I prefer walk-in over purolator . Anyone who has experience with this recently ?

 

[Anandh1983]

Hello,

I am new to this forum. Need advice.

I have submitted by US born kid's OCI application on Sept 14th by Walk in Brampton. Below are the status from tracking.


OCI gov tracking -

Applicant Name	*****************
File Reference Number	*****************
Date Of Acknowledgment	20-SEP-2021
Registration Status at Mission	TORONTO
OCI Application Status	UNDER-PROCESS

BLS tracking -

Application Details
Application Reference Number	***********
Application Date	2021-09-14
Applicant Name	***********
Applicant Passport Number	***********
Applicant Date of Birth	***********
Application Status	Processing at Consulate General Processing at Consulate General

Could you please let me know when i can expect the status change on both websites? I am planning to travel to India in November and holding on ticket booking because of this.

Thank you in advance.

Just saw the OCI site and the status got updated.

Applicant Name	**********
File Reference Number	**********
Date Of Acknowledgment	20-SEP-2021
Registration Status at Mission	TORONTO
OCI- Number	**********
Documents Printing Status	PROCESSED	On	13-OCT-2021
Dispatched From MEA (OCI )	NEW DELHI	On
Document received At	TORONTO	On

BLS website still shows the below

Application Details
Application Reference Number	**********
Application Date	2021-09-14
Applicant Name	**********
Applicant Passport Number	**********
Applicant Date of Birth	2019-01-24
Application Status	Processing at Consulate General Processing at Consulate General

 

[Mumbai_Maratha]

Anyone know if I can do a walk-in without appointment at BLS Brampton/ Toronto for my Passport Surrender Application ?
Unable to find any slot this month at BLS website and I prefer walk-in over purolator . Anyone who has experience with this recently ?

Yes.. For Toronto, try and go before7.. You have high chances of coming out by 9 then..
Otherwise go after 10

 

[thenumbiceman]

Anyone know if I can do a walk-in without appointment at BLS Brampton/ Toronto for my Passport Surrender Application ?
Unable to find any slot this month at BLS website and I prefer walk-in over purolator . Anyone who has experience with this recently ?

Go before 7 and no later than 9.30. Some days they dont let walk ins who come later than 9.30.

 

[ajit90]

Yes.. For Toronto, try and go before7.. You have high chances of coming out by 9 then..
Otherwise go after 10

Go before 7 and no later than 9.30. Some days they dont let walk ins who come later than 9.30.

Thank you guys

 

[johnbro]

Hi All,

My citizenship application decision has been made last week and I am waiting for Oath, but have an health emergency of a family member and need to return to India soon (this weekend). I plan to travel back to Canada when my Oath is scheduled if things stabilize in india but I have to return back. Requesting answers to below questions -
1) if I become a canadian citizen after Oath, then immediately Indian citizenship is stripped or do I have to renunciate myself ? If latter then can I travel to India using Indian passport and then later renunciate ?
2) I know OCI is an option but may take 3-5 months for processing .. is there a way to process this faster (like urgent processing) ?
3) I think the e-visa is not available for Canadians and UK anymore, is there an alternative to this that's simple and fast ?
4) Any other visa type for India that I can apply right now while I travel and Oath is pending so when I complete my Oath I can immediately go back ?
5) Worst case if things dont stabilize and I need to be there for longer, can I request Oath be rescheduled but how much longer can I reschedule it and how many times ?

Thanks in advance

 

[rajkamalmohanram]

Hi All,

My citizenship application decision has been made last week and I am waiting for Oath, but have an health emergency of a family member and need to return to India soon (this weekend). I plan to travel back to Canada when my Oath is scheduled if things stabilize in india but I have to return back. Requesting answers to below questions -
1) if I become a canadian citizen after Oath, then immediately Indian citizenship is stripped or do I have to renunciate myself ? If latter then can I travel to India using Indian passport and then later renunciate ?
2) I know OCI is an option but may take 3-5 months for processing .. is there a way to process this faster (like urgent processing) ?
3) I think the e-visa is not available for Canadians and UK anymore, is there an alternative to this that's simple and fast ?
4) Any other visa type for India that I can apply right now while I travel and Oath is pending so when I complete my Oath I can immediately go back ?
5) Worst case if things dont stabilize and I need to be there for longer, can I request Oath be rescheduled but how much longer can I reschedule it and how many times ?

Thanks in advance

1. You can use your Indian passport for 3 months after you become a Canadian citizen provided you don't apply for a Canadian passport. You can travel to India on your Indian passport but you can't return to Canada without a Canadian passport.

2. OCI doesn't take 3 - 5 months. The maximum it takes is around 8 weeks. There is no urgent processing for OCI.

3. Entry Visa however, you can't apply for it unless you have a Canadian passport.

4. You aren't a Canadian citizen now. You will only be a Canadian citizen once you take oath. You can't get any Indian visa unless you have a Canadian passport. Applying for an Indian visa with an Indian passport makes no sense at all.

5. Yes, you can ask oath to be rescheduled. Give them a reason and request them to reschedule it, they likely will. However, there is no guarantee you'll receive another invitation soon.

 

[nerd]

My citizenship application decision has been made last week and I am waiting for Oath, but have an health emergency of a family member and need to return to India soon (this weekend). I plan to travel back to Canada when my Oath is scheduled if things stabilize in india but I have to return back. Requesting answers to below questions -
1) if I become a canadian citizen after Oath, then immediately Indian citizenship is stripped or do I have to renunciate myself ? If latter then can I travel to India using Indian passport and then later renunciate ?
2) I know OCI is an option but may take 3-5 months for processing .. is there a way to process this faster (like urgent processing) ?
3) I think the e-visa is not available for Canadians and UK anymore, is there an alternative to this that's simple and fast ?
4) Any other visa type for India that I can apply right now while I travel and Oath is pending so when I complete my Oath I can immediately go back ?
5) Worst case if things dont stabilize and I need to be there for longer, can I request Oath be rescheduled but how much longer can I reschedule it and how many times ?

1. You have to renounce formally. I think you get 3 months grace period to do that. During that time you can travel with Indian passport but they will impose a fine each time you do that 200-300$ per usage.
2. No idea.
3. I think there is an entry visa for emergency purposes. Others might be able to shed more light on that.
4. Not until you get your canadian passport.
5. Of course you can reschedule. They will allot a new date. When they will reschedule to is unclear.

hope this helps.
take care.
nerd.

 

[rajkamalmohanram]

1. You have to renounce formally. I think you get 3 months grace period to do that. During that time you can travel with Indian passport but they will impose a fine each time you do that 200-300$ per usage.
2. No idea.
3. I think there is an entry visa for emergency purposes. Others might be able to shed more light on that.
4. Not until you get your canadian passport.
5. Of course you can reschedule. They will allot a new date. When they will reschedule to is unclear.

hope this helps.
take care.
nerd.

1. AFAIK, there is no penalty for using the Indian passport for travel up until 3 months from the date you took oath and became a citizen provided you didn't apply for or obtain a Canadian passport.

 

[Thomz8998]

Thank you for replying. They haven't taken my daughters picture from me but it says processed and delivered to BLS on oct 19th. So I assume it should be good.

Yes. It's good.

 

[johnbro]

1. You can use your Indian passport for 3 months after you become a Canadian citizen provided you don't apply for a Canadian passport. You can travel to India on your Indian passport but you can't return to Canada without a Canadian passport.

2. OCI doesn't take 3 - 5 months. The maximum it takes is around 8 weeks. There is no urgent processing for OCI.

3. Entry Visa however, you can't apply for it unless you have a Canadian passport.

4. You aren't a Canadian citizen now. You will only be a Canadian citizen once you take oath. You can't get any Indian visa unless you have a Canadian passport. Applying for an Indian visa with an Indian passport makes no sense at all.

5. Yes, you can ask oath to be rescheduled. Give them a reason and request them to reschedule it, they likely will. However, there is no guarantee you'll receive another invitation soon.

Thanks @rajkamalmohanram and @nerd

Regarding point 1 where you stated "You can travel to India on your Indian passport but you can't return to Canada without a Canadian passport." few follow up questions on this -
1. so can I travel back to Canada with Greencard (& Indian Passport) ? Or can I have a friend fedex my Canadian passport and then use it to enter ? Or can I apply for and collect my Canadian passport at Canadian Consulate in India ?
2. Once I enter India using Indian passport (say within 3 months grace period) can I stay longer than 3 months (if needed) ?

Thanks a bunch again for helping on this.

 

[sharadsinha]

Anyone know if I can do a walk-in without appointment at BLS Brampton/ Toronto for my Passport Surrender Application ?
Unable to find any slot this month at BLS website and I prefer walk-in over purolator . Anyone who has experience with this recently ?

yes you can. Appointment is not required. Just try to be as early as possible as the queue is very long and the processing of BLS is very slow. We reached BLS Brampton by 7am and there were 20 people ahead of us. We got entry by 9am.

 

[snehagupta12us]

I called BLS and they confirmed that that there is no need for Apostille/ authentication of canada issued documents. So I am applying with just self attesting the documents. Hope that helps.

BLS had told me to self attest and email CGI to request for a waiver from attestation from CGI requirement and include copy of that email with the OCI application. When i email CGI they responded saying attestation from CGI is required and they are providing this service for via mail-in. I called BLS after that again. They then said follow CGI instructions

 

[pulk10]

Does anyone know how to make these checks for a mail in application for surrender?

Application says its two checks: one with surrender fee ($119) + passport retention fee ($103.4) + consular service ($3) and then the other with the BLS processing fee ($7.4). Is this right? Person I talked didn't have the best English and I'm really not sure. I got my Canadian citizenship in 2019 end but didn't cancel my Indian passport

Also is there any penalty or problem if the Indian passport is expired? Would really appreciate any help