- Nov 17, 2011
- 7
- Category........
- Visa Office......
- NDVO
- NOC Code......
- 2151
- Job Offer........
- Pre-Assessed..
- App. Filed.......
- 13-Apr-2011
- Doc's Request.
- 13-Apr-2011
- AOR Received.
- 17-May-2011
- IELTS Request
- Sent with App
- File Transfer...
- 25-Aug-2011
- Med's Request
- 25-Nov-2011
- Med's Done....
- 30-Nov-2011
- Interview........
- Waived :)
- Passport Req..
- 25-Nov-2011, eCas changed to 'Decision Made' on 06 Feb'12
- VISA ISSUED...
- 03-Feb-2012 :) :) :)
- LANDED..........
- 26-Jun-2012 :-)
POLICE CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE (PCC) - MUMBAI REGIONAL PASSPORT OFFICE (RPO)
To say that I had only a very taxing time getting the PCC would be an understatememnt. Before applying for the same, I had surfed through many a page to get a complete idea but didn't get much headway on that which I had queries about. Now that I have gone through the process, here is my 2 cents worth on the process..Hope its useful for those applying here from RPO Mumbai or anywhere else in India where the processes are similar.
You have to download,print & fill Form 2(Misc Services) available on the passport office website.In the service required on the PP, mention PCC for Canada.
Carry 'All documents' in original(for verification) as mentioned on the website & 3 self attested copies of the same(for submission) with the PP(Personal Particulars) Forms(3 in no.) attached to Form2(all duly filled). I suggest taking a day off from work as it will take most of the morning & nearly all afternoon waiting in the loooong queue- first to submit all documents & later on in another queue to make the payment.
Carry food/snacks & water as you will need the energy for standing in queues & carry something to read, or an ipod for music or cellphone with games or anything to while away time
(the wait does get on the nerves- trust me )
By 'All Documents'- I really do mean ALL documents - carry the passport, Birth certificate, school leaving certificate, all marksheets & degree certificates,current & a year old utility bills,viz. electricty/Phone(MTNL/BSNL only accepted), Gas Bills, Marriage certificate(if any),Bank statements if no utility bills, ration card(if you have one) etc...
I suggest carry it all, else there is a good chance you are not carrying something & your asked for that very document at the submission counter(happened to a few people in front of me in the queue)- means coming back another day & repeating this process all over.Also,carry also a letter from your housing society/building secretary/landlord if you are staying in such premises, mentioning that you have stayed continuously in that location for the past 1 year. If you have stayed less than that then possibly its a good idea(read almost nearly mandatory) to get such a letter for all previous residences you may have stayed in the past 1 year period.
From our research online & it is mentioned on a display/information board there at the Mumbai RPO, that in the form2, no PP forms are required to be filled at submission of PCC request & the PCC is issued within 1 day if the passport has been issued from Mumbai RPO itself. This unfortunately is not entirely & completely true,as in my case,I was in for a rude shock when I was told at the PP office counter despite falling in the above criteria & having a recently issued PP(no more than 1 year old) that I would have to submit the PP & documents in triplicate & it would take 45-60 days for me to get the PCC.
There are 2 cases here(you will come to know which case is yours when you reach the submission counter):
1. If you have a passport with Police verification done(& the said Police File attached) then its not bad at all.All you have do to submit all the documents, pay the fees & you will be given a date(usually the next day) to come personally & collect your PP & PCC from the (Mumbai)RPO after 5.30pm.If sending a proxy to collect the PP, a letter of authority with your photo id proof & the proxy's photo id proof is needed
2. If your passport does not have a police verification file attached (usually happens with tatkal issued PPs) or as in my case, a PP re-issued on an earlier valid PP
then it goes into a long drawn process taking anything from 1 month(if you are lucky) to 2 months...If you have a deadline to submit the PCC/PPs(like I had) then you will have to constantly keep following up as things simply dont move ahead by themselves.
Once the submission of docs & passport is done at the RPO --> they are transferred to the crime branch office at Mumbai,CST in the next 3-4 days --> this file is then transferred to your local police station after about 7 days --> Here at the local police station, it takes the maximum amount of time. So if you can speed things up here, you should be on your way.
The local police(in plain clothes) will do their verification in terms of visiting your locality,asking your neighbours,security guards etc about you & finally will pay your house a visit to make sure you are residing there & will ask questions on the lines of your length of stay at this residence,any alternate places you have stayed or travelled out of city/country for long during past year etc. and fill a visit/verification report.
They will tell you to go to the local police station next with 'ALL your documents' (2photocpies each) on a particular date & time...It can take around 7-15 days for them to come to your house. You should ideally follow up here with them asking them for expediting else it may take even longer.
For the police station visit, carry all documents in original with 2 photocopies for each individual PCC applicant, same as you have done earlier for the PCC application at the RPO (essentially everything that verifies your DOB,Address,Qualifications,Marriage,length of stay details etc - we were asked for Ration Card,utility bills like Electricity/MTNL or BSNL/Gas Bills(Vodafone,Airtel bills etc not allowed) both current as well as 1 year old, Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, School Leaving Certificate & even degree certificates,letters from our co-op housing society/ building Secretary mentioning that the stay at the said residence has been continuous for the past one year).
The process at the police stn is as follows- A constable will fill up 2 forms(in local language-your name,address,DOB,qualifications etc) & ask u to submit the photocopies of the docs and verify all your originals. Then you will be told to meet an inspector with all these docs where again all your details will be verified.
After that your file will be transferred from the local police station back to the crime branch office at Mumbai CST within 2-3 working days(is what is told).
CAUTION- This does not happen easily. You would have go to the police stn & do tireless followups by personal visits & phone calls. With luck, your file will be transferred back to crime branch after a week or so. As per my understanding the files are transferred on a particular day of the week after a sufficient no. are collected.It is easy to lose time here and I suggest checking with the Police Station to ensure the file has left for the Crime Branch Office.
Imp Note- If your current stay at the residence has been less than 1year, your file will be transferred to the other/previous location's local police station mentioned on your PP form & a second round of verification will take place and the ordeal will be prolonged further before the file is forwarded to the crime branch.
Once the file reaches the crime branch, it generally will not take very long .Here, atleast in my case, I did not have to make a visit, but I have heard instances where people have had to visit if the file is stuck there for some reason. You can follow up by phone calls here & in my case atleast I was given the status quickly & it was a painfree experience relatively. From the Crime Branch the file is sent to the RPO in the next 4-7 days
Once at the RPO, it takes them around 3-4 working days to stamp on the PP & issue a separate document of the PCC & the PP.
PCC consists of 2 things- (One of the last pages of the PP booklet is stamped with a PCC stamp mentioning a PCC has been issued for XYZ Country(Canada, in our case) & a printed letter with a stamp is given mentioning you have a clean record & are given a clearance to travel or obtain a visa for the XYZ country)
The PCC & PP are dispatched by speedpost to your residence & they arrive generally in 1day.
Important NOte - Odd as it may sound, all the members whose PP with PCC are going to arrive HAVE to be present at home when the speedpost postman comes.He will ask for a photo-id for each member & do his own verification and only then will you have your PP finally.No authority letter will be considered by the postman.So incase you are not present,the PPs go back to (Worli) Speedpost Despatch office & you have to start following up with them.
So, here it is..the process, the steps & the activities that lead you to obtaining the PCC to the best of my knowledge...
I leave this post open for your suggestions,additions,extra points I'v missed or anything that you wish to share which would be helpful to anyone setting out to obtaining a PCC. Pls do contribute..
Best Regards,
Ar.Sid
To say that I had only a very taxing time getting the PCC would be an understatememnt. Before applying for the same, I had surfed through many a page to get a complete idea but didn't get much headway on that which I had queries about. Now that I have gone through the process, here is my 2 cents worth on the process..Hope its useful for those applying here from RPO Mumbai or anywhere else in India where the processes are similar.
You have to download,print & fill Form 2(Misc Services) available on the passport office website.In the service required on the PP, mention PCC for Canada.
Carry 'All documents' in original(for verification) as mentioned on the website & 3 self attested copies of the same(for submission) with the PP(Personal Particulars) Forms(3 in no.) attached to Form2(all duly filled). I suggest taking a day off from work as it will take most of the morning & nearly all afternoon waiting in the loooong queue- first to submit all documents & later on in another queue to make the payment.
Carry food/snacks & water as you will need the energy for standing in queues & carry something to read, or an ipod for music or cellphone with games or anything to while away time
(the wait does get on the nerves- trust me )By 'All Documents'- I really do mean ALL documents - carry the passport, Birth certificate, school leaving certificate, all marksheets & degree certificates,current & a year old utility bills,viz. electricty/Phone(MTNL/BSNL only accepted), Gas Bills, Marriage certificate(if any),Bank statements if no utility bills, ration card(if you have one) etc...
I suggest carry it all, else there is a good chance you are not carrying something & your asked for that very document at the submission counter(happened to a few people in front of me in the queue)- means coming back another day & repeating this process all over.Also,carry also a letter from your housing society/building secretary/landlord if you are staying in such premises, mentioning that you have stayed continuously in that location for the past 1 year. If you have stayed less than that then possibly its a good idea(read almost nearly mandatory) to get such a letter for all previous residences you may have stayed in the past 1 year period.
From our research online & it is mentioned on a display/information board there at the Mumbai RPO, that in the form2, no PP forms are required to be filled at submission of PCC request & the PCC is issued within 1 day if the passport has been issued from Mumbai RPO itself. This unfortunately is not entirely & completely true,as in my case,I was in for a rude shock when I was told at the PP office counter despite falling in the above criteria & having a recently issued PP(no more than 1 year old) that I would have to submit the PP & documents in triplicate & it would take 45-60 days for me to get the PCC.
There are 2 cases here(you will come to know which case is yours when you reach the submission counter):
1. If you have a passport with Police verification done(& the said Police File attached) then its not bad at all.All you have do to submit all the documents, pay the fees & you will be given a date(usually the next day) to come personally & collect your PP & PCC from the (Mumbai)RPO after 5.30pm.If sending a proxy to collect the PP, a letter of authority with your photo id proof & the proxy's photo id proof is needed
2. If your passport does not have a police verification file attached (usually happens with tatkal issued PPs) or as in my case, a PP re-issued on an earlier valid PP
then it goes into a long drawn process taking anything from 1 month(if you are lucky) to 2 months...If you have a deadline to submit the PCC/PPs(like I had) then you will have to constantly keep following up as things simply dont move ahead by themselves.
Once the submission of docs & passport is done at the RPO --> they are transferred to the crime branch office at Mumbai,CST in the next 3-4 days --> this file is then transferred to your local police station after about 7 days --> Here at the local police station, it takes the maximum amount of time. So if you can speed things up here, you should be on your way.
The local police(in plain clothes) will do their verification in terms of visiting your locality,asking your neighbours,security guards etc about you & finally will pay your house a visit to make sure you are residing there & will ask questions on the lines of your length of stay at this residence,any alternate places you have stayed or travelled out of city/country for long during past year etc. and fill a visit/verification report.
They will tell you to go to the local police station next with 'ALL your documents' (2photocpies each) on a particular date & time...It can take around 7-15 days for them to come to your house. You should ideally follow up here with them asking them for expediting else it may take even longer.
For the police station visit, carry all documents in original with 2 photocopies for each individual PCC applicant, same as you have done earlier for the PCC application at the RPO (essentially everything that verifies your DOB,Address,Qualifications,Marriage,length of stay details etc - we were asked for Ration Card,utility bills like Electricity/MTNL or BSNL/Gas Bills(Vodafone,Airtel bills etc not allowed) both current as well as 1 year old, Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, School Leaving Certificate & even degree certificates,letters from our co-op housing society/ building Secretary mentioning that the stay at the said residence has been continuous for the past one year).
The process at the police stn is as follows- A constable will fill up 2 forms(in local language-your name,address,DOB,qualifications etc) & ask u to submit the photocopies of the docs and verify all your originals. Then you will be told to meet an inspector with all these docs where again all your details will be verified.
After that your file will be transferred from the local police station back to the crime branch office at Mumbai CST within 2-3 working days(is what is told).
CAUTION- This does not happen easily. You would have go to the police stn & do tireless followups by personal visits & phone calls. With luck, your file will be transferred back to crime branch after a week or so. As per my understanding the files are transferred on a particular day of the week after a sufficient no. are collected.It is easy to lose time here and I suggest checking with the Police Station to ensure the file has left for the Crime Branch Office.
Imp Note- If your current stay at the residence has been less than 1year, your file will be transferred to the other/previous location's local police station mentioned on your PP form & a second round of verification will take place and the ordeal will be prolonged further before the file is forwarded to the crime branch.
Once the file reaches the crime branch, it generally will not take very long .Here, atleast in my case, I did not have to make a visit, but I have heard instances where people have had to visit if the file is stuck there for some reason. You can follow up by phone calls here & in my case atleast I was given the status quickly & it was a painfree experience relatively. From the Crime Branch the file is sent to the RPO in the next 4-7 days
Once at the RPO, it takes them around 3-4 working days to stamp on the PP & issue a separate document of the PCC & the PP.
PCC consists of 2 things- (One of the last pages of the PP booklet is stamped with a PCC stamp mentioning a PCC has been issued for XYZ Country(Canada, in our case) & a printed letter with a stamp is given mentioning you have a clean record & are given a clearance to travel or obtain a visa for the XYZ country)
The PCC & PP are dispatched by speedpost to your residence & they arrive generally in 1day.
Important NOte - Odd as it may sound, all the members whose PP with PCC are going to arrive HAVE to be present at home when the speedpost postman comes.He will ask for a photo-id for each member & do his own verification and only then will you have your PP finally.No authority letter will be considered by the postman.So incase you are not present,the PPs go back to (Worli) Speedpost Despatch office & you have to start following up with them.
So, here it is..the process, the steps & the activities that lead you to obtaining the PCC to the best of my knowledge...
I leave this post open for your suggestions,additions,extra points I'v missed or anything that you wish to share which would be helpful to anyone setting out to obtaining a PCC. Pls do contribute..
Best Regards,
Ar.Sid
