OCI Card

I have applied for OCI,here is the time line:
December 21,2020:Sent the application
Jan 5th:Application received and processed forwarded to embassy
Jan 14th:Received passport back with the label that sent for OCI card(They were suppose to use money order that I sent)
Jan 29:Saw status in government website that oci card has been printed and sent to Embassy from Delhi
Feb 5th: I checked status at Vfs website via track your application and it says you application is under process at VFS.
Can someone tell me how long will it take to get my OCI card?
My tickets are booked after 10 days.
Please help!

CHANGE OF PASSPORT
Due to COVID 19 related closures, there was a delay in the renewal of the passport. The period without a VALID passport is considered as a UNAUTHORISED STAY. In this case, you cannot directly renew OCI

Step 1 - Register at https://indianfrro.gov.in/eservices/home.jsp
Step 2 - In the Fresh New Online Application you need to choose the " CHANGE OF PASSPORT " service
Step 3 - Fill application and Upload all requested document
Step 4 - Send Email to nearest Embassy or Consulate -

(We approached the FRRO office in Bangalore for OCI renewal, we are advised to get a certificate from British Consulate stating that

--------------- has not taken up the Nationality of any other country.
Due to COVID-19 related lockdown and its restrictions, we were unable to apply for his passport renewal early.

--------------------- DOB --/--/20--

Old Passport number - --------- Issue 12/03/2015 Expiry12/06/2020

Passport Renewal Application submitted in Bangalore VFS on 29/07/20

Passport Renewed ------------- Issue25/09/20 Expiry25/09/2025

We would like to state that " -------------is a British National with passport number ---------------- valid from 25/9/2020 to 25/09/2025 and his old passport -------------- was valid from12/03/2015 to 12/06/2020. There is a gap between the validity of two passports from 12th June 2020 to 25th Sept 2020, during which he did not have a valid passport. He has not taken up the nationality of any other country during the above-mentioned gap".
Kindly issue a letter certifying that during the mentioned gap period --------------was a national of the United Kingdom only and he did not take up any other nationality.

YOU NEED TO ATTACH THE COPY OF EMAIL, YOU DONT NEED THE RESPONSE FROM CONSULATE

STEP 5 - Affidavit - NOTARISED

AFFIDAVIT
We solemnly and sincerely declare the following with respect to our child -------------------for OCI service application in the office of FRRO Bangalore
a. Personal particulars of the applicant are mentioned below
Name ----------------------
Date of Birth
Country of Current Citizenship United Kingdom
Old Passport Details = Old Passport Number = ------------
Old Passport Issue Date= 12/03/2015
Old Passport Expiry date = 12/06/2020
New Passport Details= New Passport Number =. ---------------
New Passport Issue Date=. 25/09/2020
New Passport Expiry date = 25/09/2025

OCI card Number ---------------
Address in India ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
New OCI Application Number -------------------

Details of Father --------------------
Nationality -----------------
Passport No
OCI No ------------
Details of Mother
Nationality
BRITISH Passport No
OCI No

b. We further declare that the old passport of ------------------- expired while he was resident in India
c. However, we could not renew the passport due to the COVID-19 pandemic where there was a complete lockdown throughout the country and none of the Consulate or Embassy was working. The British passport renewal services opened late, we applied for renewal in July 2020 in Bangalore but due to a huge backlog, we did not get Passports till September 2020. There is a gap between the validity of Old and New Passport from 12/06/2020 to 25/09/2020.
d. --------------------- has neither acquired nor applied for citizenship of any other country
e. We have sent an E-mail to the United Kingdom (British) embassy /consulate in Chennai asking them ‘to issue us a Certificate stating that during the gap period of Passport’s validity, ------------------- was a British citizen only and did not acquire the nationality of any other country. The said E-mail has been received by the United Kingdom (British) Consulate/ Embassy - [email protected] on 27/01/2020.
f. Please accept this letter along with all other supporting documents and issue the necessary documentation to cover his stay in India between gap periods from 12/06/2020 to 25/09/2020

We undertake that the above-mentioned facts are true to the best of our knowledge. In the event of any adversity found in respect of this affidavit, we are liable to be prosecuted under the provisions of Law.

Signature of Applicant
(or sign of both parents in case of minors)

             ------------------------------------ (Father) Notary seal and stamp with date

----------------------------------------------- (Mother)

STEP 6 - UPLOAD Notarized Affidavit and an Email letter to the consulate., Also Upload children passport, OCI, AADHAR, AND PARENTS Passport, OCI, AADHAR/DL

STEP 7 -FRRO Will mail regarding further documents and fine

STEP 8 - Once FRRO GRANTS CHANGE OF PASSPORT - APPLY FOR OCI RENEWAL AS EXPLAINED BEFORE

Recently we renewed the OCI card for our kids after the renewal of the British passport.
Step 1 https://ociservices.gov.in/welcome (OCI Miscellaneous service) Application needs to be completed online with all details, you will need a scanned copy of Photo and Signature/Thumb Print before you start. Complete both steps of the online application

Step 2 You need to email nearby FRRO center for an appointment

Step 3 Documents to take ------------ALL TWO COPIES-----------------All pages Self Attested by parents--------------------
            1. Application - parents need to sign for children less than 18yrs - TWO COPIES - Write Overseas Address on the first page of Application
            2. PHOTO more than 51x51mm with a light-colored background (NOT WHITE) (NO BORDERS) - TWO COPIES
            3. Children Copies - Passport ( All overseas passports held since birth), Last entry and Exit dates on passport, OCI (All pages), AADHAR CARD - TWO COPIES
            4. Parents copies - Recent Passport, OCI, AADHAR card, Driving Licence of India- TWO COPIES
            5. DD 1400 rs - Favour of “ Pay & Accounts Officer (Secretariat), MHA payable at New Delhi”
            6. Who has to attend - One parent and any Child MORE THAN 12 YRS - For BIOMETRIC DATA (Finger Print)
            7. TAKE ALL ORIGINALS ON THE DAY OF APPOINTMENT

The status for my new OCI card on the Govt. of India website is "Under Process" but on the VFS website its "Your application has been dispatched from Embassy". Any idea what is the exact status and when can i expect to get the OCI card?

I applied on Jan 10 in Houston.

Jan 12 - Package delivered to VFS NY
Jan 30 - Received acknowledgement from VFS
Feb 3 - VFS processing complete and the application forwarded to Embassy.
Feb 4 - Received US Passport
Feb 4 - Status is UNDER-PROCESS on Government website.

Jan 26, 2021 - Got Acknowledgement from VFS that they have received the applications (3).
Feb 4, 2021 - Got email for 1 of the applications - but the provided link sends back a 404 Error.

Date:04-02-2021
Dear Applicant,

We have ‘Received’ your Application and your application is now ‘Under Process’ at Chicago.
Your Tracking ID is USAC YYYY YYYY XX
To ‘Track and Trace’ please visit: https://visa.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/ind/track-application and use Government reference number ( ARN, File Reference number) to get the updated status of your application.

Please note this is an auto - generated email. Kindly do not reply to this email.

Regards,

VFS Global

Jan 18: OCI renewal due to change in passport received by VFS. They put the application on hold and asked us to send the original OCI card. We did not send original passport and sent affidavit in lieu of originals. They also asked us to upload the OCI card in the Govt of India website. It was so dificiult to locate the category under which OCI card has to be uploaded. After going through all of them, I figured out that OCI card is uploaded under Indian Visa where there is a footnote that says for OCI Misc services, OCI card can be uploaded here.

Jan 20: Uploaded OCI, printed email, printed updated application form that shows OCI card uploaded, original OCI card sent by FedEx and delivered on Jan 21. There was no status update for 6 days.

Jan 25-28: Reached out by phone, email, Twitter and all possible way. They responded to the DMs and asked our phone number and one nice guy called us and tracked the FedEx package. The second package never got merged with the first one (I guess). But that person processed it immediately.

Jan 29: Sent to Consulate.

Feb 1: Status changed to Approved in the Govt of India website. Dispatched from MEA same day. By 6pm, we got a text saying that OCI reached VFS.

Feb 2: OCI dispatched.

Feb 3: New OCI and old OCI (cancelled) received.

Below is my experience with the OCI process.

Dates "# of Days" Updates
12/30/2020 0 Mailed
01/09/2021 10 VFS Received
01/21/2021 12 VFS Acknowledged
01/21/2021 0 VFS forwarded the application to Embassy for further processing
01/22/2021 1 Embassy acknowledges - Under Process
01/26/2021 4 US Passport Delivered

No latest updates till date.

Today, I completed my OCI application. The checklist mentions including 2 return courier labels with envelopes, that VFS would use to return the US Passport & the OCI card. The VFS site only let me print 1 courier label, which was dated for today. So I called VFS ( first 5 mins of the call are free). The gentleman at the other end said he would email the remaining 2 labels to me in 15 mins. After waiting for 90 mins, I called again ( paid $17, at $2.38 per min for the 2nd call ) only to be told that only 1 courier label will be generated & VFS will hold the other 2 labels for the return. The directions on the checklist, the info provided by the 1st customer service rep & the actual policy were not in sync. I asked for a refund for th e2nd call, since it was not my fault that the policy change was neither reflected on the checklist nor told to me by the 1st customer service rep. But all I got was an apology.

So, for New OCI application, only 1 courier label will be generated, even though you pay for 3. Good luck.

Sharing experience with VFS SFO

OCI got approved and reached SFO embassy on 01/21/2021.
Email from VFS on 01/26/2021 " will be dispatched within 24-48 business hours provided you had purchased or sent the return label"

When I did the application the 3rd label didn't generate and hence I enclosed a Fedex shipping label for OCI return.Having said that VFS returned that label along with original passport citing that they can accept only UPS.This was information was not provided in any of their guidelines.Poor documentation/lack of clarity at VFS end.

On 1/29 received $15 invoice for return courier from VFS which I paid on 1/29 itself.Shared the address details as well as mentioned on the invoice.Received the payment confirmation/receipt online.

on 2/1/2021 received the below email from VFS.
"Your document (s) is dispatched using the return label purchased or sent by you.To ‘Track and Trace‘ of the courier purchased from VFS India Consular application centre, please visit: http://www.Fedex.com and use the courier tracking ID to get the updated status of your application.
If you have used your prepaid label then track the status via the website of the concerned service provider."

Interestingly there is no tracking number shared.No clue where the document is at the moment. I send multiple emails/ made several calls to get the tracking number ,but all in vein. The customer care folks gave conflicting responses and they contradict to themselves at many times.Such an unorganized company VFS is...

After waiting for these many days ,now the OCI is un-trackable and I don't have any clue on when it is arriving or where it is.

VFS need to grow and show some kind of maturity and professionalism to its customers.Please comment if you echo this feedback