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I have applied Visa many times in the UK & India, some very simple & straight-forward, some bit tricky but none totally pointless and ridiculously stupid as the OCI Miscellaneous Services. India becoming so forward and trying to digitalise its systems with our PM touring countries far and beyond to make things better and yet we have this totally absurd procedure for something very very simple.
To those who are yet to find out what OCI Miscellaneous Services is, here's a gist. You need to use this service if you have to renew your OCI card (which has already been issued before) (OR) If you have lost it (OR) If your name, address (???!!!) and occupation (???!!!) or overseas passport details changed.
So here is how the procedure goes:
1) You fill in online application form first. For this, you need to scan the perfect square passport photos and upload to the image section. You then need to scan your signature(??!!), if it is for your kid below 5 years, you need to take their right thumb impression or over 5, you need to make them write their name on a piece of paper and scan it and then upload that.
2) Then you need to scan you previous passport, OCI card, etc. convert them into PDF and then upload as supporting documents
3) Then you need to take a print out of the application and a copy of all other documents and 2 perfect square passport-sized photos and make an appointment with VFS UK!
4) Check their website, they are supposed to have several centres in UK but most of them are closed. So like me, if you are located somewhere out of London, Birmingham or Manchester then you are out of luck.
5) The closest centre to me is in Bradford, which is like a 2 hour drive.
6) The office is located right in the very messy and dodgy city centre so parking is going to be a challenge
7) The office is a small door located inside a recruitment agency and they will let you in 10 minutes before your appointed time
8) Oh, obviously they only do working days so you have a take a day off from work
9) Once in the centre, you take a token and even if you have a time-slot booked, prepare to wait for around 45 to 60 minutes (Beware of the parking as there is a 2 hour no-return policy and a very active traffic warden. If our number wasn't called after waiting for an hour, I would have to go and park at a nearby shopping centre!)
10) There was a very friendly gentleman behind the counter (probably the only plus point of this whole experience). I whined about how complicated the process was, I was there only to apply for the renewal of my 5 year old as she had to get a new British passport as it expired after 5 years, which means I will have to reapply for the OCI.
11) I said for the initial OCI, we did everything via post and never had to go in person to any location and this is just a renewal. Everything which the Indian High Commission needs should already been in their system. He just said, I know, but this is the procedure now.
12) I even got mine and the Mrs applications as there was a change of address. For this he genuinely recommended that address change is not compulsory unless you want to burn £50 each!
13) Yes, the application cost about £45 including courier. So we submitted only the compulsory 5 year old's application
14) He took the fee via Debit card and dropped an ultimate bomb after that!!
15) He gave us back the courier cover and receipt and took the printed application form and copies of documents and said that they will be sent to high commission. He asked us to check the status and when the status says the documents are printed and ready, I WILL HAVE TO COME BACK AGAIN AND SUBMIT THE ORIGINAL PASSPORT!!!!!!
16) I lost it!! This was utterly ridiculous and a total joke! What a ridiculous and utter waste or time, money, energy and everything else. I wish the right people see my post and realise how foolish the procure they set is!!!
17) So, I will have to book another day off work just to come and submit the originals and go through the entire trauma of driving early (they only accept this from 8:30 to 11 .. Perfect .. its the rush hour), parking, waiting again!! I mentioned my frustration to the nice gentleman behind the counter saying all this for only a renewal!! It is not even like the initial application!! He just smiled and said, I know!!
18) So now, I booked another day off work and am preparing to start early to get to the dodgy Bradford (I mean, right in the city centre at 9AM, whilst the traffic warden is doing rounds, I saw a family of 10 sitting in the centre square, drinking beer and shouting, just below a red board which says NO ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN PUBLIC!!! Dont think it can get any dodgy than that!!)
So guess you all can understand my frustration. A procedure which can be simply done via post is stretched into unnecessary string of event leading to utter waste of time, money and energy. I am assuming that this is it and I don't have to go back again to collect something else but who knows. I will keep you updated.
And all the above trauma, I need to keep doing it every 5 years until my kid turns 18!!!
And then I do not understand why international address needs to be printed on the OCI card!! Well at least it is not compulsory to change it.
First of all, when I found out that Dual nationality is not accepted by India and that UK allows it, I was fuming! I can understand that they want to restrict certain countries, for very very good reasons ...but they want to restrict hard working Indians, who do nothing else but mind their own business from entering!! How stupid is this!!
I hope all this leads to more people voicing their frustration and they make the procedure very very simple as how it is supposed to be!
Peace.
To those who are yet to find out what OCI Miscellaneous Services is, here's a gist. You need to use this service if you have to renew your OCI card (which has already been issued before) (OR) If you have lost it (OR) If your name, address (???!!!) and occupation (???!!!) or overseas passport details changed.
So here is how the procedure goes:
1) You fill in online application form first. For this, you need to scan the perfect square passport photos and upload to the image section. You then need to scan your signature(??!!), if it is for your kid below 5 years, you need to take their right thumb impression or over 5, you need to make them write their name on a piece of paper and scan it and then upload that.
2) Then you need to scan you previous passport, OCI card, etc. convert them into PDF and then upload as supporting documents
3) Then you need to take a print out of the application and a copy of all other documents and 2 perfect square passport-sized photos and make an appointment with VFS UK!
4) Check their website, they are supposed to have several centres in UK but most of them are closed. So like me, if you are located somewhere out of London, Birmingham or Manchester then you are out of luck.
5) The closest centre to me is in Bradford, which is like a 2 hour drive.
6) The office is located right in the very messy and dodgy city centre so parking is going to be a challenge
7) The office is a small door located inside a recruitment agency and they will let you in 10 minutes before your appointed time
8) Oh, obviously they only do working days so you have a take a day off from work
9) Once in the centre, you take a token and even if you have a time-slot booked, prepare to wait for around 45 to 60 minutes (Beware of the parking as there is a 2 hour no-return policy and a very active traffic warden. If our number wasn't called after waiting for an hour, I would have to go and park at a nearby shopping centre!)
10) There was a very friendly gentleman behind the counter (probably the only plus point of this whole experience). I whined about how complicated the process was, I was there only to apply for the renewal of my 5 year old as she had to get a new British passport as it expired after 5 years, which means I will have to reapply for the OCI.
11) I said for the initial OCI, we did everything via post and never had to go in person to any location and this is just a renewal. Everything which the Indian High Commission needs should already been in their system. He just said, I know, but this is the procedure now.
12) I even got mine and the Mrs applications as there was a change of address. For this he genuinely recommended that address change is not compulsory unless you want to burn £50 each!
13) Yes, the application cost about £45 including courier. So we submitted only the compulsory 5 year old's application
14) He took the fee via Debit card and dropped an ultimate bomb after that!!
15) He gave us back the courier cover and receipt and took the printed application form and copies of documents and said that they will be sent to high commission. He asked us to check the status and when the status says the documents are printed and ready, I WILL HAVE TO COME BACK AGAIN AND SUBMIT THE ORIGINAL PASSPORT!!!!!!
16) I lost it!! This was utterly ridiculous and a total joke! What a ridiculous and utter waste or time, money, energy and everything else. I wish the right people see my post and realise how foolish the procure they set is!!!
17) So, I will have to book another day off work just to come and submit the originals and go through the entire trauma of driving early (they only accept this from 8:30 to 11 .. Perfect .. its the rush hour), parking, waiting again!! I mentioned my frustration to the nice gentleman behind the counter saying all this for only a renewal!! It is not even like the initial application!! He just smiled and said, I know!!
18) So now, I booked another day off work and am preparing to start early to get to the dodgy Bradford (I mean, right in the city centre at 9AM, whilst the traffic warden is doing rounds, I saw a family of 10 sitting in the centre square, drinking beer and shouting, just below a red board which says NO ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN PUBLIC!!! Dont think it can get any dodgy than that!!)
So guess you all can understand my frustration. A procedure which can be simply done via post is stretched into unnecessary string of event leading to utter waste of time, money and energy. I am assuming that this is it and I don't have to go back again to collect something else but who knows. I will keep you updated.
And all the above trauma, I need to keep doing it every 5 years until my kid turns 18!!!
And then I do not understand why international address needs to be printed on the OCI card!! Well at least it is not compulsory to change it.
First of all, when I found out that Dual nationality is not accepted by India and that UK allows it, I was fuming! I can understand that they want to restrict certain countries, for very very good reasons ...but they want to restrict hard working Indians, who do nothing else but mind their own business from entering!! How stupid is this!!
I hope all this leads to more people voicing their frustration and they make the procedure very very simple as how it is supposed to be!
Peace.
