OCI for Minor question when parents are unmarried

[munishagarwal]

I am applying for my child's OCI card. I have all the necessary documents including parental consent, OCI card for 1 parent, the other parent is American, old cancelled indian passport, birth certificate etc. I am getting tripped up as VFS requires a marriage certificate. We are not married. How can we overcome this?

Seems very 1950s that they require a marriage certificate when the parents are both on the birth certificate and also have provided consent.

[marshiker]

in same boat..please reply when you know the answer

did you contact vfs people

[arkaa]

I believe, instead of the marriage certificate, you can attach a notarized affidavit signed by both parents saying that a marriage certificate is not available as you are not legally married and the child was born out of wedlock. As long as the child's birth certificate has both parents name (matches the names in their passports), I think they will accept it.

See the checklist for Minor's OCI application - https://www.vfsglobal.com/one-pager/...inor-final.pdf

It says "If no marriage certificate is available, reasons for same to be indicated".

But best to email your local consulate and get the confirmation before paying the fee.

Edit: IMO, contacting VFS is useless. They do not know anything other than what is already on the website. In fact if you email or ask a question, they basically copy-paste the answer from the FAQ or read it out to you over the phone.