Consulate General of India, Chicago

Serving The States Of : Illinois, Indiana, lowa,Michigan, Minnesota,
Missouri, Wisconsin

Consulate General of India
Chicago
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Press Release

Extension of validity of PIO Cards till December 31, 2022

The Government of India has decided to accept all Person of Indian Origin (PIO) cards (including handwritten PIO cards), along with valid foreign passport, as valid travel document till 31 December 2022, instead of the earlier deadline of 31 December 2021.

This extension of timeline is subject to the condition that if in the meantime, any deadline is notified by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) thereby making handwritten PIO cards invalid, then such PIO cardholders will have to obtain appropriate visa from Indian Missions/Posts.

All PIO Cardholders are advised to urgently apply for conversion of their PIO Cards into OCI Cards . The relevant link is given below:
https://assets.ctfassets.net/xxg4p8gt3sg6/5JEHYmHadKYV6jeLoeCZUs/632e431e0e96d93a1c023f6091964f63/PIO_OCI_-_Sample_Form.pdf

Extension of Validity of PIO Cards till 31 December 2022

Chicago, 27 December 2021

Consulate General of India
Chicago
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Press Release

OCI Card Reissue Guidelines

Government of India has recently relaxed the requirements for re-issue of OCI Cards. A press release dated August 01, 2021 was issued by the Consulate. The Consulate continue to receive queries on this matter from the Indian Diaspora. Government of India guidelines in this regard are reiterated as under:     

i) OCI cardholder is required to get the OCI card re-issued only once when a new passport is issued after completing 20 years of age. (Applicants may refer to https://services.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/ind/apply-oci-servicesfor the process). The fees for this is US$ 25 and US$ 3 for Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF). The applicant needs to pay US$ 15.90 to the Outsourcing Agency as service charge, and a fee for any Optional Services opted for like Shipping Labels. All such applications for OCI re-issue must be sent to the our authorized service provider VFS Global Centre at the following address by post:

Address: VFS Indian consular Application Centre,
180 N Stetson Avenue, 20th Floor,
Suite No. 2075, Chicago, IL 60601.
E-mail: chiicac@vfsglobal.com

ii) OCI cardholder is required to upload ONLINE a copy of the new passport and a recent photo each time a new passport is issued up to 20 years of age and once after completing 50 years of age.  The uploading of these documents may be done within three months of receipt of the new passport.

iii) Foreign spouse of an Indian Citizen or spouse of foreign origin of an OCI cardholder is required to upload a copy of the new passport and a recent photo ONLINE each time a new passport is issued, along with a declaration on subsisting of marriage, copy of the Indian passport of the Indian spouse/passport & OCI card of the OCI cardholder spouse. 

(In case of para 1(ii) and (iii), please visit https://ociservices.gov.in/welcome and select the option ‘OCI Miscellaneous Services’ for uploading copy of the passport, recent photograph and other documents. This does not involve any submission of documents through the Outsourcing Service Provider or the Embassy and will be Gratis).

(Note: The mandatory requirement of re-issuance of an OCI card each time a new passport is issued to a foreigner up to 20 years of age and once after completing 50 years of age, is dispensed with.)

2. The Government of India has decided to grant further extension of time till 31 December 2021 to get the OCI cards re-issued in accordance with above guidelines.

3. The requirement of carrying old and new passports, along with the OCI card, has been done away with. Henceforth, an OCI cardholder traveling on the strength of existing OCI card bearing old passport number is not required to carry the old passport. However, carrying the new (current) passport is mandatory.

4. An applicant may go through the following link for FAQs :

https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/OCIFAQs_23072021.pdf

5. For guidelines on OCI miscellaneous services, please go through the following link:

https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/OCIMISCELLANEOUSSERVICES_Guidelines_16072021.pdf

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Chicago, 31 August 2021

Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI)

It is informed that VFS Global is the authorized outsourced service provider for OCI services for the Embassy of India, Washington DC and its Consulates in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York and San Francisco. Its operations have started from 04 November 2020. 

All the OCI applicants are requested to visit the link  for details on OCI application submission.

Applicants residing in the consular jurisdiction [Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota] of the Consulate General of India, Chicago and seeking services regarding Overseas Indian Citizenship may visit the web link https://www.vfsglobal.com/india/usa  for guidance details on OCI Application submission. .

Apart from the applicable Government of India OCI fees, the applicants will also be required to pay US$ 15.90 as service charge to VFS Global and US$ 3 as contribution to Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF).The details of the VFS Global Application Centre are as under:

VFS Global Application Centre

180 N Stetson Avenue,

20th Floor, Suite# 2075, Chicago, Illinois 60601

Website -https://visa.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/ind

In case of any specific queries in this regard, please email to oci.chicago@mea.gov.in

It may also be noted that due to the ongoing Covid pandemic, there will be no walk-in service at VFS Global until further notice.  All applications shall only be dealt with by post.

Consulate General of India
Chicago
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Press Release

OCI Card Reissue Guidelines

According to the recent relaxation in requirements for OCI Card re-issue:

(i) Mandatory requirement of re-issuance of an OCI card each time a new passport is issued to a foreigner up to 20 years of age and once after completing 50 years of age, is dispensed with; 

(ii) OCI cardholder is required to get the OCI card re-issued only once when a new passport is issued after completing 20 years of age. (Applicants may refer to https://services.vfsglobal.com/usa/en/ind/apply-oci-services for the process and applicable fees);

(iii) OCI cardholder is required to upload ONLINE a copy of the new passport and a recent photo each time a new passport is issued up to 20 years of age and once after completing 50 years of age.  The uploading of these documents may be done within three months of receipt of the new passport; 

(iv) Foreign spouse of an Indian Citizen or spouse of foreign origin of an OCI cardholder is required to upload a copy of the new passport and a recent photo ONLINE each time a new passport is issued, along with a declaration on subsisting of marriage, copy of the Indian passport of the Indian spouse/passport & OCI card of the OCI cardholder spouse. 

(In case of (iii) and (iv), please visit https://ociservices.gov.in/welcome and select the option ‘OCI Miscellaneous Services’ for uploading copy of the passport, recent photograph and other documents. This does not involve any submission of documents through the Outsourcing Service Provider or the Embassy and will be Gratis).

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Chicago, 01August 2021