How to apply for an OCI card from the US

Step by step

1. Check your categoryYou might be a foreign citizen by birth who never held an Indian passport, or a former Indian citizen. Minors and foreign spouses have their own categories too. VFS Global has a separate document checklist for each.
2. Former Indian citizens: get a surrender certificate firstIf you held an Indian passport and became a US citizen, surrender your Indian passport and get the certificate before you apply. See the surrender certificate below.
3. Fill out the online formOn the OCI services portal (ociservices.gov.in), uploading your photo, signature and supporting documents. Then print the form and sign it. The consulates won’t accept an online form submitted more than 180 days earlier.
4. Register and pay with VFS GlobalOn VFS Global’s US website. You pay the US$275 OCI fee, US$3 for the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) and VFS’s US$19 service charge: US$297 in all. Card payments add 3.75%. Money orders and bank checks are made out to “VFS Services (USA) Inc.”
5. Send or take your application to VFSMail it, or take it in person by appointment, to the VFS center for the consulate that covers where you live. Send self-attested copies (copies you’ve signed as true), not your original certificates.
6. Wait and trackThe Chicago consulate says about 5 to 6 weeks from when it registers your application. OCI can’t be speeded up, so if you must travel sooner, apply for an Indian visa. You track your application on the OCI portal.
7. Download your e-OCI cardSince July 8, 2026, new applicants get a digital e-OCI card instead of a printed one. Once the portal shows your OCI as granted, download it and carry it on your phone with your passport.

Fees in the US

• New OCI card: US$275, plus US$3 ICWF and US$19 VFS charge (US$297)
• Updating a new passport within 3 months: free, online
• Name, nationality or late passport updates (OCI miscellaneous services): US$25, plus US$3 and US$19 (US$47)
• Replacing a lost or damaged card: US$100, plus US$3 and US$19 (US$122)
• Surrender certificate, for former Indian citizens: US$40, plus US$3 and US$19 (US$62)

These are the fees VFS Global and the Chicago consulate list in November 2026. Card payments add 3.75%, and optional courier and text-message services cost extra.

Photo and signature

• Digital photo: a JPEG, square, between 200 × 200 and 1500 × 1500 pixels, up to 500 KB
• Printed photo for the form: in color, at least 51 × 51 mm (2 × 2 inches), and taken in the last 6 months. Head and shoulders, on a plain light background.
• Signature: signed in blue or black ink, then saved as a JPEG three times as wide as it is tall. Between 200 × 67 and 1500 × 500 pixels, up to 500 KB.
• Supporting documents: PDFs of up to 1,000 KB each

Poor photos and signatures, and missing uploads, are among the most common reasons VFS gives for rejected applications.

Documents

If you’re a foreign citizen by birth and never held an Indian passport

• Your current passport (VFS’s checklist asks for at least 9 months’ validity)
• Your birth certificate, showing your parents’ names, date of birth and nationality, with an apostille. Hospital certificates aren’t accepted.
• Proof of your ancestor’s Indian origin, such as copies of their Indian passport, or a domicile or nativity certificate. A parent’s OCI card also works, with the documents it was based on.
• Documents linking you to that ancestor, generation by generation
• Your parents’ marriage certificate, if you apply through them (apostilled if issued outside India)
• Proof of address, and proof of your work or studies
• VFS’s forms: a notarized affidavit in lieu of originals, an undertaking and a consent letter

If you were an Indian citizen

• Your current passport (at least 6 months’ validity)
• Your last Indian passport: copies of the first 2 and last 2 pages
• Your US naturalization certificate
• Your surrender certificate, if you gave up your Indian passport after May 31, 2010. Before that, a copy of the passport stamped as canceled.
• Proof of marital status, and any name change
• Proof of address, and proof of your work or studies
• VFS’s forms: a notarized affidavit in lieu of originals, an undertaking and a consent letter

Documents not in English need a translation by an authorized translator. Your date of birth must match your last Indian passport, if you had one. A US birth or marriage certificate gets its apostille from the state that issued it, usually from the Secretary of State. For where to order them, see where to order certificates.

Former Indian citizens: the surrender certificate

Indian citizens automatically stop being Indian when they voluntarily become citizens of another country. If you had an Indian passport, you surrender it and get a surrender certificate, which you need for your OCI application.

1. Fill out the online formOn the Indian government’s passport portal for missions abroad.
2. Pay and send it through VFS GlobalWith your Indian passport and US naturalization certificate. Since July 1, 2026 the fee is US$40, plus US$3 ICWF and VFS’s US$19.
3. WaitVFS says 7 to 21 working days once it reaches the consulate.

If you kept or used your Indian passport after becoming American, expect a penalty: ask VFS or your consulate. If you’ve lost the passport, VFS has affidavit forms instead.

OCI renewal: new passports, lost cards and other changes

An OCI card doesn’t expire, so there’s no renewal as such. What people call “OCI renewal” is updating your OCI record when you get a new passport, or replacing a card. India made this simpler on June 30, 2026.

• New passport, any age: each time you get one, update your passport details online on the OCI portal, under OCI Miscellaneous Services. Upload the new passport and a photo taken in the last 30 days. Within 3 months, it’s free and you don’t need VFS.
• More than 3 months late: US consulates charge US$25, plus US$3 and VFS’s US$19. You pay through the VFS center for the consulate that issued your OCI. In November 2026 the OCI portal said this late fee is waived until December 31, 2026.
• First new passport after turning 20: you used to need a whole new card. Since June 30, 2026 an online update is enough. Some Indian missions say you’ll also need to give your biometrics (fingerprints and photo) at a mission, or when you next enter or leave India. Ask your consulate how this works in the US.
• Foreign spouses: update with every new passport, adding a declaration that the marriage continues and a copy of your spouse’s Indian passport or OCI card.
• Change of name or nationality: apply online under OCI Miscellaneous Services, then pay US$25, plus US$3 and US$19, through VFS.
• Lost or damaged card: report a loss to the police, then apply online and send the application to VFS. It costs US$100, plus US$3 and US$19.
• Want a digital card? If you have a printed OCI card, you can download an e-OCI free from the OCI portal. Your printed card stays valid.

You can keep traveling to India on your new passport and your OCI card while an update is being processed.

Applying from the UK or Canada

The steps are much the same: the online form on the OCI portal, then the Indian mission’s service provider where you live. Fees are charged in local currency, so check your Indian high commission or consulate’s website.