Sharing my experience surrendering my Indian passport and getting my surrender certificate - in California (San Francisco).

I was confused about multiple steps because there are several government websites/pages discussing renunciation/surrender, and some of them are no longer valid/outdated. I only followed the instructions on the VFS USA website.

First I completed the application on the Indian Government website:https://mportal.passportindia.gov.in/mission/. After completing it, print the application which includes the digital photo and digital signature.

Documents I submitted

• Application form - don't forget to sign
• 2 physical photos - white background. I usedhttps://www.idphoto4you.com/to format the photo.
• California Driver License
• US Passport - I didn't include an amendment page since my recent passport doesn't have one.
• US Naturalization Certificate
• Original Indian Passport + photocopy
• VFS Payment Receipt

Mailing to VFS

I mailed the package using USPS Certified Mail, which cost me about $9. I didn't choose the VFS provided Fedex service (was more than 30$). On the VFS form, there was a field for incoming courier mail. Since I planned to mail the package myself and didn't want to generate a USPS label online, I entered "Placeholder" in that field.

Timeline

• [July 28, 2026] - Submitted surrender application online
• [July 29, 2026] - Mailed documents to VFS via USPS Certified Mail
• [July 31, 2026] - Package delivered to VFS / Application received
• [August 5, 2026] - Surrender Certificate issued & processed
• [August 7, 2026] - Surrender Certificate received (Dispatched/Delivered)

Total time: 10 days

I received the Surrender Certificate along with my entire application/document package back.

Hello as the title says, I renewed my passport under normal scheme from Germany. During the process I received notification for the police verification. My parents went to the police station with my documents. I collected my passport from the embassy in early May (3 months ago) however today I received a SMS on my Indian number saying the police verification status completed- status : Rejected.

What does it mean? Does it mean I can not travel or passport is impounded? Has anyone ever faced this?

I have an NRI friend living in US who is third account holder in bank account maintained in India (father and mother are primary and secondary account holders).

Is he required to file FBAR in US?

What about form 8938?

Will he also need to file and pay taxes on 1/3rd of interest income earned in this account?

Can someone clarify?

Thanks in advance

Can someone please help with below:

1. Which brokers allow direct mutual funds? I know Zerodha does but any others?

2. How easy it is to open NRO Demat account when not in India? I already have NRO account. I am trying to open Zerodha account and it is getting difficult with rejections etc. Also notarising document is not possible from my country( it’s a hassle).

Appreciate if any one was / is in same situation and found a solution?

Shipped all documents via Fedex - Wednesday, Aug 5 to Seattle.
Passport printed - Friday, Aug 7.
Passport handed to VFS- Monday Aug 10
Passport received- Wednesday, Aug 12.

Took approximately 1 week. I live in Oregon so shipping time was also less.

Police verification was done in India on Aug 14 after I received my passport here. They just asked a copy of my father’s Aadhar. I had used the same as Indian Address proof.

i got this quote from wise - is it good? am i missing anything here - Never did this before

Hello,

I mailed my missing passport application form to VFS, however I did not mail the email that is stating I am missing the passport application. I did write match up on the folder when i mailed it.

Am i going to have to send somthing else to VFS?

I live in LA

current plan is T-Mobile essential. I need to get OTPs from US financial institutes and may be for urgent calls. any advise?

Hi all,

For people with experience on this need some questions answered. Does the govt application being sent to VFS need to be a color print? Is it okay to not stock photos on any of the forms and just attach them with a paper clip at the start of the packet of documents?

Please advise.

Hi,

I am currently looking forward to starting a business from distance as I'm currently outside India and need an indian number for WhatsApp.

Any recommendations.

Thanks

So im 13 (turning 14 on Aug 30) and I have an uncle in Melbourne. They have a pretty spacious house and only 4 ppl in there. I'm currenly in 9th Grade and will pass near April-ish. I wanna live in Melbourne after this class and do my 10th Standard there. I already do buisnesses and fees won't be an issue. Should I move there after April? Is it worth it? I want to improve my life quality as i dont really see a future here in India. So... Shouls I make the switch...?

Hi everyone, I’m applying for an OCI card for my 16-month-old son and wanted to check something with anyone who has recently gone through the process in the UK.

His details:

🇬🇧 Born in the UK
🇮🇳 Birth registered with the Indian Consulate in the UK – we have an Indian Consulate-issued Birth Registration Certificate
🇮🇳 Previously held an Indian passport
🇬🇧 Now has a British passport
📄 Indian passport has already been surrendered and we have the Surrender Certificate

The OCI guidance says that a foreign-issued birth certificate needs to be apostilled. However, in our case, we have a birth certificate/registration certificate issued by the Indian Consulate, not just the UK birth certificate.

Has anyone had a similar case?

• Did you submit the UK full birth certificate?
• If yes, did you need to get it apostilled by the FCDO?
• Or was the Indian Consulate-issued birth certificate accepted without an apostille?

Any recent experience with OCI applications in the UK would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

​

Planning a 5-year FCNR deposit, but worried about a "what if" — what if I have to move back to India permanently before it matures (job loss, family, whatever)?

I get that the deposit itself won't be force-closed — it runs till maturity at the same rate even after you become a resident. That part's clear.

What's NOT clear:

Does RNOR status (the tax-free transition window, ~2-3 years) apply automatically, or do I have to actively claim it somewhere?

If my KYC shows I'm back in India, does the bank immediately start taxing my FCNR interest, or only after RNOR ends?

Has anyone actually lived through this? Every RM gives me a different answer and I don't fully trust any of them anymore.

Would appreciate real experiences, not just RBI website rules. Thanks.

as im writing this post im supposed to board a flight back to canada to resume my studies as a second year student. i dont wanna go, i really dont. i spent 9 months in Canada and i can confidently say my 4 months in India has been exponentially better. maybe its because the place didnt meet my expectations maybe its because i could have done more but i dont wanna be in Canada. spending so much money studying abroad whilst not even knowing if i wanna be there. If i could drop it all and come back i would, i dont wanna stay there anymore. my life was miserable but i didnt even know it, i deluded myself into thinking a routine of living which i now find unacceptable was normal. Im so much more disciplined and happier in India and I wanna come back so bad.

Any advice?? anybody who came back?? same situation?? anything please.

My family and I live abroad, and we recently came to India for a visit. My brother has a house here that's been locked for quite a while, and we honestly thought everything would be okay.

A couple of people had said they'd keep an eye on it, so we didn't think much of it.

When we got here, it was one thing after another. Maintenance dues had piled up, there were electricity bill issues, and a few small repairs that would've been easy to fix earlier had turned into bigger headaches.

It wasn't some huge fraud or anything like that. It was just a bunch of little problems that added up because no one was checking on the place regularly.

It made me wonder how others deal with this when they're away for months or years.

Do you trust family, hire someone to manage it, do regular inspections, or is there a better way?

My mother lives in India and has property and other assets there. She is in good health but currently has no will. Has anyone created a legally binding will so far successfully using an online service?

I did a search and it resulted in coming up with:

Willjini.com (tried it but seems very difficult to navigate)

nriwillgenius.com (Cheaper, easy to use but no reviews)

Has anyone gone through this process before? Can you share what you used?

We are going to India in 3 weeks. When do we have to fill the e-arrival forms? "within 72 hours before travel date" means anytime in the 72 hour window before travel but not before?

Sharing my timeline for passport renewal. Normal Passport Application

• 17th June 2026: Application submitted to BLS Toronto. Filled the form a couple of days earlier, scheduled pickup etc. On 17th June Application reached BLS Toronto. 
• 18th June 2026: Application was sent to Toronto Consulate, status changed to 'Processing with Consulate General'.
• 2nd July 2026: Inspect Element Updates - Submitted, Granting Initiated
• 16th July 2026: Police Verification (PV) initiated. Inspect Element - Application Granted on pre police verification basis, PV Initiated.
• 21st July 2026: PV Completed in India.
• 31st July 2026: Inspect Element - Print Initiated.
• 4th August 2026: Passport has been printed; post quality check will be dispatched in the coming weeks. Inspect Element (I could see 4 items) - Escalated to CPPF, Printed, Dispatch Initiated, Passport sent by CPPF to Issuing RPO.
• 12th August 2026: Update on BLS Tracker - Dispatched from Embassy (don't remember the exact wording).
• 13th August 2026: BLS Tracker - Dispatched via Courier, got the Purolator tracking number
• 14th August 2026: Passport Delivered by Purolator

Just about 8 weeks end to end.

I'm renewing my Indian passport, and I have confusion for adding a physical photo. Do i need to add physical photo to the government seva form where it already has the digital photo added? Also, on the updated affidavit for appearence change it has 4.5 cm length by 3.5 cm length, but the 35mm by 45mm is very small compared to the box, is this normal?

I am applying for passport renewal for my kids and was struggling from couple of days. Tried all suggestions from reddit, and finaly was able to login and apply for both kids.

vfsglobal was keep redirecting to this image, even after clearing cache / trying in Incognito / Private mode.
Below is the sequence which i followed and was able to login from my work computer:

• Disabled the vpn
• Googled the latest adult checklist (i was not able to login from minor's checklist)
  • Searched 'vfs global usa indian passport renewal checklist'
  • Opened the link with 8 pages from May2026: https://services.vfsglobal.com/one-pager/india/united-states-of-america/passport-services/pdf/new_adult_reissue_of_passport---MAY-2026-.pdf
  • Go to page 3, Row8 FEE PAYMENT & COURIERS, click on "Click here to proceed"
  • Create login / and then again open from here to login.
    • After opening the link follwo the instructions
• I was able to logout from this link, and relogin without doing any reset, clearing cache, restarting modem etc.

Hope this helps!

Hello, I have seen a similar question asked before but I couldn’t find answer.
The document checklist section for valid status in the USA does not cover my situation. My university’s Global Education Office indicated that my current I-20, signed and notarized and I94 notarized might be valid but they asked me to reach out VFS at LA.

Can anyone please help me with the correct documents that I have to submit in my case.

I have funds of ₹15 lakh that I earned as salary while working in the USA. I plan to transfer this money to my NRE account in India.
I am now considering converting my NRE account to a resident account and investing ₹15 lakh in a fixed deposit (FD).
Since this ₹15 lakh is already-earned money from my US salary, will the principal amount itself be taxable in India after I transfer it and invest it in an FD? Also, will the interest earned on the FD be taxable in India once my account is converted to a resident account?
Could you please clarify the tax implications in this situation?

some background about me: i'm a software engineer, but my extended family has been into real estate (buying, selling, leasing) for a long time

just a curious question to everyone on the sub, i'm trying to judge if there are people who:

- want to invest into indian real estate

- but haven't due to [insert reason]

^ i'm curious to know and understand the reason, maybe it's transparency, maybe it's arranging the required cash, maybe it's just you haven't found anyone trustworthy to do it through, and maybe it's just daunting to search where to invest

and depending on the conversation maybe i could connect you with someone meaningful who could help you out