Relocation to India - Home

User-agent: Mediapartners-Google By Rajkamal Rao 

You are here because, most likely, you are a person of Indian origin who has lived in the West for many years, and are seriously thinking about returning to India for good.  But you are not sure if doing so is a good idea.  And even if you have already made a decision to return, you would like a review of the entire move process.

Or you are a slightly older child of such a family who would like to digest these facts at your own pace rather than at the dining table when your parents are making important decisions - those that can have a profound impact on your life.

Or you are an Indian who has not caught up on recent developments in India and would like an overview.  Perhaps reading up on our blog may make you change your mind about India - or cement it even more.

Or you are a freelance foreigner who has visited India previously but is now considering a temporary relocation to India for either work or pleasure.  You have been to India before but have never really lived there.  You have enjoyed coffee table books about India but not a blog which describes how life may change for you.

Or you manage the Global Mobility team of a company fielding inquiries from your employees about potential expat opportunities or transfers to India.

Or you operate a business which advises clients on how to set up subsidiaries in India and want to educate them about what to expect when senior executives move their families to India.

This site is intended to serve all the above audiences.  We have included a vast menu of topics and provided overviews wherever possible so that all readers are on the proverbial “same page”.  India veterans who know these details may simply skip over the content with a click, but a cursory review may still be beneficial.  As India watchers ourselves, we were surprised to learn so many facts especially in the finance, tax, schooling and the physical move areas.

And, we have included an expansive section on comparing life in the US with that in India.  We recognize that every India watcher can come up with his/her private list of factors and reasonable individuals may disagree with our current state assessment.  At a minimum, we hope these differences trigger an active debate as decision time comes near.

Our site is therefore a practical guide on what to do after you have made a decision to return.  In fact, we even published a book that's available on Amazon for just $2.99.  Learn more about our book and its difference from our site.

Many things have changed life in India for the better; others are for the worse.  And quite a few have remained not quite different from the way they were 26 years ago when we first left India.  Our primary motivation for launching this blog - as against the goal of our book - was to share with you our fascination with Indian life.  Check out our section on India Live! which we hope to update several times a week.

We lived in the United States for 26 years and have now relocated to India for good.  We shipped to India all that we owned, rented out our US home, enrolled our 10 year old in school, bought a car and a motorcycle in India, signed a rental lease, received our shipment intact, signed up with service providers and launched our start up.  In short, our transition is complete.

We hope that no matter what your reason is to be here, you enjoy it as much as we did developing this blog.  Happy reading!

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Please click here for Site Navigation tips or our Sitemap

Last Name mismatch PAN Card/PAN Master

SOLVED. Here is a solution that will work - guaranteed 100% - because the information came from the good people at the TDS Central Processing Cell. I 

For a government agency, their customer service is world-class. Their eagerness to help was nothing short of remarkable. They took my case seriously and gave me multiple choices to help address the issue. They were polite and professional all the way. They stand as a shining example of what a government agency can do. No calls, by the way. The entire resolution was by email. You can reach them at contactus@tdscpc.gov.in

When it comes to PAN last name mismatches, each problem is unique. But the following approach will fix it.

1. Examine your PAN card. The fifth character of your ten character alphanumeric PAN number is vital. In my case, this is R and it represents the first character of your last name. ****R*****
   
   If your name is Anil Kumar Jain and the fifth character is a J, then, most likely your last name is Jain. If the fifth character is a K, the last name could be Kumar, Kumar Jain, Kumar Jain Anil, or some weird combination. So how do we know what the last name is?
2. You now need another Income Tax document to be sure. Most people would look at their Traces Form 26AS document that lists their tax withholdings for the quarter or year, correct? After all, getting to your Form 26AS record is so easy to do. You can get to the TRACES website from the Income Tax portal or from your bank, which links to the TRACES website. But the TDS CPC folks told me that Form 26AS is an unreliable source to verify the PAN last name.
3. The only sure method is to verify details from Form -16/16A/27D (generated through the TRACES website) issued to you by your employer/deductor. It turns out that the “Name and address of the Employee/Deductee” fields are directly drawn from the PAN Master/Database. The name structure in Form 16/16A/27D is in the following order- First Name, Middle Name and Surname/Last Name. But even this may not fully solve the issue as you can see from my case below.
4. My Form 16A, which I requested from my deductor, showed my name as Rajkamal Rao. My PAN card shows R as the fifth character. I was attempting to register on the TRACES NRI website. Luckily, this website lets you try multiple times without limit, so all you need is patience.
1. From Form 16A, I keyed in “Rao” into the Traces NRI website. It failed.
2. Frustrated, I sent an email back to TDC CPC. They suggested that I key in the full name, Rajkamal Rao, in the last name field. I did and it worked!
5. Conclusion: Rely only on Form 16/16A/27D because this alone contains your PAN name information exactly as it is recorded in the PAN Master. All other documents that show your name (PAN Card, Form 26AS) are not reliable sources.
1. The name structure in Form 16/16A/27D is: First Name, Middle Name and Surname/Last Name.
2. If you still run into issues (see my example in bullet point 4 above), contact the TDC CPC at contactus@tdscpc.gov.in. I promise that you will not be disappointed with the quality of their response.

Farewell, Ramanna Doddappa!

By Rajkamal Rao
May 1, 2021

Mr. Seetharam Raichur, 1932 - 2021

It is not often that we are inspired by somebody that we know. There are numerous public figures on television and in history that have played a part in influencing us. But someone close to you, a relative, a friend in such a role?

It is heartbreaking that yesterday, I lost one of my uncles to Covid. He was 88 years old and lived an extraordinary life, full of vigor and ambition. He was the quintessential athlete and played badminton, among other racket sports, for at least 70 years. To his last day, he always cared about how he looked, and in this sense, he acted as someone from the British royal family. Secretly, I'm sure he wished he was a Royal.

So why do I feel bad when someone who has lived life to his fullest potential passes? Isn't that what we are all supposed to do ultimately? Pass on? Exactly how many more years would I have wished for him to live this way?

I feel terrible because I no longer have him as an icon [full credit to my cousin Shashi who correctly glorified him with the term "icon."] And that there will never be an individual like him who helped shape who I became.

My first real experience with him was during the dry days following the Indian emergency, 1975 to 1977. I was a teenager, and everything around us was steeped in either autocracy or good old Socialism. My uncle and I never engaged in a conversation about politics. But watching him, I began to experience what capitalism was all about.

He was ambitious. Resigning from a junior-level position at a multinational engineering company, he launched a small business to import machinery and tools to serve the Indian industry. The exciting thing was that he was not trained as an engineer. The running joke in the family was that he could not even fix a kink using the simplest of devices at home. Yet, he could speak the language of engineers, discussing machine tolerances, advanced metallurgy, extrusion, and computer numerically controlled equipment, as though he was a designated expert.

I remember his very first business trip to then West Germany. We had all gone to the small airport in Bangalore to see him off. We watched him, immaculately dressed for the flight, walk across the tarmac and make his way up the steps of the Indian Airlines Airbus to Bombay, en route to a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt. Germany was his first-ever international destination, which he visited dozens of times during his illustrious business career. Although he often stayed in the USA because of family and traveled to many other countries, including Russia, Germany remained his first love.

Standing in the gallery that day as a 16-year old, I wondered if I ever would walk in his steps, both literally and figuratively. Walking down airport tarmacs was a privilege reserved only for the accomplished.

Back in 1978, we eagerly awaited his return from Europe. For me, it was not in anticipation of any trinkets or candy that he might have brought for us youth. I wanted to hear his experiences firsthand.

And my uncle readily obliged. Always measured in his words, he described his trip with anecdotes that have to this day stuck.

India at the time was a bureaucratic boondoggle, where public officials were known to be unfriendly to, well, members of the public. In one of his most memorable stories, he told those of us who had gathered around his sitting room in his palatial Ranoji Rao Road home that when he presented his passport on arrival at Frankfurt airport, the immigration official's demeanor was dour as befits every such official worldwide. But after stamping his travel documents, the official smiled at him and said, "Happy Birthday, Mr. Seetharam; Welcome to Germany!"

And there was this other story when he boarded a train from Frankfurt to Hanover. He revealed his nervousness about traveling by himself on a German train, unable to read signs in time to alight from the train. [He never formally learned German but could manage basic conversation.] His associate smiled and asked to examine his timetable. "Your train arrives in Hanover at 11:53 AM. Just look at your watch, and get down at whatever station the train pulls into at 11:53. You will be in Hanover!"

For a young person looking west every day to escape the worst days of the Indian License Raj, these stories helped plant a virus that spread throughout my body. I was infected with the western bug. I began to learn German but spent more time in the Max Mueller Bhavan Bibliothek (library), glossing over the pages of Der Spiegel and ADAC Motorwelt, salivating over automobile ads.

The next few years were hell for me. I desperately wanted to seek the greener pastures of the west, but my family's means were too meager to pay for my graduate education. Earning an assistantship at an American graduate school was a prerequisite if I could realize my dream. These awards were hard to come by - and there were numerous impediments at the U.S. Consulate's office in Madras, where visa rejections in 1985 were rampant.

In 1986, as I awaited hearing from various U.S. universities about my applications to attend graduate school, my uncle visited us in Bangalore. After the usual pleasantries, he handed me an envelope and asked me to open it. Nervous, I pulled the single sheet of foolscap paper and unfolded it. It was from Deutsche Gardner Denver GmbH, an industrial powerhouse, with an internship offer in Germany for three months. My uncle had convinced DGD that I was worthy of this position without an application or an interview.

I was elated. If America turned me down, I knew that I could enter Germany. That walk on the tarmac was no longer impossible. And while I never needed to accept the DGD internship, on Sep 14, 1986, I followed in his footsteps by boarding a flight to Bombay en route to the USA to begin graduate school. My uncle's travel agent booked me on Lufthansa. I have been in America ever since.

Alone among elders in our family, he was an avid reader of American westerns and British authors. A member of the Bowring Institute, he would bring home novels by Louis L'amour, Max Brand, Alistair Maclean, Frederick Forsyth, and James Hadley Chase. I became an avid reader of British writers mainly because of him, a passion I nurse to this day.     

Over the years, distance separated him and me from communicating as frequently as when I was young. But we continued to stay in touch. I would occasionally send him my opinion pieces that appeared in the Hindu. He would always respond, encouraging me to write more. He almost seemed like he was a fan of my writing.

He probably would have liked this piece the most. I regret that I never once told him what an extraordinary influence he had been to me. The way he was going on with life, I could never think of him as past tense, not even when my father died, although both were about the same age.  He was near-indestructible, but mighty Covid spares no one. Not even my uncle.

So, Doddappa, I would ordinarily have wished you a fond Auf Wiedersehen (see you again) like I did all these years. It is with profound regret that I am forced to wish you a letzte Verabschiedung - final farewell.

Relocation to India - Home

User-agent: Mediapartners-Google Disallow: User-agent: * Disallow: /search Allow: / Sitemap: http://www.relocationtoindia.com/sitemap.xml By Rajkamal Rao 

You are here because, most likely, you are a person of Indian origin who has lived in the West for many years, and are seriously thinking about returning to India for good.  But you are not sure if doing so is a good idea.  And even if you have already made a decision to return, you would like a review of the entire move process.

Or you are a slightly older child of such a family who would like to digest these facts at your own pace rather than at the dining table when your parents are making important decisions - those that can have a profound impact on your life.

Or you are an Indian who has not caught up on recent developments in India and would like an overview.  Perhaps reading up on our blog may make you change your mind about India - or cement it even more.

Or you are a freelance foreigner who has visited India previously but is now considering a temporary relocation to India for either work or pleasure.  You have been to India before but have never really lived there.  You have enjoyed coffee table books about India but not a blog which describes how life may change for you.

Or you manage the Global Mobility team of a company fielding inquiries from your employees about potential expat opportunities or transfers to India.

Or you operate a business which advises clients on how to set up subsidiaries in India and want to educate them about what to expect when senior executives move their families to India.

This site is intended to serve all the above audiences.  We have included a vast menu of topics and provided overviews wherever possible so that all readers are on the proverbial “same page”.  India veterans who know these details may simply skip over the content with a click, but a cursory review may still be beneficial.  As India watchers ourselves, we were surprised to learn so many facts especially in the finance, tax, schooling and the physical move areas.

And, we have included an expansive section on comparing life in the US with that in India.  We recognize that every India watcher can come up with his/her private list of factors and reasonable individuals may disagree with our current state assessment.  At a minimum, we hope these differences trigger an active debate as decision time comes near.

Our site is therefore a practical guide on what to do after you have made a decision to return.  In fact, we even published a book that's available on Amazon for just $2.99.  Learn more about our book and its difference from our site.

Many things have changed life in India for the better; others are for the worse.  And quite a few have remained not quite different from the way they were 26 years ago when we first left India.  Our primary motivation for launching this blog - as against the goal of our book - was to share with you our fascination with Indian life.  Check out our section on India Live! which we hope to update several times a week.

We lived in the United States for 26 years and have now relocated to India for good.  We shipped to India all that we owned, rented out our US home, enrolled our 10 year old in school, bought a car and a motorcycle in India, signed a rental lease, received our shipment intact, signed up with service providers and launched our start up.  In short, our transition is complete.

We hope that no matter what your reason is to be here, you enjoy it as much as we did developing this blog.  Happy reading!

Please click here to review our Terms and Conditions/Privacy Policy
Please click here for Site Navigation tips or our Sitemap

OCI Re-issue for new passport

By Rajkamal Rao 

The Indian Government has issued a series of new rules about the validity of OCI cards and has clarified that cardholders will have to reapply for their OCIs when they acquire a fresh passport.

1. For an applicant who is 20 years of age or younger, the OCI must be re-issued each time a new passport is acquired.


2. For an applicant who is 50 years of age or older, the OCI must be re-issued just once after a new passport is acquired. 


3. For an applicant who is 21 to 49 years of age, there is no need to re-issue the OCI each time a new passport is acquired. Cardholders may travel with their OCI stapled to the original passport that was used at the time of the OCI application (which contains the U-visa), along with the current valid passport.

On March 16, 2020, I completed the formalities to apply for the re-issue of my OCI under category 2 above. On May 12, I received my new OCI - a processing time of approximately 8 weeks. Considering that India went into Covid lockdown during the entire period, I must say that the processing was relatively quick. It was also painless - I had no inquiries or requests for new documentation. And the automatic status updates were world-class. I knew exactly where my application was throughout the process.

Why did I apply for an OCI re-issue? I had acquired a new U.S. passport in April 2019, and I turned 50 a few years ago, so I was at risk of being denied entry to India after June 30, 2020 if I didn't obtain the re-issued OCI.

The steps to completing the application are fairly straightforward and entirely online. But as in the case of most India-based websites, the process is designed by computer programmers who expect all users to be proficient in coding. Exceptions are handled in a convoluted manner and the instructions are replete with what you must do and what you cannot do. Further, the guidance is bundled together with those applying for their OCI for the first time, so, deciphering what to do makes us shake our heads in wonder with a simple question, "Why can't things be easier?"

My attempt here is to document a user-guide to help to make the process easier.

The application for OCI re-issue has to be made on two different websites, one after the other.

1. You will start your application on this site operated by the Government of India, and by choosing the OCI Miscellaneous Services option from the menu.
   
   There are two parts to this application - Part A and Part B, and the application is not considered complete until both parts are properly filled. The most annoying aspects of the application are the limitations of file sizes for uploads and the format requirements. Why websites should constrain file sizes in this day and age of fast computers and cheap storage beats me.


2. You will then complete your application on the Cox and Kings website. Cox and Kings is the company retained by Indian missions in the U.S. to process all consular applications. This step is relatively easier to complete.

I shall assume that your OCI re-issue business case is fairly simple: Your original OCI was issued before 2010 and you have since changed your employment details, address, email address, and phone number. The Indian government has a record of all of these details from when you first applied for your OCI. If none of these particulars have changed, then, the business case becomes simpler.

If your original OCI was issued after 2010, you have to follow the steps for "Renunciation plus OCI." That is, you must first apply for the 'Renunciation of Indian Citizenship'. Only after you receive your Renunciation Certificate or your Deemed Surrender Certificate can you apply for your OCI re-issue. If you already have these certificates, read on.

Before you even go online, make sure that you have the following things handy.

• Two passport photos that are different from the one in your new passport. The photo requirements are long, so it is best to go to CVS or Walgreens and have your photos professionally taken. Yes, I know that in the age of iPhones, you can take photos on your own and save about $12, but the hassle is just not worth it. CVS uses Kodak Biometric Prints technology designed to meet the stringent requirements of U.S. passports, so, you can rest assured that your photos will pass muster at the India site.
  
  When you get your prints, the Kodak system will certify that your photos will comply with a long list of parameters including, image size, width/height ratio, correct head size, the position of the head in the photo, image brightness, color balance, whether eyes are open and looking straight ahead, mouth closed and not smiling, the glare of eyeglasses, and horizontal/vertical face position.


• CVS does not provide a digital copy of the prints, so you must scan your photo to a size no more than 200KB. Only .jpg or .jpeg formats are allowed.


• Scan the photo page of your current passport as a .pdf limited to 1 Mb in size. If your .pdf comes out to be larger in size, use Adobe or a free online service, such as Smallpdf.


• On a white sheet of paper, sign your name and scan your signature as a .jpg or .jpeg file limited to 200 KB in size. No matter how hard you try, modern printers will create file sizes that are larger because the entire white space of the page is also scanned. So, use Paint, cut out only your signature and save it. The file size should easily fall below the 200 KB limit.


• You will need to provide evidence of your address as a .pdf file limited to 1 MB in size. You may scan your driver's license or submit a utility bill from the last 3 months which can be easily downloaded as a .pdf file. Again note the file size limitation. 


• Dig into your records and obtain details of your last Indian passport before you first obtained your OCI. You will need the passport number. If you don't have this number, you may use 000000 when you're asked for this information. 


• Have the OCI cards of all of your family members - the site will ask for this information.


• Have your updated employment details as a .pdf file limited to 1 MB in size. This is relevant if you changed jobs from the first time you applied for your OCI - so have your offer of employment, or certificate of employment from HR ready. If you're now running your own business, make sure to have your LLC articles of incorporation, or franchise tax information, ready.

Going online - Step 1: India Govt. Site

Now, you are ready to go online. Start your application on this site operated by the Government of India, and by choosing the OCI Miscellaneous Services option from the menu.

There are two parts to this application - Part A and Part B, and the application is not considered complete until both parts are properly filled. As you're filling out your form, you're given a temporary application ID. Note this down so that if you need to save your session and come back to the application later, you can.

We assumed that you will change your employment details, address, email address, and phone number. On the page which asks you for details of what particulars you want to change, make sure you check the address box. This alone opens up fields wherein you can key in the new information. If you don't check this box, the application will assume your old details and send you emails and SMSs to what the government had at the time of your first application.

Once you're done with all the document and image uploads, the site will give you a web file reference number. At this point, your application is considered submitted and cannot be edited. You can always upload supporting documentation - by using the menu item on the home page and using your webfile number - but you cannot edit any entries.

The system will generate a .pdf file of the completed application - look for it in the downloads section of your browser. If you don't find it, you can go to the menu item on the home page and regenerate a .pdf of your application.

You will need to print the completed application and sign it. As you review the printed form, if you realize that you made a mistake in the entries, you have to go back and do the whole thing again.

If you did everything right, you should promptly get an email response from the Govt. of India acknowledging that your application was received.

Going online - Step 2: Cox and Kings website 

With the web file number handy, you will proceed to the CKGS site. Cox and Kings is the company retained by Indian missions in the U.S. to process all consular applications. CKGS handles the paperwork based on jurisdiction. If you're in Texas, you will send copies of your supporting documents (and the original OCI card and two original passport photos) to their Houston office.

From the dropdown, choose that you want to apply for the "OCI Re-issue for a new passport."  

It is best to pay $75 and send your signed OCI application and supporting documents by FedEx Standard Overnight. The $75 fee includes FedEx charges to the CKGS office and the return shipment of the re-issued OCI card by FedEx, plus all CKGS and Indian consulate fees. The Cox and Kings site is not accepting credit card payments at the time of writing, so, you will need a money order or cashier's check to cover the fees.

You will need to print three items from the CKGS site. The "Affidavit in Lieu of Originals" document is something that you have to get notarized, so be prepared to pay a visit to your favorite notary. You will print out the FedEx label and lastly, the Order Form, which has bar codes for processing your application. You will need to attach these bar codes below the FedEx label.

Once you're done handing your package to the FedEx office, it takes about 6-8 weeks for successful processing of your application.

OCI Re-issue for new passport

By Rajkamal Rao 

The Indian Government has issued a series of new rules about the validity of OCI cards and has clarified that cardholders will have to reapply for their OCIs when they acquire a fresh passport.

1. For an applicant who is 20 years of age or younger, the OCI must be re-issued each time a new passport is acquired.


2. For an applicant who is 50 years of age or older, the OCI must be re-issued just once after a new passport is acquired. 


3. For an applicant who is 21 to 49 years of age, there is no need to re-issue the OCI each time a new passport is acquired. Cardholders may travel with their OCI stapled to the original passport that was used at the time of the OCI application (which contains the U-visa), along with the current valid passport.

On March 16, 2020, I completed the formalities to apply for the re-issue of my OCI under category 2 above. On May 12, I received my new OCI - a processing time of approximately 8 weeks. Considering that India went into Covid lockdown during the entire period, I must say that the processing was relatively quick. It was also painless - I had no inquiries or requests for new documentation. And the automatic status updates were world-class. I knew exactly where my application was throughout the process.

Why did I apply for an OCI re-issue? I had acquired a new U.S. passport in April 2019, and I turned 50 a few years ago, so I was at risk of being denied entry to India after June 30, 2020 if I didn't obtain the re-issued OCI.

The steps to completing the application are fairly straightforward and entirely online. But as in the case of most India-based websites, the process is designed by computer programmers who expect all users to be proficient in coding. Exceptions are handled in a convoluted manner and the instructions are replete with what you must do and what you cannot do. Further, the guidance is bundled together with those applying for their OCI for the first time, so, deciphering what to do makes us shake our heads in wonder with a simple question, "Why can't things be easier?"

My attempt here is to document a user-guide to help to make the process easier.

The application for OCI re-issue has to be made on two different websites, one after the other.

1. You will start your application on this site operated by the Government of India, and by choosing the OCI Miscellaneous Services option from the menu.
   
   There are two parts to this application - Part A and Part B, and the application is not considered complete until both parts are properly filled. The most annoying aspects of the application are the limitations of file sizes for uploads and the format requirements. Why websites should constrain file sizes in this day and age of fast computers and cheap storage beats me.


2. You will then complete your application on the Cox and Kings website. Cox and Kings is the company retained by Indian missions in the U.S. to process all consular applications. This step is relatively easier to complete.

I shall assume that your OCI re-issue business case is fairly simple: Your original OCI was issued before 2010 and you have since changed your employment details, address, email address, and phone number. The Indian government has a record of all of these details from when you first applied for your OCI. If none of these particulars have changed, then, the business case becomes simpler.

If your original OCI was issued after 2010, you have to follow the steps for "Renunciation plus OCI." That is, you must first apply for the 'Renunciation of Indian Citizenship'. Only after you receive your Renunciation Certificate or your Deemed Surrender Certificate can you apply for your OCI re-issue. If you already have these certificates, read on.

Before you even go online, make sure that you have the following things handy.

• Two passport photos that are different from the one in your new passport. The photo requirements are long, so it is best to go to CVS or Walgreens and have your photos professionally taken. Yes, I know that in the age of iPhones, you can take photos on your own and save about $12, but the hassle is just not worth it. CVS uses Kodak Biometric Prints technology designed to meet the stringent requirements of U.S. passports, so, you can rest assured that your photos will pass muster at the India site.
  
  When you get your prints, the Kodak system will certify that your photos will comply with a long list of parameters including, image size, width/height ratio, correct head size, the position of the head in the photo, image brightness, color balance, whether eyes are open and looking straight ahead, mouth closed and not smiling, the glare of eyeglasses, and horizontal/vertical face position.


• CVS does not provide a digital copy of the prints, so you must scan your photo to a size no more than 200KB. Only .jpg or .jpeg formats are allowed.


• Scan the photo page of your current passport as a .pdf limited to 1 Mb in size. If your .pdf comes out to be larger in size, use Adobe or a free online service, such as Smallpdf.


• On a white sheet of paper, sign your name and scan your signature as a .jpg or .jpeg file limited to 200 KB in size. No matter how hard you try, modern printers will create file sizes that are larger because the entire white space of the page is also scanned. So, use Paint, cut out only your signature and save it. The file size should easily fall below the 200 KB limit.


• You will need to provide evidence of your address as a .pdf file limited to 1 MB in size. You may scan your driver's license or submit a utility bill from the last 3 months which can be easily downloaded as a .pdf file. Again note the file size limitation. 


• Dig into your records and obtain details of your last Indian passport before you first obtained your OCI. You will need the passport number. If you don't have this number, you may use 000000 when you're asked for this information. 


• Have the OCI cards of all of your family members - the site will ask for this information.


• Have your updated employment details as a .pdf file limited to 1 MB in size. This is relevant if you changed jobs from the first time you applied for your OCI - so have your offer of employment, or certificate of employment from HR ready. If you're now running your own business, make sure to have your LLC articles of incorporation, or franchise tax information, ready.

Going online - Step 1: India Govt. Site

Now, you are ready to go online. Start your application on this site operated by the Government of India, and by choosing the OCI Miscellaneous Services option from the menu.

There are two parts to this application - Part A and Part B, and the application is not considered complete until both parts are properly filled. As you're filling out your form, you're given a temporary application ID. Note this down so that if you need to save your session and come back to the application later, you can.

We assumed that you will change your employment details, address, email address, and phone number. On the page which asks you for details of what particulars you want to change, make sure you check the address box. This alone opens up fields wherein you can key in the new information. If you don't check this box, the application will assume your old details and send you emails and SMSs to what the government had at the time of your first application.

Once you're done with all the document and image uploads, the site will give you a web file reference number. At this point, your application is considered submitted and cannot be edited. You can always upload supporting documentation - by using the menu item on the home page and using your webfile number - but you cannot edit any entries.

The system will generate a .pdf file of the completed application - look for it in the downloads section of your browser. If you don't find it, you can go to the menu item on the home page and regenerate a .pdf of your application.

You will need to print the completed application and sign it. As you review the printed form, if you realize that you made a mistake in the entries, you have to go back and do the whole thing again.

If you did everything right, you should promptly get an email response from the Govt. of India acknowledging that your application was received.

Going online - Step 2: Cox and Kings website 

With the web file number handy, you will proceed to the CKGS site. Cox and Kings is the company retained by Indian missions in the U.S. to process all consular applications. CKGS handles the paperwork based on jurisdiction. If you're in Texas, you will send copies of your supporting documents (and the original OCI card and two original passport photos) to their Houston office.

From the dropdown, choose that you want to apply for the "OCI Re-issue for a new passport."  

It is best to pay $75 and send your signed OCI application and supporting documents by FedEx Standard Overnight. The $75 fee includes FedEx charges to the CKGS office and the return shipment of the re-issued OCI card by FedEx, plus all CKGS and Indian consulate fees. The Cox and Kings site is not accepting credit card payments at the time of writing, so, you will need a money order or cashier's check to cover the fees.

You will need to print three items from the CKGS site. The "Affidavit in Lieu of Originals" document is something that you have to get notarized, so be prepared to pay a visit to your favorite notary. You will print out the FedEx label and lastly, the Order Form, which has bar codes for processing your application. You will need to attach these bar codes below the FedEx label.

Once you're done handing your package to the FedEx office, it takes about 6-8 weeks for successful processing of your application.

Venture opportunities

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By Rajkamal Rao 


Go back to Earning in India

Innovation is the latest buzzword in India and numerous venture capitalist opportunities abound.  Green energy, mobile and tablet computing, infrastructure, agriculture, education, waste treatment, rainwater harvesting, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and hardware design are some areas of interest to VCs. 

In October 2012, the Indian Institute of Industrial Engineers hosted an international conference in Bangalore on global challenges, opportunities and innovation.  The target year?  2025.  Business and technology leaders are focused heavily on the appetite of Indians who are hungry for good products and services. 

Even if a business venture fails, the start-up costs in India are typically low so that an entrepreneur is more likely to recover to start another business.  Costly start-up government regulations of the kind in the West are mostly absent in India freeing entrepreneurs to experiment until becoming a successful, legitimate business.

The New York Times carried this excellent article about venture opportunities in India.