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How to apply for OCI card in usa for minor?

Updated: Dec 19, 2022



To apply for an OCI card for minors/children born in the USA, you need to prepare the following OCI document checklist. We will discuss the OCI application for minor child checklists in detail one by one.

  1. New OCI checklist - For minors (US national by birth)

  2. OCI government application online form

  3. Photographs & OCI signature for minors, thumb impression (left or right)

  4. Parental authorization form

  5. Birth certificate

  6. Current passport

  7. Parents Indian passport

  8. Consent letter for OCI application

  9. Marriage certificate/ Relationship certificate

  10. Proof of address

  11. Fee payment & courier



01. New OCI checklist - For minors (US national by birth)

To start the OCI application, you must first download the OCI checklist. You can download the checklist from the VFS website (Link).


You would need to print this checklist, complete it & include it in your application as the cover page when you mail the package to VFS.


You can also download the form from here, but it's always a good idea to refer VFS website to get the latest checklist form as it might change over time.


NEWOCI-USNATIONALBYBIRTH-MINOR
.pdf
Download PDF • 257KB

"OCI checklist - For minors" & "OCI checklist - For minors (US national by birth)" are two different forms available on VFS website.

In the OCI checklist you would need to fill out the following items:

  • Applicant's name (newborn)

  • Email ID: It's better to create an email id for your newborn and use that. Gmail allows you have parental control over new email IDs created for minors under the age of 13.

  • U.S. passport number

  • Mobile number

  • Signature at the end of the checklist: You need to have the thumb impression for newborns instead of the signature.



02. OCI Government Application Online Form

The second thing you need to do is to fill out the OCI government application online form/ OCI registration form online. You can fill out the form through the OCI website.


This will automatically ask you for the required applicant information, his passport details & family details, and two items to upload:

  1. 2-inch by 2-inch photograph (guidelines for photo): You must post the same picture (2 photos with the package) that you upload on the OCI registration form.

  2. The left thumb impression needs to be uploaded



Note that you need to print out this OCI government application online form & in case of minor any one of the parent can sign this form. This form needs to be notarized.


03. Photographs & Signature for Minors, Thumb Impression (left or right)


You need to upload a recent passport-size color photo after you fill out the OCI application form online (step 02). You can find the guidelines for photos here. For minors, there is some relaxation for photos but try to capture an image that has both ears visible and eyes open.


You also need to upload a photo of the left thumb impression of the newborn.


Note that maximum size limit for photos and thumb impression to upload is 500 KB each. You can take a photo from your mobile camera and edit the picture to ratio 1:1, basically height 2 inch and width 2 inch.
On iPhone > Go to photo > Edit > Crop > Square > Paste it on word document > Change the height and width of image to 2 inches > Copy-paste same photo side by side > Print and you will have multiple copies


04. Parental Authorization Form

Your sample parental authorization form can be downloaded here. Please note the parental authorization form needs to be notarized and it needs the signatures of both parents.


parental-authorization_PDF
.pdf
Download PDF • 54KB



05. Birth Certificate

You need to submit the birth certificate (issued by county) for minors and it should clearly reflect the name of both the parents, childbirth date, and nationality. Please do not submit the birth certificate issued by hospitals, those are not accepted by VFS.



06. Current Passport

You need to provide a copy of the first 2 and last 2 pages of the applicant's passport. This should be self-attested which means minors who do not sign needs to have their left thumb impression on the copy pages.



07. Parents' Indian Passport

In the case of minors, parents also need to provide a copy of their Indian passport i.e. first 2 and last 2 pages. The passport should be valid at least for 6 months from the date of submission of the application at the VFS consular application center.



08. Consent Letter for OCI Application

In the case of minors, parents also need to submit a consent letter that clearly states that the Indian consulate is authorized to make an edit and correct the mistakes made in the OCI government form.


You can download the sample consent letter for the OCI application from here


Sample consent letter for OCI applicaton
.pdf
Download PDF • 396KB


09. Marriage Certificate/ Relationship Certificate

A copy of the marriage certificate is required, you can self-attest it, however, it's not mandatory to self-attest this copy. But it's safer to self-attest by both parents.