Applying for OCI for British minor

I am a British citizen with an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card. My wife is an Indian citizen with a UK spouse visa. In 2025, our first child was born in the UK with British citizenship. We planned to take him to India after he was 6 months old to see the rest of our family.

I first considered a tourist e-visa for its convenience, but at £127 [HCI - visa fee structure], it felt expensive for a single trip. An OCI application, while costing more upfront at £215, offers lifetime visa-free travel to India and only needs re-issuance when a new passport is issued after the age of 20 [HCI - OCI renewal 18.11.2021]. The OCI is the more prudent long-term choice, despite the hassle of attending an appointment and 1-2 months process time.

In this article, I describe my experience applying for my child's OCI when he was 3 months old, and I hope it helps other parents going through the same process.

Table of contents

• Version history
• Timeline
• Preparation
  • Apostille on UK birth Certificate
  • Prepare 2"x2" photo
  • Prepare thumbprint photo
• Application process
  • Fill online form
  • Upload supporting documents
  • Book and attend the appointment at VFS
  • Cost summary
• Conclusion

Version history

1. 2026-02-09 - Minor updates to address questions from readers.

Timeline

Here is a timeline of the events. In particular, note that you need to legalise the child's UK birth certificate before applying for OCI. Therefore, allow for a month before you can submit the OCI application.

• Day -30
  scanner
  Start preparing application

  Start the online application at ociservices.gov.in. Collect all mandatory documents, photos and self-attest all photocopies.

• Day -30
  email
  Apply to legalise child's UK birth certificate

  Submit one of the child's UK birth certificates for legalisation via https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised. Usually takes up to 15 working days.

• Day -19
  approval
  Receive legalised UK birth certificate

  In my case, I received the legalised UK birth certificate within 11 days after submitting it.

• Day 0
  laptop_mac
  Submit application and book VFS appointment

  Complete the application at ociservices.gov.in. Book appointment at VFS center via hcilondon.gov.in/appointment.

• Day +4
  event
  VFS appointment

  I attended the VFS appointment where my application was checked. After they made sure it was all okay, I paid the fees and submitted the application.

• Day +7
  mail
  Birth certificate received

• Day +31
  menu_book
  OCI card received

Preparation

Apostille on UK birth Certificate

I had to go to the VFS appointment twice, because the 1st time I didn't have an apostilled birth certificate and VFS refused to submit the application. The guidance was changed in June 2025, and it is now mandatory to have an apostille.

The process is pretty straightforward:

• Go to: gov.uk - Get your document legalised
• Process: Fill out the online form, print the cover sheet, and mail it with the original birth certificate. I used a hardback envelope for protection, and thankfully it was returned in one too.
• Cost: £45 + £5.50 courier fee
• Time: They say ~15 working days. In my case, it took 11 days total.

The apostille is a separate certificate attached to the back of the original. It can also be verified online at verifyapostille.service.gov.uk

Prepare 2"x2" photo

You can see the official requirements for the photo here: Requirement of photograph for OCI Registration. It allows for some flexibility for babies and children under 10 years old.

Getting a good photo was hard!

1. Setup: We placed our son in his cot on a white bedsheet during the day for good natural light.
2. Photoshoot: Using my camera (a good mobile phone would also work), we took numerous photos to get one with his eyes open, looking towards the camera with a neutral expression.
3. Editing: I used darktable (which is not very easy to use, but you can use any tool you feel comfortable with) to crop the photo to the required 2"x2" size, ensuring his face took up about 80% of the frame. The VFS staff mentioned a preference for a solid white background, so I used Photoroom to replace the bedsheet with a solid white background.
4. Printing: I ordered six 2"x2" copies from OddPrints for just under £5. You only need to submit two physical copies at the appointment though.

Prepare thumbprint photo

1. Tool: We bought a simple fingerprint ink pad from Amazon.
2. Execution: We waited until our son was fast asleep. We gently but firmly pressed his thumb onto the ink pad and then onto a folded (which makes it easier to hold) A4 sheet of paper. We made several impressions to choose the best one.
3. Cleanup: We cleaned his thumb immediately with wet cotton wool. It goes away easily. He slept through the whole thing!
4. Digitising: I took a clear photo of the best thumbprint and cropped it to the required 1:3 aspect ratio for the online application upload.

Application process

Fill online form

I filled the application form at ociservices.gov.in/onlineOCI.

The documentation was unclear on whether to base the application on my wife's Indian passport or my OCI card. I decided to base it on my wife's Indian passport which felt more direct.

Upload supporting documents

I uploaded the following documents. Note that I had to print and upload one additional form Undertaking by OCI applicant regarding Indian voter ID, etc., which I only found out about at the appointment.

On the document upload page, you have to select the type of document you're uploading, e.g. Driving License, Copy of child birth certificate etc. Choose the one that seems the most appropriate. My understanding is that you can upload a document under any type if you're unsure - which I did on my application.

Book and attend the appointment at VFS

I booked the appointment at VFS Goswell online via hcilondon.gov.in/appointment and got one within just a few days. My first appointment was a disaster because I didn't have an apostilled birth certificate. So, I had to wait until the birth certificate was apostilled and rebook an appointment.

Only one of the parents needs to attend the appointment. I did not need to take my child with me.

There was only a short wait of about 15 minutes at the appointment. However, your mileage may vary, so do plan for longer waits. I had booked an early appointment at 08:45 AM as soon as it opened and perhaps this helped with the shorter wait.

Document checklist

1. Application form with date, place and signature by a parent under the heading Application for Minor Child. I left the date, place and signature fields above it, which are intended for an adult applicant, blank. To be clear, you don't need to put the child's signature or thumbprint anywhere on the application form. It is only required to be uploaded online and it will be printed under the photo on top-right corner of the completed application form .
2. Appointment confirmation page
3. Two physical 2"x2" photographs
4. An authorisation letter from my wife, since I was the only one attending the appointment. I drafted a short letter myself. However, one of the commenters on this article said they were asked to provide and upload a parental authorization form signed by both parents, but without requiring notarisation as the form indicates.
5. Original documents corresponding to documents uploaded online
6. One self-attested, i.e. signed and dated, copy of each document uploaded online. I believe it does not matter which parent attests the copies. Most of the documents were attested by my wife. However, there were a few that I attested at the appointment.
7. Two pre-paid special delivery envelopes (although they were not used and I ended up paying extra for VFS courier charges)

At the appointment, I was asked to upload a copy as well as print and self-attest the following missing documents. This wasn't obvious to me from the instructions: HCI - OCI renewal 18.11.2021, so I'm just highlighting it here:

1. Mother's UK visa status page
2. Mother's UK visa share code
3. Undertaking by OCI applicant regarding Indian voter ID, etc.

Fortunately, they were happy for me to do this at the appointment. I got hold of and uploaded the documents on my phone. I then had to queue to use a computer (they only had two) to take printouts. I had to wait nearly an hour as there were other applicants in front of me trying to prepare photos and thumbprints on Paint, and the computers themselves were ancient, slow and error-prone. I paid £3 for the privilege /s. I then attested the copies myself.

I had brought two pre-paid special delivery envelopes with me, which could be used to deliver the birth certificate and the OCI card back to me. However, they said I needed to provide a hardback envelope, not a special delivery envelope for the birth certificate. In the interest of time, I decided to pay extra for their courier charges - £12.50 each. My special delivery envelopes were wasted.

After submitting the application, they said that the child's photo background should ideally be solid white (ours had the bedsheet as background) and recommended removing it digitally and reuploading the same day. I used Photoroom to edit the background.

All original documents, except for the child's birth certificate, were given back to me at the appointment itself. To be clear, the child's passport was also given back to me at the appointment.

Cost summary

The total charge, paid at the appointment only after they verified the documents, was £257.44 with the following breakdown:

• £215 + £3 HCI charges
• £12.50 courier charge for the birth certificate
• £12.50 courier charge for the OCI card
• £6.20 VFS service charge
• £1.77 SMS fee
• £6.57 VAT

Conclusion

I received the OCI card less than a month after the appointment, and I'm so glad that whole thing is behind me, as it was quite stressful! We're now eagerly looking forward to our visit to India!

I hope this helps anyone else who is in a similar situation. Feel free to comment or ask any questions in the comments section below.

Good luck!