Accidental payment made for OCI services
Hi all
In a bit of a pickle here. I accidentally applied for my OCI while I was in Sydney at the wrong place (apparently) but it still is a government website! After I completed the formalities, I got a pdf generated sent from "no-reply@nic.in" with a confirmation, as per below:
Attachment:
It all looks legit and I have confirmed it is legit, I did not fall for a scam (apart from the one from the indian government!)
This is the email that I've written to them and followed up at least 10 times on this, but till date have not received a single reply.
>Sent to: support.ctznoci@mha.gov.in <support.ctznoci@mha.gov.in>; usctzn@mha.gov.in <usctzn@mha.gov.in>; usctzn-2@mha.gov.in <usctzn-2@mha.gov.in>; dirc-mha@mha.gov.in <dirc-mha@mha.gov.in>; cons.sydney@mea.gov.in <cons.sydney@mea.gov.in>
>Respected Sir/Madam,
>I am writing to seek urgent assistance regarding a refund request for an online application submitted through the Indian Citizenship portal.
>Application Details:
>MHA File Number: <retracted>
>Date of Submission: 10 April 2026
>Service: Declaration of Renunciation of Indian Citizenship
>Amount Paid: INR 8000
>At the time of submission, I completed the application and payment through the official portal (https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in/Renounce), based on publicly available instructions. However, I was subsequently advised by the Indian Consulate in Sydney that applications for renunciation in Australia must be processed through VFS Global, and not directly via the portal.
>It appears there is conflicting guidance between:
>The online MHA portal, and
>VFS Global documentation and checklists
>As a result, I unintentionally made this payment through the portal, which is not the correct channel for my application.
>I have previously contacted the support team multiple times (emails in the trailing mail) requesting guidance and a refund, but I have not received any response or acknowledgement to date. I have tried to call the office as well on the number provided but have not been able to speak to anyone.
>Given the circumstances, I kindly request:
>Confirmation that my application will not be processed further, and
>Initiation of a refund for the amount of INR 8000 paid in error
>I would greatly appreciate your intervention in resolving this matter at the earliest, as the delay and lack of communication have been quite concerning.
Then my series of follow-ups, all falling on deaf ears:
My question is simple: Why are there so many websites and checklists, that too on VFS that are contradicting information and outdated.
Even if it is outdated, why are they still accepting payments?
Even if they have accepted the payment, absolutely no one has responded to my pleas for a refund till date.
Funnily enough, you call their number on the website and nobody picks up the call.
The biggest mistake I made is that instead of going to VFS website I decided to google VFS OCI application and got this old link generated through Google Gemini. (<<Insert mega-facepalm here>>)
I really don't know what to do now. Any suggestions?
References: