Applying for an Indian OCI Card from Australia: Documents and Certification

The Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) application from Australia uses four different kinds of certification, sometimes on the same bundle: copies you sign yourself, copies attested by a Justice of the Peace or a notary, documents apostilled by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and forms that need no attestation at all. Most of the delay people experience comes from putting the wrong one on the wrong document.

This page sorts the documents by the certification each one needs, based on the checklists published for applicants in Australia. Those checklists change, and they occasionally contradict each other, so treat this as a map and read the current checklist before your appointment.

Last checked: 24 September 2026. Requirements are set by the Government of India and administered in Australia through the High Commission in Canberra, the consulates, and VFS Global, the contracted service provider. The High Commission and the Sydney consulate direct applicants to VFS's checklists for the document list.

How the application works now

You complete the online application on the Government of India's OCI portal, uploading your documents, and then lodge the printed application with VFS Global in Australia. You must select the Indian office that covers the state you live in; a wrong selection means a new form.

Lodge in person. VFS's current checklists say OCI applications will not be accepted by post or courier from 1 April 2026, and that applicants must bring their original documents for verification at the counter on the day of their appointment. Some older VFS web pages still describe postal lodgement. Follow the dated checklist.

The four levels of certification

1. Self-attested: sign it yourself, free

VFS asks for self-attested copies of your Australian passport and your Australian citizenship certificate. You sign the photocopy yourself. The checklist notes that photocopies only are wanted, not originals, for these items.

If a document is marked self-attested, you do not need a JP or a notary for it.

2. Attested by a JP or a notary — and in NSW, a notary only

Many copies must be attested by a JP or a notary. On the current checklists these include:

• proof of Indian origin, where you no longer have your old Indian passport
• a change of name certificate, or a marriage certificate showing a name change
• for children, the Australian birth certificate and both parents' passport pages
• for separated or single parents, the custody papers
• for spouse applications, the spouse's Indian passport, OCI card or origin documents, and the uploaded passport and marriage certificate
• statutory declarations the checklist asks for — for a lost Indian passport, a changed appearance, a name that differs from the old Indian passport, or that a marriage has lasted at least two years

The NSW exception. The checklists repeatedly say that NSW residents should submit documents attested by a Notary Public only, and link to the Notary NSW directory. They do not say why. If you live in NSW, a JP's attestation is likely to be turned back; budget for a notary. Outside NSW, the checklist accepts either, and a JP is free.

3. Apostilled by DFAT

For spouse-based applications, VFS's checklist asks for the Australian marriage certificate to be apostilled by DFAT. It also lists apostilled birth certificates for the foreign spouse and their parents or grandparents, though the wording there is less clear about which documents and which authority. Marriages registered in a third country need that country's attestation instead.

A registry-issued marriage certificate can often go to DFAT for an apostille directly, without a notary; confirm with DFAT before booking one. India is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention at the time of writing, but check the HCCH status table when you apply.

On the current checklists, no apostille is asked for on a child's birth certificate, on passports or on citizenship certificates.

4. No attestation at all

Form S, the undertaking used in spouse applications, states on its face that it needs no attestation by a notary or JP. Do not pay to have it witnessed.

Documents by applicant type

Former Indian citizens, now Australian

• The surrender certificate. VFS says anyone who has ever held an Indian passport must submit the Surrender Certificate with a copy of the old passport. Surrender is a separate application, processed separately, and it usually comes first. (The Indian Home Ministry's brochure words this more narrowly, referring to those who surrendered in or after 2010. Follow VFS, and ask if you think you fall outside it.)
• A copy of the old Indian passport's first, photo and last pages. If it was officially cancelled, the cancellation page too.
• If the old passport is lost, a statutory declaration attested by a JP or notary.
• A signed letter that you hold no Indian voter ID or ration card, or have surrendered them.

Children born in Australia

• The child's birth certificate, attested by a JP or notary.
• Both parents' passport bio pages, attested, and proof of Indian origin for at least one parent.
• The affidavit for minor children, on VFS's prescribed form. It says it must be signed by both parents in the presence of a Justice of the Peace or notary. Both parents attend the witness; bring photo ID for each.
• Custody documents if you are a single or separated parent, attested.

If one parent cannot sign the affidavit — they are overseas, uncontactable or do not agree — ask VFS what it will accept before you book anything. Where there is a dispute about the child, speak to a family lawyer.

Foreign spouses of Indian citizens or OCI holders

• The marriage certificate, apostilled by DFAT if issued in Australia.
• Evidence that the marriage is registered and has lasted at least two years before the application, including the statutory declaration mentioned above.
• The Indian or OCI spouse's documents, attested.
• Form S.

Spouse applications also go through a security clearance, so allow time.

After you have the card: new passports

Under the rule the Indian government announced in 2021, an OCI card must be re-issued only once, when a new passport is issued after the holder turns 20. Other new passports are handled by uploading a copy of the new passport and a recent photo within three months. Spouse-based holders upload with every new passport, with a declaration that the marriage is continuing. Check the current rule when you renew; it has changed before.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a notary for an OCI application? Often not, outside NSW: a JP can attest most copies, and your own passport and citizenship certificate are self-attested. In NSW, the checklist asks for a notary. Spouse applications need a DFAT apostille on an Australian marriage certificate.

Can one parent sign the minor's affidavit? The prescribed form says both parents. Ask VFS before assuming otherwise.

Can I post my application? Not under the checklists current at the time of writing, which require in-person lodgement from 1 April 2026.