General information on outsourcing of Consular Services to M/s BLS International
M/s BLS International has been awarded contract of work for receiving, initial processing, prescribed fee, service charges and transmitting consular services applications to this Consulate. The decision regarding granting or rejecting a successfully submitted application rests with this Consulate and M/s BLS International does not any decision making role in this connection. This outsourcing contract to M/s BLS International include applications for passport, surrender of Indian passport, police clearance certificate, visa, Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) and some of the attestation services (unless specifically stated otherwise on this website). Therefore, consular service applicants are advised to visit the website of M/s BLS International’s website (www.blsindia-canada.com) showing their office addresses, timings, phone numbers, e-mail address and procedure for submitting consular services application.
Service Level Agreement to be adhered by M/s BLS International
Receiving and initial processing of consular service applications are required to be accomplished as per the directives of this Consulate and the Service Level Agreement (SLA) signed by M/s BLS International. Following are the relevant SLAs which are to be adhered by M/s BLS International towards all consular service applications. These are and also available on their website at this link (www.blsindia-canada.com/toronto-jurisdiction/sla.php):
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S.
No.
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Parameter
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Service Level
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1.
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Procedure for issue of Receipts
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M/s BLS International (hereafter called Outsourced Service Provider - OSP) agrees to collect the fee as per Chapter VII: Scope of Work and issue a single Receipt of the total amount received from the applicant for each CPV Service, including the Optional Service availed in that regard. The Receipt numbers shall be continuous and there shall be no unexplained missing Receipt numbers.
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2.
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Loss/Damage of Passports/documents
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The OSP agrees to be responsible for the loss/damage of passports/ documents in his/ her custody and during transmission between ICAC and Mission/ Applicant.
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3.
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Delay in submitting the completed application forms along with documents to the Mission
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The OSP agrees to be responsible for sending the application forms along with documents received from the applicants to the Mission/Post(s) as per the schedule fixed by the
Mission/Post(s) concerned
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4.
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Delay in returning
passport/documents to
applicants by OSP after having been received from the Mission
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The OSP agrees to be
responsible for returning the passports/ documents received from the Mission to the applicants on the same/ next working day.
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5.
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Postal/ Courier applications
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The OSP shall be responsible for bringing all postal/ courier applications into the main tracking system on the day of their receipt. Postal applications after scrutiny shall be transmitted to the Mission on the next working day of receipt at the latest.
The OSP agrees to provide a daily statement of details of postal/ courier applications received, indicating the tracking number, date/ time of receipt (verifiable from the tracking number) and the date/
time of dispatch to the Mission.
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6.
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Provision of Optional Services
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The OSP shall be responsible for ensuring that Optional Services are not forced on the applicants through coercion or misleading information.
OSP also understands that offering any unsolicited and unapproved Optional Service or overcharging for any service in the approved list is not permissible.
The OSP shall be responsible for providing Optional Services in respect of each Mission as mentioned in the RFP.
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7.
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Collection of
unauthorized amounts from the applicants
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The OSP agrees to provide access to the Bank Statement of the designated Bank Account and its Statement of Daily Cash Collection to the Mission/Post(s) concerned.
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8.
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Working Hours of India Consular Application Centre (ICAC)
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The OSP shall ensure that there shall be 48 working hours per week and 39 working hours for submission / collection of applications at each ICAC unless working hours are changed by the Mission in
consultation with the OSP.
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9.
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No. of Counters for Reception, Submission and Enquiry
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The OSP agrees that he/she shall ensure that the counters at each ICAC shall be as given in RFP OR approved by the Mission/Post(s) concerned and that each counter shall, at all times, be manned by staff with appropriate qualifications. In case, a staff member is on leave, a substitute shall be
provided and the Mission shall be kept informed.
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10.
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Appointment of Centre Manager at each ICAC and a Country Manager
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Each ICAC should have a designated Centre Manager who is responsible for the functioning of the ICAC.
The OSP shall also ensure that a Country Manager responsible for operations of all the ICACs in the country concerned is appointed as Head of the ICACs.
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11.
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Overall Turnaround time at the ICAC
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The OSP agrees to ensure that the overall processing time for a CPV Service at the ICAC shall not exceed 30 minutes from the time of entry into ICAC (token generation) to the time of generation of submission receipt for the applicant. Clear audit trails of these times shall be made available to the Mission/Post(s) concerned on a daily basis.
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12.
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Waiting time at the call centre for telephonic queries
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The OSP agrees to ensure that the telephonic queries shall be responded to from 9 A.M. to 7 P.M. on all working days with updated information on a real- time basis. Waiting time shall not exceed 3 minutes. A daily log indicating the waiting time and the handling time for each call shall be provided to the Mission/Post(s) concerned on a daily basis.
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13.
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Email queries
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The OSP agrees to ensure that all email queries shall be answered within 24 hours, except in the case of queries that require consultation with the Mission, where they shall be answered in 48 hours. OSP agrees to provide a weekly log of details of emails received and answered.
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14.
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Five stage Website Tracking Mechanism for
passport services. The tracking stages could be fewer than five stages for visa services as per requirement.
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The OSP agrees to ensure that the status of processing and movement of documents shall have the following checkpoints, to be updated on a real time basis:
a) Acceptance of application form in the ICAC
b) Dispatch of application form with documents to the Mission
c) Processing in the Mission
d) Receipt of documents from the Mission
e) Dispatch of documents to
the applicant giving details for tracking
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15.
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Provision of Courteous Services to the Applicants
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The OSP agrees to extend courteous services to the applicants and will not allow any acts of omission/commission which will bring displeasure or unpleasantness to the applicants or bring disrepute to the Mission or Government of India.
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16.
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Acceptance of Incomplete Documents
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The OSP shall be responsible to accept application forms after due scrutiny as per the checklist approved by the Mission/Post(s).
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17.
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Return of Documents without giving the reasons for writing
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There should be no case of returning/non-acceptance of the document without giving the reasons in writing.
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18A.
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Online appointment system with live tracking
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The OSP agrees to provide online appointment system with live tracking.
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18B.
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Smart Queue management system linked with appointment system
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The OSP agrees to provide Smart Queue management (SQM) system linked with appointment system.
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18D
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WhatsApp bot
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The OSP agrees to provide WhatsApp bot.
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19.
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No outsourcing/No sub- contracting of CPV services by OSP on commission or royalty or on any other basis.
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The OSP agrees to ensure that he/she shall not further outsource any CPV services to any person/company or entity on commission or royalty or on any other basis. No sub-
contracting is permitted.
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20.
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4 SMS updates for Mission/courier applications.
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The Service Provider should mandatorily provide 4 SMS updates for Mission/courier applications (i. receipt of application in the ICAC, ii. dispatch of documents to the Mission, iii. receipt of documents in the ICAC from the Mission and iv. dispatch of documents by
Courier/Post). In regard to applications received in person in the ICAC, only ii, iii and iv may be required. All these information should also be uploaded to the website tracking system on a real-time
basis.
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21.
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Minimum number of appointment slots per day
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OSP should ensure that the appointment slots are commensurate with the number of applications received in a day on average basis as fixed by the Mission/Posts
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22.
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Phone calls rate after the free prescribed time limit (five minutes).
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Service Provider can charge normal call charges after the prescribed free time limit (five minutes). Special / higher call charges are not permitted.
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23A
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Refunds towards Incomplete applications.
Incomplete applications may be retained by OSP for a period of twenty-one working days to enable corrections and rectify deficiencies.
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OSP should submit the completed applications to Mission/Post at the latest within a period of ten working days.
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23B
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For those applications where no-responses have been received
within 21 days from the date of intimation to the Applicant or applications which remain incomplete after 21 days.
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The applications shall be duly returned to the applicant alongwith refund of the GoI fees after deducting bank/agency charges, if any, within one month. The charges for returning the applications, if not collected in person, should be borne by the Applicant. The service fee and charges for any optional service rendered can be retained by OSP in full and
non-refundable.
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23C
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The status of the applications inter alia
pointing out to any deficiencies shall be updated in the portal’s
tracking system at all the stages.
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A consolidated list of all incomplete applications should
be shared with the Missions/Post on monthly basis. Any violation shall entail penalty.
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24.
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Any other violation which is not mentioned above, including violation of charges for optional services (OSs) not listed in the approved list.
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Charging for Optional Services (OSs) not listed in the approved list of OSs and any other violation not mentioned in the SLA.
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Applications which cannot be rejected by M/s BLS International
or
Rejection or non-acceptance of application by M/s BLS International
BLS has been mandated for receiving and initial processing of consular service applications as per the directives of this Consulate and the SLAs. However, following are some of examples of minor or insignificant errors on the basis of which the application CANNOT BE REJECTED by M/s BLS International:
- Mentioning or interchanging name of Province like ON or Ontario,
- Mentioning or interchanging these symbols / words: #, Unit, House, Boulevard and Blvd.
- Omitting or mentioning country code before phone number.
- Omitting or mentioning symbol ‘+’ or number ‘00’ before phone number, if it is not obstructing the filling of complete phone number in application form.
However, if a consular service application is out of Consulate’s jurisdiction, incomplete, not accompanied by prescribed supporting documents mentioned in check-list of that particular consular service as mentioned on Consulate’s website, can be rejected or not accepted by BLS.
Applicant is advised to fill-in all columns/entries in consular services application form whether those have been marked as mandatory or not. Abbreviations should be strictly avoided and can be allowed only in case of limitation of space. For quick reference, form filling guidelines / tutorial video can be seen on following links:
- Fresh passport application
- Renewal of passport application
- Emergency Certificate (travel document) application
- Indian passport surrender certification application
- Police Clearance Certificate application
- Police Clearance Certification application of foreign national other than Canadian
- Visa application
- Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) application
- Miscellaneous (attestation) consular service application
M/s BLS International charges
In addition to the prescribed fee for a particular consular service being applied (passport, PCC, surrender certificate, visa, OCI, miscellaneous attestation, etc.), with effect from January 1, 2024 following are charges to be paid by applicant towards Service Fee of BLS:
Service Fee of BLS
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Sl. No.
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Service
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Fee
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1.
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Basic Service Fees (Consular/Passport/Visa/OCI/ PCC/Surrender Certificate (Renunciation of Indian Citizenship)/Global Entry Program (GEP) Verification/ Miscellaneous Attestation Services)
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CAD 1.70
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2.
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Ten fingerprint Biometrics
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CAD 0.05
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3.
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Facial Biometrics
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CAD 0.05
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Optional Services of M/s BLS International
M/s BLS International has been mandated to receive and initially process the consular service application submitted by applicant either through walk-in or prior appointment mode.
Additionally, BLS has been allowed to provide, if sought by applicant, some Optional Services. These services are strictly ‘OPTIONAL’ and cannot be forced upon applicant directly or indirectly. Following is detail of Optional Services and their allowed Fees. This information is also available on website of M/s BLS International on this link: www.blsindia-canada.com/toronto-jurisdiction/vas.php
Fee for Optional Services availed at BLS premises
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Sl. No.
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Type of Optional Service
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Fee
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1.
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Photocopying (per page)
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CAD 1.00
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2.
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Photographs (4 photographs)
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CAD 9.00
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3.
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Form filling and document upload for online registration of Passport application
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CAD 5.00
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4.
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Form filling and document upload for online submission of Visa application
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CAD 3.00
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5.
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Form filling and document upload for filling of online application submission for PCC
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CAD 3.00
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6.
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Form filling and document upload for filling of application online for Surrender Certificate (Renunciation of Indian Citizenship)
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CAD 2.50
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7.
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Form filling and document upload for filling of application online for GEP
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CAD 0.10
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8.
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Form filling and document upload for filling of application online for OCI
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CAD 3.00
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9.
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Computer with internet facility for 30 minutes
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CAD 0.05
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10.
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Printing of documents (per page side)
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CAD 1.00
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11.
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Online Registration of birth on MHA website
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CAD 0.10
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12.
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Courier service Regular (within Province)
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CAD 40.00
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13.
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Courier service Regular (Out of Province)
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CAD 60.00
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14.
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Courier Pick up and Drop (within Province)
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CAD 1.00
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15.
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Courier Pick up and Drop (Out of Province)
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CAD 1.00
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16.
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Premium Lounge (PL) service
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CAD 100.00
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17.
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Indian CPV services @ your doorstep for 1-4 applicants within radius of 20 miles around Indian Consular Application Centres (ICAC). Additional applicants at the same booking CAD 150.00/applicant.
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CAD 1.00
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18.
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Indian CPV services @ your doorstep Beyond a radius of 20 miles around ICACs (regardless of number of applicants) to cover costs related to travel and lodging, if necessary.
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CAD 1.00
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NOTE:
All the above-mentioned charges (Service Fee and Optional Service Fee) are inclusive of all local taxes (VAT/HST/GST/CST, etc.) as applicable in different provinces of Canada.
Government of India Fee for Consular Services (Passport, Visa, OCI, PCC, SC, Attestation, etc.) and Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) is separate from M/s BLS International charges indicated above.
Premium Lounge (PL) service
Premium Lounge by M/s. BLS International is purely an Optional Service. It cannot be enforced on consular service applicant by any means and applicant can accept or reject when offered by M/s. BLS International. If availed by applicant, following are included in Premium Lounge service:
- Complimentary photocopying, photo-booth services.
- Typing/form filling and form registration as per parameters specified by the Mission/Post.
- Automatic updates at each stage of the application process though SMS and mail.
- Includes SMS updates and courier return of document/passport.
- Offers convenient payment options either online or at the centre.
- Spacious and plush facility Professional and responsive staff.
- Dedicated helpline and email contact for convenient appointment booking.
- Personalised attention for every applicant by dedicated staff which is employed specially for PL.
- Quicker completion of the submission process
Grievance and complaint redressal mechanism
A grievance and complaint redressal mechanism has been provided for consular services applicants.
M/s BLS International has provided Level 1, Escalation 2 and Escalation 3 types of complaint redressal mechanism on their website which can be seen at this link: www.blsindia-canada.com/toronto-jurisdiction/escalation-matrix.php.
If complaint is not responded or not resolved by M/s BLS International even after following the above mentioned matrix, applicant may approach this Consulate through ‘BLS related Queries’ under ‘Consular Queries’ available on this Consulate’s website https://www.cgitoronto.gov.in
BLS Charges: CLICK HERE
BLS Centres under the CGI Toronto Jurisdiction:
All locations below fall under the Consular Jurisdiction of the Consulate General of India in Toronto
- Ontario(Except Applicants residing at Postal Code starting with letter K)
- Quebec(Except Applicants residing at Postal Codes starting with letters J, H, K)
- Manitoba
- NewBrunswick
- NovaScotia
- PrinceEdward Island
- Newfoundland and Labrador
List of authorized BLS centres for consular services provided by CGI Toronto:
- Toronto: 1 – 91 Oxford Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1P2, Phone: (647) 846 4077, Google Maps
- Brampton: 60 Gillingham Drive, Unit 401, Brampton, ON, L6X 0Z9, Phone: (289) 498 1320, Google Maps
- Mississauga:3461 Dixie Road, Unit 404A, Mississauga, Ontario L4Y 3X4, Phone: (289) 804 3637, Google Maps
- Winnipeg:9 - 2358 McPhillips Street, Winnipeg, MB, R2V 4J6, Phone: (204) 800 1550, Google Maps
- Halifax:998 Parkland Drive, Unit 101A, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3M 0A6, Phone: (902) 700 6980, Google Maps
* All Applications by Post are required to be submitted to BLS Brampton at following address:
BLS Brampton
60 Gillingham Drive, Unit 401-A,
Brampton, ON, L6X 0Z9, Canada.
Phone: (289) 498 1320
*Applicants who opt not to utilize postal courier services can avail themselves of pick-up and drop-off facilities for consular services at all BLS Centres.
