Last few months have been very difficult. I have spent most of them doing documentation and it will be the death of me. I am not sure how it happened, but I got stuck with documentation of various kinds all within a span of few weeks. Tangled in the web of Indian government bureaucracy.

Below, I will try to show how complicated the various documentations were. Dependency of one document on another and on another, nested up to 4 levels deep

Daughter and my Visa/Work Permit extension

This is what started my death by documentation. Although the company handles most of the paperwork, I need to visit the Indian embassy and get a relationship certificate every year

1. Passport copy
2. Visa Copy
3. Work Permit Copy
4. Birth certificate
5. Relationship certificate from Indian embassy

Axis/Indian Bank NRO Conversion (In Person)

I got these bank accounts converted to NRO in-person when I visited Gurgaon and Kolkata.

1. Passport Copy
2. Visa copy
3. Work Permit Copy
4. Overseas address proof (Thai driving license)
5. PAN card
6. Aadhaar card

Daughter’s PAN Card Application

This one was relatively painless, but they rejected my application for the first time and I had to gather all the documents again and send them to India a second time

1. PAN card application (Generated online)
2. Identity proof (Aadhaar)
3. Address proof (Aadhaar)
4. Passport size photograph
5. Representative Assessee’s ID proof (Aadhaar)
6. Representative Assessee’s address proof (Aadhaar)

Zerodha Demat NRI Account

This was the most difficult. Many of the documents had dependencies and sub-dependencies and it took me weeks of effort and a lot of money to gather everything.

1. NRI Account opening form (22 pages)
2. Demat Debit and Pledge Instruction (DDPI)
3. FATCA Declaration
4. PO Box Declaration
5. FEMA Declaration
6. Passport Size photo
7. Client details and declaration form
8. Copy of Passport
   • Attested by Indian Embassy
9. Visa
10. Copy of PAN Card
    • Attested by Indian Embassy
11. Overseas Address Proof (Thai Driving License)
    • Attested by Indian Embassy
      • Attested by Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs
        • Translated by a certified agency
12. Indian Address Proof (Indian Driving License)
    • Attested by Indian Embassy
13. Cancelled cheque for NRO account
14. ID Proof of Nominee

State Bank of India NRO conversion (Remote)

For this one, I shot an arrow in the dark. I just checked the documents online, filled the form and sent it by post without asking them. Still don’t know if the documents have been accepted or if it was all in vain

1. NRO conversion form
2. Copy of Passport
   • Attested by Indian Embassy
3. Visa
4. Copy of PAN Card
   • Attested by Indian Embassy
5. Overseas Address Proof (Thai Driving License)
   • Attested by Indian Embassy
     • Attested by Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs
       • Translated by a certified agency
6. Indian Address Proof (Indian Driving License)
   • Attested by Indian Embassy
7. Thai Tax ID (Self attested)
8. Salary Slips
9. Thai bank statements

Daughter’s Passport Renewal

This one was surprisingly easy and went through the first time. I was apprehensive daughter’s signatures will not match, but she did surprisingly well.

1. Passport Application form (Generated Online)
2. Photos (They first asked for 2, so I got 2. Then they asked for 3, so I had to get 4 more. Then they took only 2)
3. Old passport
4. Visa copy
5. Declaration for minor
6. Registration form for Indians staying abroad
7. Parents’ passport copies
8. Parents’ work permit copies

Thai Driving License Renewal

I can’t blame this one on the Indian government, though. I contacted an agency for this service and it was not too difficult.

1. Driving License application form
2. Photos
3. Passport copy
4. Visa copy
5. Work Permit copy
6. Address proof
   • Residence certificate from Indian embassy

Daughter’s Visa transfer

Since I re-issued my daughter’s passport mid-way through her Visa, now I need to get the Visa transferred to the new passport

1. New Passport
2. Old Passport
3. Father’s passport
4. Father’s work permit
5. Letter from embassy informing about re-issue of passport
6. Relationship certificate with new Passport number

And it is still not over, have a few more to do. I went through 2 cartridges for my printer already. I am sick and tired of this.