Is an Original Passport Required for an OCI Application? OCI application alert: You usually do not need to send your original passport when applying for an OCI card. Many applicants mistakenly believe they must courier their passports during the OCI process. This can cause travel delays, document risk, and unnecessary stress. In most OCI applications, self-attested passport copies are submitted online, and the original passport is presented only at the verification stage (e.g., a BLS/VFS Global