£52.78 OCI Late-Update Fee (UK): Who Pays It and When

If your new passport was issued more than 90 days ago, updating your OCI carries a £52.78 late-update penalty, which you may also see called the late-update fee. People hear the number and assume a visa centre appointment comes with it. For a London-issued card where only the passport or address is changing, that is no longer the case: we now handle it with your file submission. This post sets out what the £52.78 is, who pays it, and how the route depends on where your card was issued.

What the £52.78 is

It is a Government of India and VFS charge, not a Matrix fee. Per applicant, it breaks down as:

• Government of India fee: £20.00.

• ICWF (Indian Community Welfare Fund): £3.00.

• VFS service fee: £29.78.

• Total: £52.78.

It applies when the passport-details update is filed more than 90 days after the new passport's issue date. Within 90 days the £52.78 does not apply, and nothing is payable at a visa centre. Our VFS fees page lists it alongside the other visa centre charges.

Who pays it, and where

London-issued card, only the passport or address is changing. This also covers cards issued in India or another country outside the UK. We file the update online and handle the £52.78 with your submission, so there is no appointment, no extra documents and no day off work. You pay it separately from our £125, in one of three ways:

• On the client portal, once your file has been submitted.

• By bank transfer to the Matrix account, with a 3% bank transfer charge (£54.36).

• Through our secure pay-link, once our team has confirmed your case, with the same 3% charge (£54.36).

London-issued card, a name change or other personal-detail change. A visa centre appointment is needed. We book it and prepare the file; you attend and pay the £52.78 at the centre on the day.

Birmingham-issued card, which covers Manchester, Leicester and Bradford. A visa centre appointment is needed whatever is changing. We book it; you attend and pay the £52.78 on the day.

Not sure where your card was issued? Send us a photo of your OCI card and we confirm it. The checker on our OCI Passport Details Update page also walks through each case.

What you receive

• Our acknowledgement letter, within 48 to 72 hours of submission.

• Your e-OCI, delivered to your phone as a PDF once the update is processed on the official system. It is included in our £125.

• If you pay through our pay-link, a receipt that shows the payment as paid to VFS on your behalf.

A new booklet is generally no longer issued for a passport update.

How to avoid it next time

Count 90 days from the issue date in the new passport, and send us the photo page the week it arrives. Within the window, a straightforward passport change is an OCI Link: £100, online, with no £52.78 to pay. Updating your OCI with a new passport sets out each route in one place.

Common questions

Is the £52.78 included in Matrix's £125 fee?

No. It is a separate Government of India and VFS charge. We show it separately and do not add it into our own fee.

Do I have to go to a visa centre to pay the £52.78?

Not on a London-issued card where only the passport or address is changing: we handle it with your submission and you pay it through one of three options. For a name or other personal-detail change, or any Birmingham-issued card, you pay it at the visa centre appointment we book.

My new passport is within 90 days. Does the £52.78 apply?

No. Within 90 days of the new passport's issue date the £52.78 does not apply, and nothing is payable at a visa centre.

Why do two of the payment options add 3%?

The 3% is a handling charge for paying the £52.78 to VFS on your behalf, which brings it to £54.36. Paying on the client portal once your file is submitted is the one option without it.