Is the acknowledgment date more important than the submission date for OCI?

I wouldn't say that one date completely replaces the other.

The VFS submission date tells you when your application entered the VFS process. The OCI acknowledgment date is the date associated with the application in the government OCI system.

If you're asking specifically about the OCI processing stage, I'd pay more attention to the acknowledgment date shown in the official OCI portal. If you're asking how long the entire application journey has taken from submission to completion, then the VFS submission date is also relevant.

Another thing to remember is that the processing timeline isn't necessarily a promise of completion by a particular date. Individual cases can take different amounts of time, and additional document requests can affect the overall timeline.

I'd use the official OCI portal and the current instructions for your particular Indian Mission rather than relying entirely on another applicant's timeline.

I had almost the same confusion. My application was submitted to VFS on May 6, but the OCI acknowledgment came several days later.

When people in the OCI groups were talking about processing times, I noticed they weren't always using the same starting date. Some counted from the day VFS received the package, while others counted from the acknowledgment date.

For me, the acknowledgment date was more useful for following the government-side OCI processing because it was actually recorded on the OCI portal.

That doesn't mean the VFS submission date isn't important. If there is ever a question about when you submitted your application, your VFS receipt and delivery confirmation are useful evidence.

So I'd record both dates and specify which one you're using when discussing your timeline.

In my case, I used the acknowledgment date when comparing the processing timeline because that was the date displayed in the official OCI system.

There was a gap between when I submitted the documents to VFS and when the application was acknowledged in the OCI system. I didn't treat those days as part of the Consulate processing period.

The VFS submission date is still important because it shows when you handed over the application and documents. But the acknowledgment date gives you a better reference for when the application appeared in the OCI government processing system.

I would keep both dates in your records rather than ignoring the VFS submission date.

Also, be careful when comparing timelines from different applicants. Some people count courier/VFS handling time, while others count only the period after acknowledgment. That can make two apparently different processing times actually quite similar.