Indian passport, visa services return to 16 UAE centres from July 22: Here's what changes

Abu Dhabi: Indian nationals in the UAE will now have to visit designated Indian Consular Application Centres (ICACs) for passport, visa and document attestation services, as the Embassy of India has restored outsourced processing across the country.

Effective July 22, Al Hind Tours & Travels LLC has taken charge of operations at 16 ICACs spread across the UAE.

With the transition, passport, visa and attestation applications will no longer be accepted directly at the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General of India in Dubai.

Applicants are required to schedule appointments through the official Consular Seva portal. Fresh appointment slots will be made available twice every day, at 9 am and 9 pm, while all ICACs will function from 8 am to 6 pm.

The Embassy has also advised applicants to select the appropriate service category and reach the centre no more than 15 minutes before their allotted time.

Besides the revised Government of India fees that came into effect on July 1, applicants will have to pay a service fee of AED 19, inclusive of VAT, to the outsourced agency.

The charge includes assistance with completing application forms, document preparation, photography, photocopies, printouts and courier delivery within the UAE.

Certain categories, however, will continue to be accepted without prior appointments.

These include Tatkal passport applications, newborn registrations, Emergency Certificates (ECs), and requests from senior citizens aged 60 years and above, which will be processed on a walk in basis, subject to availability.

The outsourcing arrangement follows a prolonged legal dispute over the contract. Although Al Hind had originally been selected to begin operations from July 1, the transition was delayed after rival bidders challenged the tender process before the Delhi High Court. During the litigation, the Indian missions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai temporarily handled applications themselves, marking the first time in nearly 17 years that consular services were processed in house.

Earlier this month, the Delhi High Court invalidated the tender process, directing the Ministry of External Affairs to issue fresh bids for similar consular service contracts in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Singapore and Canberra within a month.

The Centre later approached the Supreme Court, but the apex court declined to suspend the High Court's order, allowing the outsourcing arrangement to continue for now.