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As the Indian Embassy in the UAE has closed four of its consular application centres, Indian passport holders are preparing for more changes in their consular documentation services.
The announcement, which came on Wednesday, October 21, follows a lengthy legal battle over the outsourcing of passport services and an ongoing retendering process.
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The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi announced the closure of four Indian Consular Application Centres (ICACs) from Thursday, October 22, citing "administrative reasons." The centres affected are:
The closures bring the total number of operational centres down from 16 to 12.
Yes. The 12 remaining ICACs, operated by Alhind Tours & Travels, continue to operate as normal. These include the large Bur Dubai facility, which has 45 counters and is designed to reduce wait times, as well as centres at the Indian Association Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Kalba, Khor Fakkan, Al Danah, Al Ain, Madinat Zayed, and Ghayathi.
For urgent cases, the embassy has confirmed that Tatkal passport services, newborn applications, Emergency Certificate requests, and applicants aged 60 and above will be accepted on a walk-in, first-come, first-served basis at all ICACs .
All 12 centres operate from 8am to 6pm. Applicants are permitted to enter only 15 minutes before their scheduled appointment time, so there is no benefit to arriving early.
Appointments can be booked through the official portal at consularsevainuae.com, with slots released at 9am and 9pm daily.
The disruption traces back to July. The previous service providers, BLS International (passport and visa) and SGIVS Global (attestation), ceased operations after their contracts ended . Kerala-based Alhind Tours & Travels was awarded the new contract after winning the tender with the lowest financial bid.
Alhind was originally scheduled to take over on July 1, but the handover was delayed by a legal challenge in India's Delhi High Court. Two unsuccessful bidders argued that the technical evaluation of their bids was not clear.
The Indian missions did it themselves. Since July 1, the Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General in Dubai have run passport, visa, and attestation services directly from their own premises—the first time in 17 years that consular services were not outsourced.
Alhind eventually began operating its 16 centres from July 22, following interim permission from India's Supreme Court.
On July 15, the Delhi High Court ruled that the outsourcing of consular services should go through a fresh retendering process. The court found that the technical evaluation of bids was arbitrary, opaque, and violated constitutional requirements, and it set aside the award of contracts for the Indian missions in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Singapore, and Canberra.
Alhind began operating on a temporary basis starting July.
Last month the Indian embassy in the UAE issued a fresh tender for outsourcing its passport services in compliance with the Supreme Court order. The new Request for Proposal (RFP) invites companies to bid for operating Indian Consular Application Centres (ICACs) across the UAE and the deadline for submitting new bids is October 26, 2026 at 3:00 PM local time.
The outsourcing contract covers passport, visa, OCI, police clearance certificates, surrender certificates, Global Entry Programme verification, and related attestation support.
The Indian government raised passport service charges across the UAE effective July 1, marking the first fee increase since 2012.
36-page passport, normal: Dh450 (up from Dh285)
Lost or damaged passport replacements cost more: Dh900 for a 36-page normal replacement, rising to Dh1,530 for a 60-page Tatkaal replacement.
Alhind also charges a Dh19 service fee on top of government fees, which covers ancillary services including form filling, photographs, typing, courier, printouts, and photocopies.
Possibly. The re-tendering process is still ongoing, so the service provider arrangement could change again. Applicants are advised to monitor official channels for updates.
Check for the nearest center on the embassy's list of 12 operational ICACs.
Book an appointment online at consularsevainuae.com. Slots are released at 9am and 9pm daily.
Carry all documents and arrive only 15 minutes before the allotted slot.
Do not wait until the last minute for documentation. Delays are possible while the re-tendering process continues.
Nasreen Abdulla is a Special Correspondent covering food, tech and human interest stories. When not challenged by deadlines, you’ll find her pulling off submissions on the jiu jitsu mats.
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