Indian passport services in UAE: Alhind issues advisory after embassy closes four centres

Closure details

Alhind Tours and Travel, the outsourced service provider for the Embassy and the Indian Consulate in Dubai, issued a new advisory clarifying that passport delivery will be available at three of the closed centres: Musaffah in Abu Dhabi, Dubai Investment Park (DIP) in Dubai, and Al Majaz in Sharjah. Submission counters at these locations will not be operational. “Applicants are kindly requested to plan their visits accordingly,” the announcement said.

The fourth closed centre is Al Reem in Abu Dhabi. In a separate notice titled “Passport Collection Notice”, Alhind stated: “Please Note: Passports from Al Reem Centre will be available for collection at Al Danah Centre. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Passport collection arrangements

Only applicants who opted for in-person passport collection are required to visit the designated centres. Those who selected courier delivery will receive their passports through the designated courier service.

With the closure of the four centres, there is now only one ICAC in Dubai (Bur Dubai), while Sharjah has three (Rolla, Kalba, Khor Fakkan) and Abu Dhabi emirate has four (Al Danah, Al Ain, Madinat Zayed, Ghayathi). The remaining centres are in Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah.

Impact on applicants

The sudden closures are expected to increase footfall at the remaining centres and delay the availability of appointments, especially in Dubai and Sharjah, where the majority of the 4.5-million-strong Indian expat community in the UAE lives. Gulf News has learned that service-centre operations are being optimised as more footfall is expected at the remaining centres, particularly in Bur Dubai and Rolla.

Gulf News visited Alhind’s ICAC in DIP on Thursday evening. The main office, where application submission counters are located, remained closed. The back office, used to hand over passports returned from the Indian Consulate after processing, was open. Walk-in applicants were reportedly turned away earlier in the day, including those who had come to submit applications, such as parents with newborn babies, who do not need appointments. Appointment slots for the centres that were closing on Thursday had apparently not been released on Wednesday. Those who turned up were, therefore, from categories of applicants who can walk in during specified hours.

Meanwhile, hundreds of passports, sorted into bundles, were seen at the DIP centre ready for delivery. The 12 centres are likely to stay open until all processed passports have been handed over. Beyond that, the picture is less clear.

Future of services

Alhind services are expected to continue until the new tender process for the Indian missions’ outsourced service provider is completed, although the timeline remains uncertain amid ongoing court proceedings and the tender process itself. As first reported by Gulf News, the Embassy issued a fresh request for proposal (RFP) on 28 September, inviting companies to bid for the outsourcing of consular, passport and visa (CPV) services at both Indian missions. It followed a court-ordered reset of the earlier process for the ICACs, which are currently run by Alhind.

As per the RFP, the contract is due to be awarded on 27 November. Whether Alhind will continue to provide the services will depend on whether it wins the new bid. Gulf News has learned that efforts are being made to maintain continuity of services and minimise inconvenience to applicants during the interim period.

Applicants are advised to check official public announcements for updates on passport collection arrangements and service-centre operations.