Abu Dhabi: The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi announced on Tuesday that Al Hind Tours & Travels LLC will operate Indian passport, visa and attestation services at 16 Indian Consular Application Centres (ICACs) across the United Arab Emirates from Wednesday, July 22. The move ends the temporary in house processing that had been in place earlier this month.
From July 22, these services will no longer be available at the Embassy in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General of India in Dubai. Applicants must book appointments via the official portal, consularsevainuae.com; slots are released daily at 9 am and 9 pm. All ICACs will be open from 8 am to 6 pm. Applicants are advised to choose the correct service category when booking and to arrive no earlier than 15 minutes before their appointment.
In addition to Government of India fees revised on July 1, 2026, Al Hind will levy a service charge of AED 19 (inclusive of VAT). This fee covers assistance with application form filling, document typing, photography, photocopying, printouts and domestic courier delivery. Walk in applications will still be accepted on a first come, first served basis for Tatkal passport services, newborn registrations, Emergency Certificates (EC) and for applicants aged 60 and above.
The Embassy awarded the outsourcing contract to Al Hind after a tender issued in November 2025; the company was initially due to take over from July 1. The handover was delayed when unsuccessful bidders challenged the procurement before the Delhi High Court. While the dispute was pending, the Abu Dhabi Embassy and the Dubai consulate resumed in house processing — the first time in nearly 17 years the missions had done so.
On July 15 the Delhi High Court set aside the tender, finding the technical evaluation unsustainable in law, and ordered the Ministry of External Affairs to issue fresh requests for proposals for consular service contracts at missions in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Singapore and Canberra within one month. The Union government appealed to the Supreme Court, which on July 20 declined to stay the Delhi High Court’s order, allowing it to stand.