Indian nationals make up the largest expatriate community in the United Arab Emirates, and they rely heavily on outsourced centres to renew passports, apply for visas and obtain a wide range of consular attestations. On 12 June, the Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi confirmed that, after a competitive tender, Al Hind Tours & Travels LLC will replace BLS International and SG IVS Global as the sole outsourced provider across the Emirates from 1 July 2026. Sixteen new centres have already been earmarked—six in Abu Dhabi, two in Dubai and one in every other emirate—so that no applicant will need to travel more than one hour to lodge paperwork.
![Indian Consular, Passport and Visa Services in UAE Move to Al Hind from 1 July]()
Meanwhile, travellers and HR teams looking for additional support with UAE entry permits or onward visa requirements can turn to VisaHQ for streamlined, end-to-end assistance. The company’s digital portal provides up-to-date checklists, real-time application tracking and expert guidance that complements embassy procedures; full details are available at https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/
The Indian mission stressed that the last day for lodging applications through the incumbent vendors is 30 June. After that, all biometric capture, document intake, fee collection and passport delivery will move to Al Hind facilities. Exact opening hours, appointment booking links and revised service charges will be published in a separate notice closer to the go-live date; however, the embassy advised applicants with impending travel plans to submit renewal requests immediately to avoid a processing bottleneck during the hand-over. For global mobility managers the change means vendor account details, invoicing procedures and power-of-attorney templates must all be updated in internal relocation playbooks. Employers who batch-process large volumes of visa applications—particularly for offshore rotations—should request new corporate counters with Al Hind to preserve service-level agreements. The embassy also reiterated that only official websites and verified social-media channels should be trusted; several fraudulent portals have already appeared online offering ‘priority appointments’ for a fee. Al Hind, headquartered in Kerala with offices across the Gulf, says it will introduce extended evening counters and multilingual help-desks to reduce wait times. It will also pilot a ‘mobile collection’ service for elderly or medically vulnerable residents unable to visit a centre in person. Because Indian e-passports are due for phased roll-out later this year, Al Hind is working with India’s Ministry of External Affairs to ensure that the new booklet with embedded security chip can be issued seamlessly from day one. Ultimately, the transition is designed to give Indian nationals a uniform and tech-enabled experience, but it will require a short period of adjustment. Companies with large Indian workforces should circulate clear instructions and encourage staff to schedule any time-sensitive renewals before 30 June, while those planning summer travel should double-check passport validity and visa vignette transfer rules to avoid airport delays.
Meanwhile, travellers and HR teams looking for additional support with UAE entry permits or onward visa requirements can turn to VisaHQ for streamlined, end-to-end assistance. The company’s digital portal provides up-to-date checklists, real-time application tracking and expert guidance that complements embassy procedures; full details are available at https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/
The Indian mission stressed that the last day for lodging applications through the incumbent vendors is 30 June. After that, all biometric capture, document intake, fee collection and passport delivery will move to Al Hind facilities. Exact opening hours, appointment booking links and revised service charges will be published in a separate notice closer to the go-live date; however, the embassy advised applicants with impending travel plans to submit renewal requests immediately to avoid a processing bottleneck during the hand-over. For global mobility managers the change means vendor account details, invoicing procedures and power-of-attorney templates must all be updated in internal relocation playbooks. Employers who batch-process large volumes of visa applications—particularly for offshore rotations—should request new corporate counters with Al Hind to preserve service-level agreements. The embassy also reiterated that only official websites and verified social-media channels should be trusted; several fraudulent portals have already appeared online offering ‘priority appointments’ for a fee. Al Hind, headquartered in Kerala with offices across the Gulf, says it will introduce extended evening counters and multilingual help-desks to reduce wait times. It will also pilot a ‘mobile collection’ service for elderly or medically vulnerable residents unable to visit a centre in person. Because Indian e-passports are due for phased roll-out later this year, Al Hind is working with India’s Ministry of External Affairs to ensure that the new booklet with embedded security chip can be issued seamlessly from day one. Ultimately, the transition is designed to give Indian nationals a uniform and tech-enabled experience, but it will require a short period of adjustment. Companies with large Indian workforces should circulate clear instructions and encourage staff to schedule any time-sensitive renewals before 30 June, while those planning summer travel should double-check passport validity and visa vignette transfer rules to avoid airport delays.
