The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi has confirmed that routine passport issuance, visa stamping and document-attestation services for the UAE’s 3.5-million-strong Indian community will pause from the close of business on 25 June until 30 June 2026. The hiatus will allow a transition from current contractor BLS International to new service partner Al Hind Tours & Travel LLC, which assumes operations on 1 July.
![Indian passport, visa and attestation services in UAE suspended 26–30 June for provider switch]()
For individuals or companies seeking extra help navigating the pause, VisaHQ can streamline the process with up-to-date checklists, online tracking and expert support for India-UAE travel paperwork; more information is available at https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/
Emergency cases will still be handled at embassy and consulate counters. Employers with large Indian workforces – notably in construction, healthcare and IT services – have been advised to reschedule exit-re-entry and overseas-project deployments until early July. HR teams should check that employees whose passports are already at collection stage retrieve them by 25 June, or face a five-day wait. The changeover follows India’s move to consolidate outsourced consular contracts worldwide and introduce stricter biometric standards. For applicants, process fees remain broadly the same, but application centres will shift location in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Al Ain. Al Hind says it will launch a new appointment portal with integrated status tracking and WhatsApp notifications. Travel-risk advisers remind companies to monitor passport-validity triggers: UAE residence-visa renewals require at least six months’ remaining validity, a window that closes quickly for blue-collar workers on three-year passports. While emergency travel certificates will be available, they do not permit re-entry to the UAE after exit. Longer term, India’s e-passport rollout – slated for Q4 2026 – should reduce embassy visits, but corporates may need to budget for hardware upgrades to read the embedded chips when onboarding new hires.
For individuals or companies seeking extra help navigating the pause, VisaHQ can streamline the process with up-to-date checklists, online tracking and expert support for India-UAE travel paperwork; more information is available at https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/
Emergency cases will still be handled at embassy and consulate counters. Employers with large Indian workforces – notably in construction, healthcare and IT services – have been advised to reschedule exit-re-entry and overseas-project deployments until early July. HR teams should check that employees whose passports are already at collection stage retrieve them by 25 June, or face a five-day wait. The changeover follows India’s move to consolidate outsourced consular contracts worldwide and introduce stricter biometric standards. For applicants, process fees remain broadly the same, but application centres will shift location in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Al Ain. Al Hind says it will launch a new appointment portal with integrated status tracking and WhatsApp notifications. Travel-risk advisers remind companies to monitor passport-validity triggers: UAE residence-visa renewals require at least six months’ remaining validity, a window that closes quickly for blue-collar workers on three-year passports. While emergency travel certificates will be available, they do not permit re-entry to the UAE after exit. Longer term, India’s e-passport rollout – slated for Q4 2026 – should reduce embassy visits, but corporates may need to budget for hardware upgrades to read the embedded chips when onboarding new hires.
