Indian expatriates—the UAE’s largest foreign community—face an extra day without routine consular appointments after the Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate-General in Dubai extended their five-day service freeze to 1 July 2026. Routine passport renewals, visa endorsements, Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards and document-attestation requests have been halted since 26 June as the missions transition their outsourcing contracts to a new provider, Alhind Tours & Travels. According to Monday evening’s bulletin (29 June), only genuine emergencies—such as medical evacuations or bereavements—will be processed, and applicants must contact the missions via a 24-hour hotline or WhatsApp. All pre-scheduled appointments between 26 June and 1 July have been cancelled and will need to be re-booked once the new Indian Consular Application Centre (ICAC) portal goes live.
![Indian missions extend suspension of routine passport and visa services in UAE until 1 July]()
VisaHQ’s online visa and document-processing platform can bridge the gap during this freeze, offering real-time guidance on alternative travel documentation, expedited UAE visas, and certified attestation solutions. Employers and individuals can explore the service at https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/ to keep mobility plans on track until the ICAC portal is fully operational.
For UAE employers that rely on a constant churn of Indian talent, the pause means onboarding timelines could slip by several days. HR teams should plan for potential knock-on delays in Emirates ID issuance and residence-visa stamping, and consider using the UAE’s paid “urgent” channels to mitigate bottlenecks where legally permissible. Alhind has promised a streamlined, one-stop process—and a flat service fee of AED 19 per application—once operations resume. Mobility managers should watch for fresh appointment slots on 2 July and update employee communications to reflect the new provider’s contact details and documentation templates.
VisaHQ’s online visa and document-processing platform can bridge the gap during this freeze, offering real-time guidance on alternative travel documentation, expedited UAE visas, and certified attestation solutions. Employers and individuals can explore the service at https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/ to keep mobility plans on track until the ICAC portal is fully operational.
For UAE employers that rely on a constant churn of Indian talent, the pause means onboarding timelines could slip by several days. HR teams should plan for potential knock-on delays in Emirates ID issuance and residence-visa stamping, and consider using the UAE’s paid “urgent” channels to mitigate bottlenecks where legally permissible. Alhind has promised a streamlined, one-stop process—and a flat service fee of AED 19 per application—once operations resume. Mobility managers should watch for fresh appointment slots on 2 July and update employee communications to reflect the new provider’s contact details and documentation templates.
