Chaos at Indian passport-and-visa centres across the United Arab Emirates continued on 12 July as embassies rolled out a new appointment portal and restricted walk-ins to emergency cases. The move follows a legal tussle over outsourcing contracts after the previous provider’s term ended on 30 June. Under interim arrangements, consular staff are conducting core services in-house while a competitive tender is re-run.
![Indian missions in UAE tighten walk-in rules and launch new portal amid service-provider dispute]()
For applicants who need extra guidance during this transition, VisaHQ can help streamline the paperwork. The company’s India resource page offers step-by-step checklists, real-time updates on consular rules and an option to have documents pre-reviewed before submission—saving travellers and corporate mobility teams time and reducing the risk of rejected applications.
Applicants must now create profiles on eSewa-UAE, choose from limited daily slots and upload documents in advance. Walk-in tokens are issued only for medical emergencies, bereavement travel and expired residence visas attracting overstay fines. For the UAE’s 4.5 million-strong Indian diaspora the transition has meant longer lead times for passport renewals and OCI card issuance. Travel agencies warn that ticket prices to India could spike during the August holiday rush because some families cannot secure passports for children in time. Employers sponsoring short-term engineers for Abu Dhabi oil projects also report delays obtaining Indian police-clearance certificates, now centralised through the portal. The missions have cautioned expatriates against using unregistered agents who charge hefty “fast-track” fees but cannot bypass the queue. They also reminded applicants that biometric enrolment remains mandatory and must be completed in person—even if the form is submitted online. A permanent service-provider contract is expected to be awarded by October. Until then, companies should factor in at least four weeks for any India-related consular paperwork in the UAE and advise travelling staff accordingly.
For applicants who need extra guidance during this transition, VisaHQ can help streamline the paperwork. The company’s India resource page offers step-by-step checklists, real-time updates on consular rules and an option to have documents pre-reviewed before submission—saving travellers and corporate mobility teams time and reducing the risk of rejected applications.
Applicants must now create profiles on eSewa-UAE, choose from limited daily slots and upload documents in advance. Walk-in tokens are issued only for medical emergencies, bereavement travel and expired residence visas attracting overstay fines. For the UAE’s 4.5 million-strong Indian diaspora the transition has meant longer lead times for passport renewals and OCI card issuance. Travel agencies warn that ticket prices to India could spike during the August holiday rush because some families cannot secure passports for children in time. Employers sponsoring short-term engineers for Abu Dhabi oil projects also report delays obtaining Indian police-clearance certificates, now centralised through the portal. The missions have cautioned expatriates against using unregistered agents who charge hefty “fast-track” fees but cannot bypass the queue. They also reminded applicants that biometric enrolment remains mandatory and must be completed in person—even if the form is submitted online. A permanent service-provider contract is expected to be awarded by October. Until then, companies should factor in at least four weeks for any India-related consular paperwork in the UAE and advise travelling staff accordingly.
