Officials from India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs met in New Delhi on 22 July for the seventh session of their Joint Consular Committee. The UAE delegation was led by Under-Secretary Omar Obaid Al Hesan Alshamsi, while India’s side was headed by Sripriya Ranganathan, Secretary (Consular, Passport, Visa & Overseas Indian Affairs). Talks focused on harmonising consular procedures, sharing best practices on digital passport services and expanding verification of academic and professional qualifications—a key issue for Indian knowledge workers seeking UAE residence permits. The two sides reviewed progress since last year’s Abu Dhabi session and agreed to pilot data-exchange mechanisms that could reduce document-fraud risk and cut application turn-around times. The committee also discussed welfare of Indian seafarers transiting UAE ports, long-term visa facilitation for Emirati medical tourists to India, and joint public-information campaigns to reduce overstays. Both governments pledged to maintain quarterly working-group meetings to accelerate implementation. For employers the outcome signals a gradual move toward ‘trusted-partner’ processing, where verified companies may lodge bulk work-visa or passport-renewal requests through streamlined channels. Multinationals with operations in both countries should watch for pilot invitations later in 2026. The consular committee sits against the backdrop of the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and recent outsourcing changes in both Australia and the UAE, underlining New Delhi’s broader strategy to modernise overseas-Indian services.
Source: UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs
