Indian Embassy to close four UAE consular centres, consolidates passport and visa services

From Thursday, 22 October, the Embassy of India in the United Arab Emirates will permanently shut four Indian Consular Application Centres (ICACs)—Musaffah, Al Reem, Dubai Investment Park-1 and Sharjah Al Majaz—citing “administrative reasons.” The move reduces the network to 12 centres across the Emirates, all operated by outsourcing partner Al Hind Tours & Travels. The embassy emphasised that services at remaining ICACs—such as Bur Dubai (45 counters), Al Ain and Ras Al Khaimah—will run 08:00–18:00 with staggered entry 15 minutes before appointment times. Walk-in acceptance has been authorised for Tatkal passports, newborn registrations, emergency certificates and applicants aged 60 plus. While the UAE hosts an estimated 3.4 million Indian nationals, demand for passport renewals has jumped 18 per cent since fees were revised on 1 July—the first increase since 2012. A standard 36-page passport now costs AED 450, up from AED 285, and Tatkal processing is AED 900. The embassy warns that peak-season appointment slots will tighten once the four centres close. HR managers of UAE-based Indian staff should advise employees to re-book appointments at alternative ICACs and budget higher service charges. Companies relying on passport renewals for UAE residence-visa renewals are urged to factor in potential scheduling bottlenecks. Longer term, officials hinted that the consolidation is a pre-cursor to shifting more services to the mPassport Seva app and Global Passport Seva 2.0 platform, reducing brick-and-mortar footprints while expanding digital self-service options.