Abu Dhabi/Dubai: Indian missions in the UAE have increased the levy on consular services, which goes to the Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) to meet the new demands under the fund’s widened ambit.
A flat levy of Dh6 used to be charged for consular services such as passport renewal and attestation.Foreigners applying for visa and people of Indian origin seeking Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cards also paid this levy. Now, Indian citizens will pay Dh8 and foreigners and OCI card applicants will pay Dh11.
Surplus fund
Indian missions have a surplus fund of around 240 million rupees (Dh13.76 million), which was collected over the years, Navdeep Singh Suri, the Indian Ambassador to the UAE, said.
The ICWF does not get any financial contribution from the Indian government. An estimated 2.7 million Indians in the UAE, the largest expatriate community, contribute to the fund mainly by paying the levy for consular services.
Indians missions in the UAE collect between Dh3 million and Dh3.5 million a year as consular levy for the fund, officials said.
