Indian Embassy extends suspension of regular Indian passport and visa appointments in UAE

Abu Dhabi: Indian expats in the UAE will have to wait a little longer for normal passport, visa and attestation services to resume, after the Indian Embassy announced on Monday that the Indian missions will continue rendering only emergency consular services till July 1, 2026.

In a statement posted on the mission's official X handle, the Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi, and the Consulate General of India, Dubai, confirmed that both missions will continue handling emergency cases only — covering passports, visas, miscellaneous services and attestation — until July 1.

This follows an earlier June 19 press release in which the embassy announced that regular Indian passport, visa and attestation services in the UAE will be suspended for five days as Alhind Tours and Travel LLC will take over the delivery of outsourced passport, visa and attestation services across the UAE from July 1, 2026.

As part of the transition, existing service providers BLS International, which handles passport and visa services, and SGIVS Global, responsible for attestation services, were to stop accepting new applications after the close of business on June 25.

Regular appointments for passport, visa and attestation services were said to remain unavailable from June 26 to only June 30, effectively resulting in a five-day suspension of routine consular services, the mission had said.

Administrative reasons

The mission cited administrative reasons for extending the suspension of regular services for one more day.

It said those needing urgent assistance during this period can still contact the missions through the toll-free number 800 46342 (800 INDIA), on WhatsApp at +971 54 309 0571, or by email at pbsk.dubai@mea.gov.in.

The embassy said details about services from July 2 onwards will be "communicated in due course."

The public was urged to monitor official embassy and consulate social media channels for further updates.