Passport services for Indian expats in UAE: Alhind reveals 16 centres

Abu Dhabi: The locations of 16 new Indian consular service centres coming up across the UAE have been revealed as Alhind Tours and Travels formally signed its agreement with the Indian missions in the country on Monday.

Spread across all seven emirates, the centres are set to go live on July 1, 2026, when Alhind officially takes over passport, visa and other consular services for the UAE's over 4.3 million-strong Indian community and foreigners visiting India from the outgoing operator BLS International, which has held the contract since 2011.

Where the centres will be

Arun Radhakrishnan, Operations Manager for Alhind in the UAE, confirmed to Gulf News the locations of all 16 centres, which include six in Abu Dhabi alone: at Al Khalidiya, Al Reem Island, Musaffah, Madinat Zayed, Ghayathi and Al Ain.

Dubai will be served by two centres, in Bur Dubai and Dubai Investment Park (DIP), while Sharjah gets centres at Al Majaz and Rolla. The remaining centres will be located in Ajman (Al Jurf), Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain, Khor Fakkan (Corniche), Kalba and Ras Al Khaimah.

"The locations of the centres have been decided based on the requirements specified by the Indian missions. The full addresses will be revealed later on," Radhakrishnan said.

"The centres in Dubai will be large enough with multiple counters to cater to the large Indian expat population in the emirate," he assured.

Signing ceremony

The formal agreement signing ceremony took place at the Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi on May 18, the company said in a press release.

Senior diplomats in attendance included Prem Chand, Counsellor of the Consular Wing and First Appellate Authority at the Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi, and Ashish Kumar Verma, Consul for Passport, Protocol and Political Affairs at the Consulate General of India in Dubai.

Alhind was selected following an international tender jointly conducted by the Embassy of India and the Consulate General of India in Dubai. More than 15 international companies participated in the process, with the official award notification issued on April 21, 2026.

July 1 deadline

As reported by Gulf News in April, Alhind won the three-year contract by submitting the lowest financial bid of Dh19 per transaction, an all-inclusive fee that covers all services, including biometric photo capture. Other bidders included VFS Global, DU Digital and SGIVS Global.

The new centres will handle a full range of services, including passport renewals, visa processing, OCI card applications, Police Clearance Certificates, Surrender Certificates, Global Entry Programme verification and attestation services.

Infrastructure setup, technology integration and staff recruitment are currently in the final stages ahead of the July 1 launch, according to Alhind. Between 250 and 350 staff are being brought in, with hiring already under way.

About the service provider

Alhind Group has been operating in the UAE since 2007 and currently runs 18 offices across the country offering travel, attestation and related services. Founded in Kerala, the company has more than 130 offices worldwide and counts over 4,000 B2B travel agents across the UAE in its network.

BLS International, which is being replaced, had its contract repeatedly extended since 2011 but was barred by India's Ministry of External Affairs from participating in future government tenders for two years, following what BLS described as "allegations including court cases and complaints of applicants."