Dubai: The UAE has a dynamic expatriate population calling the country their second home. India, Pakistan and Philippines, through their embassies and consulates, provide a range of services from issuing visit visas to their countries, to issuing passports to their nationals or even providing financial and marital counselling.
Important note: Visa services may get affected by COVID-19 regulations in the country. Reach out to the embassy or consulate before you start a visa application process.
India
Visa services
Some Indian consular services, like issuing of visit visas to non-Indians, are managed by BLS centres, which have 16 different locations across the UAE. The visa is normally delivered in three to four working days, in case the applicant is a UAE national or a UAE resident. However, in case of non-residents and those belonging to certain categories, the issuance of visa will depend on certain additional clearances, which may take longer, according to the Indian Consulate website.
Passport services
These are some of the passport services offered at the Indian embassy and consulate:
1. Issuing a fresh passport, or re-issuing a passport
2. Re-validation of Passport
3. Diplomatic/Official Passport
4. Emergency Certificate (EC) (An outpass, which is issued to an Indian national without a valid Indian passport)
5. Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) (from India)
6. Surrender (Renunciation) Certificate (for surrendering Indian passport - Under Indian law, Applicants of Indian Origin, who have acquired foreign citizenship, are required to surrender their Indian passports to the nearest Indian Mission/Post immediately after acquisition of foreign citizenship.)
7. Registration of Birth & Issue of Passport to new born child
Attestation Services
The Consulate General of India in Dubai provides attestation services to Indians and foreigners. The services are facilitated through an outsource agency – IVS Global Services – which attests documents like:
• Birth certificate
• Housemaid’ affidavit to state no relationship (which is a requirement for Indian nationals hiring a domestic worker who is also an Indian national)
• Education / transfer certificate
• Divorce decree
• Life certificate
• Death certificate
• Power of Attorney
• Other documents (such as court affidavit, surety bond, indemnity bond etc.)
• Will
• Marriage certificate
• Driving licence
• Medical certificate
Medical Tourism in India
You can apply for a visa for medical tourists, with the consulate also providing services, which facilitate the entire trip, including coordinating through Medical Value Travel Facilitators and providing access to tourism portals that educate medical tourists of procedures.
Marriages, marital counselling
The Indian Consulate also solemnises marriages, when one of the individuals is an Indian citizen. The consulate also provides support on couples facing marital issues, or to women who may have been deserted by their NRI spouses due to domestic violence or any other fraudulent behaviour.
Where to go?
Consulate General of India
Al Hamriya, Diplomatic Enclave
P.O. BOX 737, DUBAI
Tel : 04 3971222/3971333
Indian Embassy
Plot No. 10,
Sector W-59/02, Diplomatic Area,
Off the Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Street (Previously known as Airport Road)
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
BLS
The service centre has 16 different locations, and you can reach out to them to find out one most convenient to you.
Call Center Number (Abu Dhabi) : 04 387 5667
Call Center Number (Dubai): 04 387 5777
VFS Global
Visa Application Centre
Wafi Mall, 2nd Floor
Umm Hurair 2
Dubai, UAE
04 2055666
Level B2 (Lower Ground)
The Mall, World Trade Centre
Khalifa Bin Zayed The 1st Street (Airport Road)
Abu Dhabi, UAE
04 2055 666
Pakistan
The Pakistani community can avail of the following consular services from the Pakistani Consulate and the Pakistan Embassy:
Passport and visa services
The following visa services are provided by the Pakistani consular affairs:
• Issuing of visas to Pakistan
• Applying for National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) and Pakistan Origin Card (POC), Foreign Exchange Remittance Card or Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) card.
• Registration of Birth of a Child of a Citizen of Pakistan Born Abroad.
• Issuing of Machine Readable Passport (MRP)
• Emergency Travel Documents (ETDs) and Emergency Travel to Pakistan
Attestation services
• Attestation of Documents/Execution of Power of Attorneys
• Driving licence attestation
• Educational Documents (Issued by Pakistani Schools in UAE)
• Attestation of Will
• Marriage Certificates
• Birth Certificates
• Character certificates
• Character Certificate
• Medical Certificate
• Death Certificates
• Divorce Certificate
• Unmarried Certificate Affidavit/Union Council Certificate
• CNIC Cancellation Form
• Driving License
• School Leaving Certificate
• Secondary School Certificate
• Higher Secondary School Certificate
• Succession and Guardianship Certificate
• Special Power of Attorney from Pakistan to person Abroad
• Power of Attorney from Abroad to a person in Pakistan
• Documents relating to Commerce/Trade
• Attestation of Photocopy of Passport
• English translation of all above mentioned documents
• Documents issued by National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA)
According to the Consulate General of Pakistan’s website, the consulate in Dubai only countersigns the attestation done by other authorities. It does not attest either the contents or the genuineness of the document. The Consulate, thus, verifies the signatures of concerned attesting authorities. These documents include:
1. Documents issued by various Authorities of Central, Provincial and Local Governments in Pakistan.
2. Documents verified/attested by authorities in UAE, which are intended to be presented in Pakistan. These must be countersigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the UAE.
Documents not accepted for attestation
The following documents in original as well as the copies of these documents are not attested by the Consulate General of Pakistan, according to its website:
• Domicile
• CNIC/NICOP
• Visa Note/Invitation Letters for Foreigners
• Documents related to Immoveable Property (i.e. Registries of the Plots and Agriculture Land)
Where to go?
Pakistan Consulate
Umm Hurair One
Khalid Bin Waleed Road,
Bur Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Telephone No: 04 3973600, 04 3970412
Pakistan Embassy
Plot No. 2, Sector W. 59 Diplomatic Enclave
P.O. Box No. 846
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Phone: 02 4447800
Philippines
The Philippine Embassy and Consulate provide several support services to the Filipino community in the UAE, including:
• Issuing of passport and travel document
• Passport releasing
• Visa services
• Notarisation and authentication of legal documents
• Birth/repatriation of remains
• Marriage and Civil registry
• Assistance to nationals
Where to go?
Philippine Consulate
851 Beirut Street
Al Qusais 3
Dubai, UAE
Tel: 04 220 7100
Philippine Embassy
W-48, Street No. 8,
Sector 2-23, Plot 51,
Al Qubaisat 3215
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Tel: 02 639 0006
