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Abu Dhabi: The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, July 21, announced that Al Hind Tours & Travels LLC will operate Indian passport, visa and attestation services across the United Arab Emirates from Wednesday, July 22.

The services will be provided through 16 Indian Consular Application Centres (ICACs) across the UAE, replacing the temporary in-house arrangement introduced earlier this month. From July 22, passport, visa and attestation services will no longer be available at the Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General of India in Dubai.

Applicants can book appointments through the official portal, consularsevainuae.com, with appointment slots released daily at 9 am and 9 pm.

Centres to operate daily

All ICACs will operate from 8 am to 6 pm.

The Embassy advised applicants to select the appropriate service category while booking appointments and arrive no earlier than 15 minutes before their scheduled time.

In addition to the Government of India fees revised from July 1, 2026, Al Hind Tours & Travels LLC will charge a service fee of AED 19, inclusive of VAT.

The fee covers application form filling, document typing, photography, photocopying, printouts and domestic courier delivery.

Walk-in applications will continue to be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis for Tatkal passport services, new-born registrations, Emergency Certificates (EC) and senior citizens aged 60 years and above.

How the dispute unfolded

The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi awarded the outsourcing contract to Al Hind Tours & Travels LLC after issuing a tender in November 2025. The company was scheduled to take over passport, visa and attestation services from July 1.

The transition was delayed after unsuccessful bidders challenged the procurement process before the Delhi High Court.

During the legal proceedings, the Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of India in Dubai resumed processing passport, visa and attestation applications directly, marking the first time in nearly 17 years that the missions had handled the services in-house.

On Wednesday, July 15, the Delhi High Court set aside the tender, ruling that the technical evaluation process could not be sustained in law. The court directed the Ministry of External Affairs to issue fresh Requests for Proposal (RFPs) for consular service contracts at Indian missions in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Singapore and Canberra within one month.

The Union government subsequently approached the Supreme Court, arguing that restarting the tender process could disrupt essential consular services at Indian missions abroad.

On July 20, the Supreme Court declined to interfere with the Delhi High Court’s ruling, allowing the order to remain in force.