UAE Opens New Indian Consular Centres for Passport Services
India launches 16 ICAC centres across the UAE with faster passport, visa and attestation services.
Hundreds of Indian nationals turned up early Wednesday morning as the UAE’s new network of Indian Consular Application Centres (ICACs) officially opened after weeks of uncertainty and legal challenges.
This marks the biggest overhaul of Indian passport and consular services in the country in years.
The services, now operated by Al Hind Tours & Travels, are available through 16 centres across the UAE, replacing in-person passport, visa, attestation and consular application services previously temporarily offered at the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of India in Dubai.
Read More: Indian Passport Fees Changes Across the UAE
Speaking at the inauguration of the flagship centre at UW Mall in Bur Dubai, Mohammed Haris, Chairman and Founder of Al Group of Companies, said the response from applicants had been strong from the moment the centres opened.
“Nearly 2,000 applicants booked appointments this morning after the new website went live,” Haris said.
The new ICAC network became operational on July 22, 2026, after the Government of India outsourced passport, visa, attestation and consular services in the UAE to Al Hind Tours & Travels.
The move follows a Supreme Court order allowing the Ministry of External Affairs to proceed with the new outsourcing arrangement while legal proceedings over the tender process continue.
The centres are open from 8am to 6pm, with appointment slots released twice daily through the new online booking portal.
70 counters at flagship centre
The Bur Dubai facility, described as the largest Indian consular application centre in the UAE, has 70 service counters and can process around 600 applicants a day.
“The second-largest centre is located in Dubai Investment Park,” Haris added.
Across all 16 centres, the network has the capacity to process up to 8,000 applications a day once operations are fully scaled up.
To support the rollout, around 350 employees have been recruited to operate the centres.
Dh19 service fee
Applicants will pay a flat service charge of Dh19, in addition to the Government of India application fee.
According to Haris, the Dh19 fee includes a range of services that applicants previously paid for separately, including:
-
Photograph service
-
Photocopying
-
Printing
-
Form-filling assistance
-
Other ancillary application support services
“There are no premium services,” Haris said, adding that all applicants receive the same level of service in line with Government of India policy.
Application process in 30 minutes
Officials said the application submission process has been designed to be completed in around 30 minutes, provided applicants arrive with the required documents.
Indian Consulate officials said appointment slots are released twice daily at 9am and 9pm through the new online booking system.
All services under one roof
The new centres handle:
-
Passport applications
-
Visa services
-
Attestation
-
OCI-related services
-
Other Indian consular services
Applicants no longer need to visit the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General of India in Dubai to submit these applications.
AI contributed to the creation of this article.