Passport services paused as Indian consulate in Dubai announces temporary closure - Khaleej Times

Source: OFFICIAL UAE NEWS · Khaleej Times

Passport services paused as Indian consulate in Dubai announces temporary closure The Passport-Visa-Attestation services at the Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi premises will remain operational on Friday

• PUBLISHED: Thu 16 Jul 2026, 6:37 PM UPDATED: Thu 16 Jul 2026, 7:06 PM The Indian consulate in Dubai has announced a temporary closure from Friday morning, July 17, 2026 until Sunday, July 19, 2026 on account of road maintenance work being carried out by the relevant authorities. The Consulate General of India said in a post in X that the Dubai Consulate Complex will be closed for Passport-Visa-Attestation services on these three days. The services will resume on Monday July 20, 2026, the appointments for which will open at 8pm on July 19, 2026. However, the Passport-Visa-Attestation services at the Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi premises will be operational on Friday, July 17, 2026. Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels. The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Consulate General in Dubai have been running passport, visa, and attestation services directly from their own premises since July 1 after the outsourcing contract ran into dispute. Kerala-based Alhind was meant to take over from on July 1 after winning the tender with the lowest financial bid, replacing BLS, which had been handling passport, visa, and consular services in the UAE for over a decade. However, the transition has been delayed by the Indian mission in the UAE citing "administrative reasons". Two of the unsuccessful bidders have jointly challenged the tender process and decision in court, claiming that they were disqualified “without assigning any reasons.” The Delhi High Court has now ruled that there should be a retendering procedure for outsourcing the consular services. In the meantime, the Indian missions in the UAE have temporarily begun handling consular services directly on an appointment basis. Earlier, this was done on a walk-in basis. However, the Consulate General of India (CGI) in Dubai and Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi later announced that prior online bookings have been compulsory to access the service.