Indian passport services in UAE: Alhind's ICACs launch new Sunday counter

Dubai: Indian expats in the UAE, who struggle to reach a passport centre during the week or must wait over the weekend to get their passports delivered by courier, now have a solution. A new 'Sunday passport collection counter' is now open at all 16 Indian Consular Application Centres (ICACs) run by Alhind Global Services across the country, Gulf News can reveal.

The additional service began last Sunday under the guidance of the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Indian Consulate in Dubai. It comes amid the ICACs by Alhind marking two months of operation.

The Sunday counter, which is open from 10am to 12pm, has been introduced in response to customer requirements. Applicants cannot submit applications on Sundays, as those centres are usually closed that day.

ICACs usually operate from 8am to 6pm from Monday to Saturday. The new counter is only for collecting passports.

The new Sunday passport delivery counter at the ICACs aims at catering to applicants who cannot visit a centre on weekdays because of work or other commitments.

It also helps those who find it difficult to receive their passports by courier on an urgent basis over the weekend.

Applicants can now collect their passports in person even on a day off, rather than wait for a courier service until Monday. It can be especially handy for residents who must travel at short notice or need their passports back to process their new visa, Emirates ID or other official documents.

The Sunday counter arrives amid signs that services have settled down after a bumpy start. Alhind's ICACs opened on July 22, after legal challenges to the original tender delayed the planned July 1 launch. Early weeks saw queues, longer processing times and complaints from applicants.

According to the Indian missions, 100 per cent of the earlier backlogs have now been cleared following the initial disruption in consular services. Appointments are fully available, making it easier to access services without prolonged waiting, and operations across all 16 ICACs have become seamless, streamlined and timely.

Figures from the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi show the scale of demand in the first month. Between July 22 and August 22, the 16 ICACs processed more than 53,000 services, including around 44,000 passport services.

Walk-in services are also available at all ICACs for eligible applicants (Tatkal passport applicants, newborns, emergency certificate applicants, senior citizens aged 60 and above, people of determination) under the applicable procedures.

As first reported by Gulf News, up to 150 eligible walk-in applicants are now being accommodated each day at Alhind's Bur Dubai ICAC located at UW Mall in Al Mankhool.

ICACs process all Indian passport and visa-related applications and attestation of Indian documents. Appointments for all these Indian consular services can be availed through online booking portal consularsevainuae.com. Appointments are released daily at 9am and 9pm.

Essential support services offered at the ICACs for Dh19 include form-filling assistance, photograph services, photocopy services and courier services.

With these in place, applicants do not need to depend on or visit external agencies for basic application-related tasks, the missions had highlighted earlier.

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