The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi has issued a crucial advisory for Indian expatriates residing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) regarding a temporary suspension of routine consular services. Standard services including passport renewals, visa processing, and document attestation will be completely unavailable for a five-day period starting from June 26 to June 30, 2026. The embassy has urged citizens to plan their document requirements in advance to avoid last-minute disruptions.
The diplomatic mission explained that the temporary suspension is a planned administrative measure to facilitate a transition of operational responsibilities to a newly selected agency. The long-standing contracts with ‘BLS International,’ which currently manages passport and visa application desks, and ‘SGIVS Global,’ which oversees attestation workflows, will officially conclude their operations across the emirates on June 25, 2026.
Starting July 1, 2026, ‘Al Hind Tours and Travels LLC’ will take charge as the freshly appointed agency managing Indian consular services in the region. The new service provider is set to manage operations through an expanded network of 16 dedicated application centers across all seven emirates. For emergency situations during the five-day transition gap, the embassy stated that citizens can approach the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General of India in Dubai directly. Given that over 3.5 million Indian expats live in the UAE, officials have strongly recommended submitting urgent applications well before the June 25 deadline.
