The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi has issued a new tender to outsource passport, visa and consular services in the UAE.
It is seeking a single service provider to manage services for the embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General in Dubai, with the new contract proposed to run for three years.
Alhind Tours & Travels was appointed as service provider on an interim basis in July after a legal battle in India over the tender process.
The dispute resulted in the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi and the consulate general in Dubai handling passport renewals directly, causing huge delays.
The Supreme Court then directed the Indian government to conduct and complete a fresh tender process within three months. Now, the Mission in Abu Dhabi has issued a fresh request to permanently re-tender the operations.
Smooth running of such consular services is crucial to support the 4.3 million-strong Indian diaspora in the Emirates.
The selected provider must establish and operate 15 Indian Consular Application Centres across the UAE, including in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain, Khor Fakkan, Kalba and Ras Al Khaimah.
The provider must maintain an online appointment system and ensure appointment slots are available within five working days, in accordance with contract terms and penalties.
Interested companies must submit bids by October 26. The embassy will then complete technical and financial evaluations and aims to announce the successful bidder by November 27.
What this means for Indian residents in the UAE
For Indian residents, the new tender does not require any immediate change in application procedures. The Indian Embassy and Consulate will communicate any changes resulting from the new contract.
The current service arrangement with Alhind will remain unchanged for now.
The new tender is a procurement process for the coming contract. The successful bidder will sign a three-year agreement, with services expected to start within 45 days of signing.
Indian residents should continue using the current arrangements until the embassy announces any changes to the service provider or operating procedures.
What services are covered?
The next service provider will be responsible for front-end support for a range of services, including:
- Indian passport applications and related services
- Indian visa applications
- OCI services
- Police Clearance Certificates
- Surrender Certificates
- Global Entry Programme verification
- Miscellaneous attestation services
- Appointment scheduling
- Application and document collection
- Digitisation and electronic transmission of applications
- Passport/document delivery
- Customer support and grievance registration
