Pakistanis demand more consular services in the Northern Emirates

Travelling to Dubai or Abu Dhabi for services such as passport renewal and processing ID cards is just not feasible for some who live far away from the UAE's two big cities.

Six months after a backlog of passports was finally cleared, the consulate in Dubai is facing longer waiting times than ever. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

DUBAI // The Pakistani consulate should provide more services in the Northern Emirates, the expatriate community has said.

Six months after a backlog of passports was finally cleared, the consulate in Dubai is facing longer waiting times than ever.

Waiting in line for passport renewals and identity cards is a particular concern.

About 18 months ago, people faced significant delays due to a lack of laminated paper, according to Mobisher Rabbani, a diplomatic consultant in Dubai.

Mr Rabbani said: “With the change in the [Pakistan] government, no one had authorisation to sign off for new laminated paper, which I believe was being ordered in from outside the country, maybe the UK.”

He said the backlog was almost a year long and affected more than 40,000 Pakistanis. It ended last summer when the new government placed the paper order. “There was a huge backlog in relation to passports but I think most, if not all, of that has been rectified now,” said Mr Rabbani.

“Most people are getting their passports between 10 to 15 days after doing the application.”

Despite improvement in processing times, there are still long queues as staff struggle to meet demand for other services.

“People living in the Northern Emirates have pretty much no option but to go to the consulate [in Dubai] for things like collecting their passports or dealing with national ID card issues,” said Mr Rabbani. “The people working in the consulate are doing an amazing job helping people, but I think we need more support from the higher-ups.”

He suggested setting up services in other emirates, such as India has done. “Ten years ago there was no issue and you would get service very quickly but, as the Pakistani community in the UAE has grown, so have the waiting times,” he said.

“At the moment if you live in the Northern Emirates you’re facing a minimum delay of at least 90 minutes for travel times and then you could be waiting in line for hours before you’re served. “The Pakistan community in the UAE sends billions of dollars in remittances every year, which help the country’s foreign reserves and I think more should be done for them here.”

Others in the community agreed. Javed Akhtar, an electrician in Bur Dubai, said: “They should have other offices in Dubai where people can go and get what they need. There are always people waiting at the consulate, even during the summer, and something needs to be done.”

Shoaib Ahmed, a sales assistant in Tecom, said: “I’ve been in the past to get my passport sorted and you have to go very early; and even then there is usually a line of people waiting to get in.”

A spokesman for the Pakistan consulate said limited consular services were provided at weekly “camps” in Sharjah, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah. He said: “These are mainly for labourers who cannot travel to Dubai and focus on the Nada ID cards.

“We have more people in Sharjah so we might run the camp twice a month there and once a month in the other two emirates.”