Long queues form outside Bur Dubai centre before sunrise following weeks of operational disruption; 2,000 appointments booked within minutes.
DUBAI: Relief swept through the Indian expatriate community in the United Arab Emirates as outsourced passport and consular services officially resumed under Al Hind Tours & Travels, drawing massive crowds of applicants outside operational centers early Wednesday morning.
Long queues began forming outside the Al Hind Consular Application Centre in Bur Dubai well before sunrise, with scores of residents arriving as early as 5:45 AM. The surge in applicants follows weeks of uncertainty and service disruptions regarding Indian passport renewals, visa processing, and document attestations across the country.
For many community members facing impending visa expirations, urgent personal travel, or administrative deadlines, the reopening of consular channels provided critical respite. Official sources confirmed that nearly 2,000 appointment slots were fully booked within minutes of the system going live, underscoring the severe backlog accumulated over recent weeks.
Under the new operational framework, routine consular services are no longer handled directly at the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General of India in Dubai. Instead, all processing has been consolidated under 16 dedicated Indian Consular Application Centres (ICACs) operated nationwide by Al Hind.
To manage the unprecedented surge in demand, representatives confirmed that new appointment slots will continue to be released twice daily at 9:00 AM and 9:00 PM via the official portal, consularsevainuae.com.
Centres are operating daily from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. While advance appointments remain mandatory for standard processing, walk-in emergency provisions remain active for Tatkal applications, newborn registrations, Emergency Certificates (EC), and senior citizens aged 60 and above.
