Four Indian consular application centres in the UAE stopped operating on 22 October, Business Today reports: Dubai Investment Park and Al Majaz in Sharjah, and Musaffah and Al Reem in Abu Dhabi. Consular, passport, visa and attestation services continue at 12 centres across the country.
Applicants whose passports were at Dubai Investment Park or Al Majaz now collect them at UW Mall in Bur Dubai, and those from Musaffah or Al Reem at the Al Danah Centre in Abu Dhabi. Applicants who chose courier delivery receive their passports through the designated courier.
According to the report, a new advisory from Alhind, the temporary outsourced service provider of the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Indian Consulate in Dubai, ended a short interim arrangement under which some of the closed centres still handed out passports. The Embassy had announced the closures on Wednesday.
Business Today adds that the Embassy issued a request for proposals for consular, passport and visa services on 28 September, with the contract due to be awarded on 27 November; Alhind's future role depends on that tender.
What it means
Indian residents of the UAE with an application at one of the four closed centres collect their passports at UW Mall or the Al Danah Centre, and the service provider may change after 27 November.
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