Indian expats in the UAE will see a change to how they access passport renewals and consular services from July 1. The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi has awarded its outsourced consular services contract to Alhind Tours & Travels Pvt Ltd, replacing BLS International, which had held the contract since 2011.
The official notice was issued on April 20. The contract covers services at both the Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of India in Dubai, and applies to the UAE’s 4.3 million-strong Indian community.
The transition follows a competitive tender process that began in November 2025. Financial bids from four shortlisted companies were opened on March 30, 2026. The four firms in contention were Alhind Tours & Travels, VFS Global, DU Digital Global Ltd, and SGIVS Global LLC. Alhind submitted the lowest financial bid and was declared the winning bidder. The embassy confirmed the award in a public notice, stating that Alhind’s bid was declared the Lowest Financial Bid and the contract was awarded accordingly.
BLS International’s exit comes after India’s Ministry of External Affairs issued an order on October 9, 2025, debarring the company from bidding for new Indian Mission contracts for two years, citing court cases and complaints from applicants. A Delhi court later lifted that restriction, but the fresh tender process had already moved forward.
Alhind UAE Fee Structure and Services Covered
Under the new contract, Alhind will charge a flat, all-inclusive fee of Dh19 per transaction above the embassy’s mandated costs. This covers everything including photography and photocopying, with no additional charges. Mohammed Haris T, Chairman of the Alhind Group, confirmed the unified pricing structure applies across all services.
The contract covers passport renewals, visa processing, OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) cards, Police Clearance Certificates, Surrender Certificates, Global Entry Programme verification, and miscellaneous attestation services.
The application process itself will remain broadly similar to what it was under BLS. Bookings will be made through a dedicated Alhind website. Arun Radhakrishnan, Head of Operations at Alhind Group, told Gulf News that the company also plans to introduce online applications and further digitalise the backend.
Alhind Office Locations Across the UAE
Alhind will operate from 16 locations across the UAE starting July 1. Cities and areas covered include Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai including Bur Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Kalba, and Khor Fakkan. The company is currently in the final stages of securing leases for all sites.
To manage the rollout, Alhind is recruiting between 250 and 350 staff members for roles including submission officers, operations executives, facilitation staff, and front-desk personnel. Teams are being mobilised from India to support the launch phase.
Founded in Kerala in 1992, Alhind began operations in the UAE and other Middle Eastern countries in 1995. The company is part of a larger group with interests in IT software, luxury rentals, and foreign exchange. Since 2019, it has operated 16 authorized outsourcing collection centers in India for attestation and Apostille services, and is one of only four companies licensed to handle such services in India. Last year the company also received a no-objection certificate to launch a domestic airline in India.
Radhakrishnan acknowledged the scale of the transition. “We are a tours and travels company — this is a very big undertaking. It is a major milestone for us,” he told Gulf News, adding that a dedicated team from India would support operations.
Under the contract terms, Alhind must meet all criteria set by the Indian embassy within 60 days of the contract award. Indian expats with pending applications under BLS International should complete them before the transition takes effect. Full details on the new website and office locations are expected ahead of the July 1 rollout.
