The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi has awarded its three-year consular services contract to Alhind Tours & Travels, ending a 15-year relationship with outsourcing giant BLS International. From 1 July 2026, Indian nationals across the UAE will need to submit passport renewals, visa applications and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) requests through Alhind’s centres in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
![Indian Embassy Shifts Consular Outsourcing in UAE From BLS International to Alhind Tours]()
For individuals or corporate mobility teams that prefer a single digital dashboard rather than juggling multiple vendor websites, VisaHQ can help. Its UAE portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) lets users prepare Indian passport and visa paperwork, book appointments at Alhind centres, and track every stage of the process in real time—handy for HR teams managing dozens of renewals at once.
The switch affects an estimated 4.3 million Indians living and working in the Emirates—the largest single expatriate community in the country. While pricing is expected to remain broadly in line with existing schedules, industry sources anticipate temporary queues as the new vendor onboards staff and migrates biometric equipment. For employers running high-volume Indian mobility programmes, the change means updating policy documents, vendor portals and employee communications to reflect new appointment-booking URLs and payment methods. Failure to use the correct service provider after 1 July could invalidate submissions and delay renewals, exposing companies to overstay fines and work-permit suspensions. The embassy’s decision comes after India’s Ministry of External Affairs debarred BLS from bidding for new contracts until 2027, following a series of service-quality complaints and compliance probes in other jurisdictions. Mobility managers should therefore watch for further shifts in BLS-run missions elsewhere in the Gulf. Alhind, best known for its travel-management arm, says it will offer extended operating hours and dedicated corporate counters. Firms with bulk renewals scheduled for June should weigh the merits of fast-tracking applications under BLS versus waiting for the Alhind handover to avoid dual vendor interactions.
For individuals or corporate mobility teams that prefer a single digital dashboard rather than juggling multiple vendor websites, VisaHQ can help. Its UAE portal (https://www.visahq.com/united-arab-emirates/) lets users prepare Indian passport and visa paperwork, book appointments at Alhind centres, and track every stage of the process in real time—handy for HR teams managing dozens of renewals at once.
The switch affects an estimated 4.3 million Indians living and working in the Emirates—the largest single expatriate community in the country. While pricing is expected to remain broadly in line with existing schedules, industry sources anticipate temporary queues as the new vendor onboards staff and migrates biometric equipment. For employers running high-volume Indian mobility programmes, the change means updating policy documents, vendor portals and employee communications to reflect new appointment-booking URLs and payment methods. Failure to use the correct service provider after 1 July could invalidate submissions and delay renewals, exposing companies to overstay fines and work-permit suspensions. The embassy’s decision comes after India’s Ministry of External Affairs debarred BLS from bidding for new contracts until 2027, following a series of service-quality complaints and compliance probes in other jurisdictions. Mobility managers should therefore watch for further shifts in BLS-run missions elsewhere in the Gulf. Alhind, best known for its travel-management arm, says it will offer extended operating hours and dedicated corporate counters. Firms with bulk renewals scheduled for June should weigh the merits of fast-tracking applications under BLS versus waiting for the Alhind handover to avoid dual vendor interactions.
