Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi, which has given a significant contract to Alhind Tours and Travels Pvt Ltd regarding outsourcing the consular support services in the UAE as per the official notice dated 20 April 2026.
Services include passport and visa applications, Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) applications, police clearance certificates (PCC), surrender certificates (SC), Global Entry Program (GEP) verification, and attestation. The agreement has a broad scope of services. This will be in the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and in the Consulate General of India in Dubai.
The award of the contract depends on the competitive tender process that is launched in November 2025. On March 30, 2026, financial bids in four shortlisted companies Alhind, DU Digital Global Ltd, SGIVS Global LLC and VFS Global were opened.
According to its official statement the embassy added that Alhind was the lowest financial bidder (L1) upon its evaluation, and the contract was awarded.
Over a few years, BLS International had been handling the Indian consular outsourced services in the UAE. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) however banned BLS International for two years in October 2025 on allegations such as litigation disputes and complaints by the applicants regarding new Indian mission contracts.
Contrary to the announcement, the embassy has yet to clarify when the new service arrangements take effect.
Sources who are acquainted with the process reveal that Alhind should meet all the operational and regulatory requirements of the embassy, within 60 days of contract award, before it starts its services.
Since 1995, Alhind Tours and Travels Pvt Ltd which was founded in Kerala, India in 1992 has grown its operations into the UAE and the rest of the Middle East. The company belongs to the Alhind Group that has diversified interests in IT solutions, foreign exchange, and luxury travel services. It is important to mention that the group was also given a regulatory green light to start a domestic airline in India last year.
