India Passport Service Disrupted Amid Legal Dispute Over Outsourcing Deal

Indian passport and consular services in the UAE have been thrown into temporary disarray following a legal dispute in India that has stalled the planned transition to a new outsourcing provider.

From Wednesday night, the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi announced that Indian nationals in the UAE would be required to visit the Embassy and Consulate directly for passport, visa, attestation and other consular services. The services, it said, would be provided on a limited, walk-in basis from their own premises starting Thursday, July 2.

The decision, described officially as being taken for “administrative reasons”, follows the expiry of existing outsourcing contracts on June 30, which were previously handled by BLS International for passport services and SGIVS Global Services for attestation work.

Under a new tender process conducted by the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, Alhind Tours and Travel LLC had been selected as the single service provider to operate Indian Consular Application Centres (ICACs), with a scheduled takeover from July 1. The transition was intended to ensure uninterrupted services for the estimated 4.5 million Indian expatriates in the UAE.

However, the handover has been held up due to ongoing litigation in India, including proceedings before the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court.

Two companies, E Trav Tech and Verasys, challenged the evaluation process used in awarding the contract, particularly the technical qualification criteria under the Request for Proposal. The petitioners sought disclosure of detailed evaluation marks and reasons for their disqualification, arguing that these had not been communicated to them.

While the Delhi High Court upheld the government’s discretion in evaluating bids and declined to order disclosure of detailed score breakdowns at this stage, it ruled that rejected bidders are entitled to be informed of the reasons for their disqualification. It also noted that although the tender framework requires such disclosure, it does not specify a timeline for doing so.

The matter escalated to the Supreme Court after E Trav Tech challenged the High Court’s decision. On June 24, the apex court declined to rule on the merits but directed maintenance of the status quo, effectively freezing changes to the existing arrangement until further orders. It also asked the High Court to expedite hearing of the case.

Following this, the Delhi High Court resumed hearings on June 29 and listed the matter for priority consideration on July 1. The case was later adjourned to July 2, with no interim relief granted so far.

As a result, the outgoing service providers have ceased operations following the expiry of their contracts, while the incoming provider, Alhind, is unable to assume charge due to the court-mandated status quo. This has left Indian missions in the UAE without an outsourced partner, forcing them to temporarily handle services in-house.

The Embassy and Consulate have introduced a walk-in system between 9am and 12.30pm, operating on a first-come, first-served basis. Applicants are required to bring completed forms and full documentation, with entry restricted to applicants alone, except for parents accompanying minors. Payments will be accepted in cash at revised rates that came into effect on July 1.

Officials have described the arrangement as temporary, with further updates on the transition to Alhind’s system expected once clarity emerges from the ongoing court proceedings in India.

The missions handle a high volume of consular work, having processed over 1.58 million services between January 2022 and December 2024, including more than 364,000 passport-related transactions in 2024 alone.

Until the legal dispute is resolved, Alhind’s takeover remains on hold, leaving Embassy and Consulate staff to manage operations directly, while both outgoing and incoming service providers remain in a state of uncertainty pending further court directions.

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