Alhind Group aims to cut waiting times and is trialling a passport renewal from home system, which looks ‘promising’, for when they start offering services from July 1
With just over a month to go for Alhind Group to take over as the consular service provider for the Indian Embassy in the UAE, the group of companies said that it is fully prepared to take on the daunting task of providing passports and other services to the more than 4 million strong Indian community in the UAE.
“We have finalised the locations and have got the approval from the embassy,” said Arun Radhakrishnan, Operations Manager for Alhind in the UAE. “We are now waiting for some final paperwork to come through. The full list of the exact locations will be revealed shortly. We are hoping to have all the offices fully functional by June 15 so that we can start the consular services by July 1.”
As media earlier reported, the Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi issued an official notice awarding a contract to Alhind Tours & Travels Pvt Ltd for outsourcing consular support services in the UAE. They will be taking over from the previous provider BLS, who have been handling the service for more than 10 years.
Cut waiting time
Alhind will operate 16 locations across the UAE in all emirates, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Kalba, Khorfakkan and Fujairah. The largest of these will be in Dubai’s Bur Dubai area. With more than 45 counters and 12,000 sq ft of space, it will cut down waiting time significantly.
“The idea is that people will be able to find appointments easily and not be forced to spend more money to get basic services,” said Arun. “We want to make it as easy as possible for people to get access to consular services. Also, as per the embassy requirements, any parent who wants to get passports for their newborns can walk into the center without an appointment.”
He added that the centre will offer all documentation services in one place. “There will be specific counters for Emiratis who want Indian visas,” he said.
“These will be manned by Arabic speaking staff. There will also be dedicated counters and coordinators for all other documentation services.”
Passport renewal at home?
Arun said that Alhind is testing a process of making it possible for Indians to renew their passports from home. “We are using latest technology to test this service out and if everything goes to plan, we will be able to roll it out to the general public soon,” he said. “Right now, the test phase is looking extremely promising.”
He said that the process would involve applicants submitting all their details online and staff collecting any required additional information or biometrics from the comfort of their homes.
The company has hired more than 400 consular staff to get their services operational and are expected to keep the passport renewal rates economical.
In an earlier interview, Mohammed Haris T, Chairman of Alhind Group of companies had said that the company would only charge Dh19 above the mandated service charges specified by the embassy and this would include all the services like photography and photocopying.
