DUBAI — Indian nationals in the UAE will pay significantly more for passport services starting today, as new fee rules take effect nationwide alongside a separate overhaul of the consular service provider network in the UAE.
The Ministry of External Affairs’ newly issued Passports (Amendment) Rules raise global passport application fees by up to 75%, with the increase applying to Indian missions worldwide, including the UAE.
The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of India in Dubai have announced the revised fee schedule, effective July 1, 2026.
Under the new structure, a standard 36-page fresh or reissued passport for adults now costs 450 dirhams, up from 285 dirhams, an increase of about 58%. A 60-page passport now costs 630 dirhams, compared with the previous 380 dirhams, a rise of roughly 66%.
Tatkal, or urgent, applications have also gone up. A 36-page Tatkal passport now costs 900 dirhams, up from 855 dirhams, while a 60-page Tatkal passport costs 1,080 dirhams, up from 950 dirhams.
Fees for lost or damaged passports have risen the most sharply. A replacement 36-page passport now costs 900 dirhams under normal processing and 1,350 dirhams under Tatkal service. A replacement 60-page passport costs 1,080 dirhams under normal processing and 1,530 dirhams under Tatkal, roughly triple the standard fresh-passport fee in some categories.
Separately, the UAE is also seeing a restructuring of how passport and consular services are delivered on the ground. A new unified system, the Indian Consular Application Centres, launches today, with Alhind Tours and Travels LLC taking over passport, visa and document attestation services from all previous providers. The change in service provider is specific to the UAE and unrelated to the nationwide fee revision.
The combination of higher fees and a new local service operator marks one of the most significant shifts in consular operations for the roughly 3.5 million-strong Indian community in the UAE in recent years.
