Indian Embassy and Consulate General of India in association with Empost, the leading express courier, cargo and logistics company in the UAE,  opened 12 dedicated centres to receive applications for passports and visas.

The first such office was opened in Deira today  (February 19) by the Consul General of India to UAE Venu Rajamony and Sultan A Al Midfa, chief of Empost, and will start receiving applications from public from tomorrow (February 20).

The rest of the 12 centres proposed under the agreement between Empost and the Indian diplomatic missions in the UAE, will open from February 22.

A website (www.ipavsc.com) is set up to provide information on the various services offered and for checking the status of applications and a dedicated Call Centre (600 522229) to answer telephone queries and inform applicants of the status of their applications.

Their decision to outsource the collection of applications for passports and visas was prompted by a significant increase in applications over the years, leading to heavy crowds at the two missions, and causing inconvenience to the public.

Currently, the Indian Embassy and Consulate handle around 200,000 passport services and 63,000 visas annually. Over 4,000 people visit the Embassy and the Consulate every day to seek these services.

'The move will go a long way towards benefiting the large Indian community in the UAE, as also other residents in the UAE who wish to visit India,' stated Venu Rajamony, Consul General of India.

'We would like to thank the Indian embassy and Indian consulate for reposing their trust in our ability to run these dedicated centres as an important service to the public,' added Empost chief Sultan Al Midfa.

While applications of passports and visas will have to be submitted at the Empost centres, attestations of documents will continue to be done as before at the Embassy/Consulate.-TradeArabia News Service