Indian passport centres process thousands

The Indian ambassador said thousands of passports have been processed at new centres.

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DUBAI // The Indian ambassador MK Lokesh said yesterday that about 8,800 passport applications had been received for processing since the six new Indian Passport and Visa Service Centres opened across the UAE on April 6.

"We have already issued 5,300 passports, which have been sent to the centres, which in turn will dispatch them by courier to the applicants. Of this, the centres have already dispatched 4,335 of the passports," he said, speaking on the sidelines of a press conference to announce the launch of an Air India Express base in the Emirates.

"About 3,512 passports are pending, since they have 40 days validity," he said, adding that this was the stipulated time period to process the applications because these are passports issued outside the UAE.

About 250 applications were incomplete or had inaccurate data, and required applicants to complete the forms again, he said. The numbers reflect the applications received as of Sunday.

Many Indian and foreign residents have been dissatisfied with the Bur Dubai centre for passport and visa services.

They complained of long waiting times, a lack of experienced staff, technical glitches and overcrowded centres. Authorities have since given assurances that these problems will be sorted by the end of this week.