[ad_1]
Free consulate fees, simplified process
Indian communities in the eastern region are relieved after the consulate hosted a free passport seva camp to help all those who lost or damaged their passports in last month’s floods. During the camp, it received 80 replacement requests, according to the Indian consulate.
“I am very happy,” said Ali CP, a Fujairah resident, who earlier told Khaleej Times that the passports of five of his family members were damaged. “I visited the passport service camp with all my documents. The consulate has waived all fees, so it was a big burden on my shoulders. The process was very streamlined and I completed all submissions in about two hours. India The consulate’s move is a real blessing.”
Social workers welcomed the move by the Indian consulate to ease the distress of its citizens.
“It is commendable that the Indian consulate waived all fees for issuing new passports,” said Dr Putor Rahman, president of the Fujairah Indian Association. “All applications have been accepted and sent for verification. It may take some time, but all residents are relieved that the process has been simplified and made so easy.”
Last month, the UAE recorded its highest rainfall in 27 years, leading to flooding in various parts of Fujairah, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah. In total, seven people died, hundreds were displaced, and many suffered heavy losses after their homes were flooded.
“In response to requests from Indian associations and expatriate members in these flood-affected areas, the Consulate General of India in Dubai organised a special Passport Seva on Sunday, 7th August 2022 at the BLS Centres in Fujairah and Kalba camp for the convenience of Indian nationals whose passports were damaged or lost in the flood,” said Consul (Passports, Authentication and Education) Ramkumar Thangaraj.
Also read:
Khaleej Times had earlier reported that several residents who had lost all their passports were considering paying huge fees to have their documents replaced. The cost of replacing a lost or damaged Indian passport is around Dh570.
“It gave me a sigh of relief,” said Kalba resident Nabeel, who used the opportunity to replace two employees’ damaged passports. “We were asked to submit a signed personal letter for each passport holder stating that the document was damaged, along with other necessary documents. We only paid for the courier and typing fee, which was around Dh90. After we suffered After all the losses, the consulate helped us, which is a very good move.”
According to Nabeel, the Indian consulate is the only overseas office that has conducted a similar outreach process and waived fees. “I also have some employees from other Asian countries,” he said. “I’m going to have to go into their office and figure out how to replace those papers.”
The Indian consulate said it would continue to accept applications from those who lost their passports for the next three weeks.
“About 80 such passport applications have been received,” Ramkumar Thangaraj said. “Applications from Indian nationals whose passports were damaged/lost in floods are accepted free of charge for the next three weeks until August 28, 2022. Consulate officials visited flood-affected areas and assured Indians provide all necessary assistance to the nationals.”
[ad_2]
Source link