Indian Expats in UAE to Receive E-Passports Under New System

E-passports will be given to Indian Nationals in the UAE instead of traditional paper booklets as the Government of India has launched the Global Passport Seva Programme 2.0 (GPSP 2.0). The introduction of this system on October 28, 2025, marked the beginning of extending its coverage to all Indian passport services in the UAE.

What’s Changing

As such, GPSP 2.0 signifies that the new Indian passport is an electronic passport, or e-passport, containing a booklet with a tiny microchip and antenna. This construction maintains private, biometric features securely embedded inside. This modern upgrade takes Indian passports into conformity with international standards by reinforcing security features, speeding up processing time, and improving verification at global entry points.

The e-passport will be less prone to forgery or tampering, while the online platform for application reduces the complexity for overseas Indians. Now applicants can upload photographs, documents, and signatures on the web, track the progress digitally, and make corrections without any extra fees.

According to the Indian Embassy officials in Abu Dhabi, this will drastically reduce the time taken to process passport applications. The entire process can now be completed in a matter of minutes by simply entering an old passport number, validating the details, and submitting forms online.

Existing appointments for renewal can be fulfilled under the present system or converted to the new GPSP 2.0 scheme at the preference of the applicant.

Scale and Significance in the UAE

One of the largest Indian communities in the world, more than 4.3 million residents of Indian origin live in the UAE. The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of India in Dubai receive an estimated 1,600 passport applications daily, thus making them one of the busiest Indian missions in the world.

Such high volumes of applications that pour into the mission wings have made the e-passport launch a milestone. An RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chip has been installed in it to ensure that the physical data and the electronic data of the holder are consistent, besides providing a strong defense against forgery and identity theft.

However, without fail, the government has said there will be no increase in passport cost or processing times with the advent of technology.

What Applicants Should Know

• The e-passport includes biometric features, but it does not require any additional fingerprint or iris scans in the UAE. It extracts the biometric data from the ICAO-compliant photo submitted by the applicant during processing.
• The applicant needs to upload clear passport photographs, signatures, and proof documents online using the new system.
• Spend old applicants continuing under the earlier process or move to the GPSP 2.0 portal.
• Indian missions made elaborate plans available for helping applicants convert as smoothly as possible to using the new platform.

Why This Matters

1. Enhanced Security

The RFID chip implanted within the passport guarantees that all privileged aspects are digitally recorded and encrypted. This will severely minimize the likelihood of duplication, alteration, or misuse.

2. Convenience for Expats

Applicants in the UAE can undergo the whole process online without a barrage of visits to the embassies, through document uploads, digital signatures, and tracking in real-time.

3. Strengthening India’s Global Passport Standards

It also streamlines checks at immigration borders, but also strengthens their global mobility and recognition with their travellers, as India would now join countries that issue such high-tech biometric passports by adopting ICAO standards.

4. Supporting a Large Expat Population

The transition to e-passports would be a boon to millions, given the size of the Indian community in the UAE. There’s an added advantage in that manual processing for embassy staff has been greatly reduced, and the applicant experience has improved.

Next Steps for Applicants

Indian nationals applying for a new passport or renewal in the UAE should:

• Visit the Global Passport Seva 2.0 online portal and check whether your application is under the e-passport system.
• Get ICAO-compliant photographs and digital copies of all the needed documents before applying.
• Confirm if they want to proceed with their present appointments or prefer switching to the new system.
• Keep themselves abreast with official announcements of the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General in Dubai.
• Future updates may include additional biometric verification, so staying updated will ensure a smooth process.

Broader Impact of the E-Passport System

The rollout of e-passports for Indian expats in the UAE signifies a larger vision of Digital India, assimilating digital technology with citizen services across the world. Digitalization has loads of benefits:

• Faster Immigration: Through the RFID chip, automated reading at e-gates will translate to faster movement at immigration.
• Data Accuracy: The system captures any data that an applicant might have input about their application, verifies it, and links it directly to the central passport database.
• Eco-Friendly Processing: Reduced paperwork and digital submissions contribute to sustainability goals.
• Improved International Trust: With the enhanced secure and tamper-proof design, the credibility of Indian passports with foreign border authorities has been elevated.

Officials have assured that the proposed transition will not disrupt ongoing passport services. Additional manpower and technical support in both missions at Abu Dhabi and Dubai have been engaged to manage the increased volume of inquiries and new applications.

Conclusion

The launching of e-passports for Indians living in the UAE, thus making the Indian passport modernization a success story, significantly increases the security, efficiency, and comfort of 1 million or more Indians living abroad while fortifying the passporting identity of India for international travel.

For Indians residing in the UAE, GPSP 2.0 marks a transition by making passport application or renewal extremely fast, secure, and wholly online. Besides not increasing any fees, the paperwork has also been simplified. This goes hand in hand with India’s commitment to leveraging technology in improving citizen services, thus guaranteeing secure and seamless global mobility for the largest diaspora in the world.