DUBAI: A steep hike in Indian passport renewal fees effective from July 1 has triggered widespread concern among thousands of low-income Indian expatriates in the UAE. Community leaders and welfare volunteers have strongly urged the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to reconsider the revision and offer subsidies or concessions for the blue-collar workforce.

The revision, which marks the first major passport fee overhaul since 2012, has been introduced globally by the MEA under the updated Passports (Amendment) Rules to mirror escalating administrative, processing, and security-printing infrastructure costs. In the UAE, the fee for the most sought-after service—a standard 36-page adult passport renewal—has jumped by nearly 60 per cent, from Dh285 to Dh450. For several construction laborers, domestic workers, housemaids, and school bus attendants earning a modest monthly income ranging between Dh800 and Dh1,200, a single passport renewal will now consume up to half a month’s salary.

Prominent community figure KV Shamsudheen, who has spent five decades championing expat welfare in the UAE, emphasized that approximately 60 to 70 per cent of Indian expats in the Gulf are low-wage earners whose employers do not cover passport expenses. Highlighting that Gulf NRI workers channel the bulk of their savings straight back to India—contributing heavily to the nation’s annual $137 billion remittances—he recommended a targeted fee reduction. Community volunteers Vinod Nambiar and Praveen Kumar also appealed to the central government to implement a 50 per cent concession for workers in the Emigration Check Required (ECR) category and those earning below Dh1,500. Additionally, activists have called for simplified appointment procedures, multilingual helplines, and more service centers to ease the bureaucratic strain on rural labourers.

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