Kuwait Times

Published Date: May 23, 2009
By Sajeev K Peter, Staff Writer

KUWAIT: The Indian embassy in Kuwait is outsourcing its passport and visa services to an Indian company in view of the growing number of applicants and heavy rush at the embassy counters. BLS International Visa Services will operate two service centers in Sharq and Fahaheel effective May 27, 2009 Indian Ambassador Ajai Malhotra said.

Addressing a press conference at the embassy Thursday, the ambassador said the decision was taken with a view to provide a faster and more efficient passport and visa services to all.

Anwar J Bukhamseen, the local agent of the Indian company BLS International in Kuwait and the company representatives, were also present at the press conference. The company will charge a service fee of KD1.500 for passport services and KD 5 for visa services per application, in addition to the usual fees charged by the India government. The company was selected through an open tender process as BLS quoted the lowest service fee among the bidders, the ambassador said.

Both centers will function from 8am to 12noon and 4pm to 8pm from Sunday to Thursday and from 4pm to 8pm on Saturdays. The centers will be closed on Fridays and major public holidays.

The centers will offer, in addition to passport and visa services, facilities such as information desk, free distribution of application forms, filling of passport and visa applications at nominal charges and photocopy facility.
Though all services related to passport and visa will be provided only through these centers, affidavit and attestation services will continue to be provided at the Indian embassy, the ambassador said.

The increase in the number of Kuwaiti and other citizens travelling to India as a result of our expanding bilateral ties and interaction as well as the growing numbers of the Indian community in Kuwait have made it imperative that there be strengthened consular services response from the Indian embassy," stated Malhotra.

When we took over the present Indian embassy premises in 1992, the Indian community in Kuwait numbered about 120,000. Since then it has grown to 579,000. This has resulted in considerable pressure on services and space, requiring a matching enhancement in the consular services being offered by the embassy," he said.

The decision will also effectively address the concerns raised by the community members, especially project and household workers, regarding the inconvenient timings for consular services. The timings of the service centers have been made quite convenient to suit the applicants, he informed.

To address inevitable teething issues, a consular representative of the embassy will initially be available at both locations in case of need for any clarification by applicants, Malhotra said,

The service centers are located at venues that are regularly served by bus and other public transport. Considerable free parking space is available in the vicinity of the centers. The center in Sharq is located at Emad Commercial Center, Basement Floor, Ahmad Al-Jaber Street, while the Fahaheel center is located at Mujamma Unood, Fourth Floor, No 25-26 Makkah Street. The website for the centers http://www.bls-international.com will be functional from May 24.