The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which hosts some of the largest Indian expatriate populations, has brought a significant shift in the passport application procedure of the Indians. Passports or visa change greatly affects a huge population of Indians, who are in the UAE.
The Indian Consulate in Dubai has declared some new regulations came into power with regards to passport application on September 1, 2025. The new rule provides that passport photographs have to comply with the strict standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
This implies that majority of applicants will now be required to provide new pictures in making passport applications. The consulate has also released comprehensive photo rules which are ICAO compliant and contain biometric and identification rules applicable to travel documents globally.
Step Taken After MEA Directive
This was declared after the directive of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA): India. In September 1, 2025, the ministry instructed embassies and consulates to implement ICAO-compliant photographs by use of the Passport Seva Portal.
The Indian Consulate Dubai press section verified that the use of ICAO-standard photographs will be used only. The authorities explained that this is a mandate of international travel documents.
It has also been reported that already the Indian Embassy in Kuwait issued more strict guidelines concerning the photos, and the Embassy in Abu Dhabi might soon refer to the changes as well.
Key Passport Photo Guidelines
- Colour photo, size 630×810 pixels, white background
- Close-up of head and shoulders with face occupying 80-85 percent of the view.
- Full face visible, front view, open eyes, neutral expression
- No hair over the eyes, the mouth is closed, no shadows, no red-eye, no reflections.
- Natural skin, even light.
- Head is centred and the head is top chin straight.
- Cropped approximately 1.5 metres, not blurred or edited.
- None of the glasses (lest it reflect)
- Head covering was permissible on the basis of religion, but not the face.
Over 4.3 Million Indians in UAE
By December 2024, 4.36 million Indians had settled in the UAE making almost 38.5 percent of the total population of the country. This figure has sharply increased in the last decade to about 2.2 million, which was a mere 2.2 million ten years ago.
The Indian expatriates in UAE operate in various industries such as construction, logistics, oil and gas, manufacturing and engineering.
