DUBAI - Indian expatriates who have to get their certificates attested from India are at their wits end due to the cumbersome procedure.
Many jobseekers travel all the way to India for the process, to avoid long delays, instead of relying on local agents. There are suggestions as to why the consulate is not intervening to minimise the inconvenience.
The number of attestations taking place from the UAE itself is quite high with nearly 4500 certificates being attested every month by the Indian consulate in Dubai.
Said K. Ashokan, Vice Consul (Attestation), ' We are aware that many people are facing a lot of problems with the attestation procedure and we are trying to minimise their inconvenience as much as possible. However, we have not received specific requests from people regarding this particular predicament and are trying our best to accommodate everybody.'
Some people have suggested that the applications for attestations should be streamlined through the consulate itself, so as to avoid getting fleeced by agents and to ensure that the authentication is done through the proper channels.
Said Anuj Sabharwal, a Marketing Executive, ' The consulate should be a one stop window for degree attestations. They can charge us the usual 750 rupees required for the attestation and in addition charge us an additional amount for their own internal processing fees. I don't mind paying the consulate for my attestation as I would at least be assured that my degree is in safe hands and I would not be caught up in any fake racket.'
A general complaint is that the consulate is taking enough efforts to make such things easy for the expatriate community.
There are also those who feel the consulate can't do much, as the certificates in any case would have to be sent to India and the waiting time would remain the same. 'I really cannot see how the consulate can help us in this matter as even if we send it through their sources. The same amount of time will be taken, as the number os certificates waiting to be attested in New Delhi will ultimately remain the same. I think it’s just a one time struggle that all of us have to endure and at least the number of fake degree holders are on the decline through this procedure,' said Rakesh Ahuja, a businessman.
Mr Ashokan added that the consulate in Dubai was conveying to the Indian government the kind of difficulties that people faced while getting their degree attested. 'We are in regular contact with the government and have mentioned to them the problems faced by people while getting the various attestations done. Maybe in the near future, we might have something set up to address this particular problem,' he said.
'The earlier the consulate did some thing, the better for all of us', said Anil Krishna, a computer professional.