The National Testing Agency (NTA) of India recently shared an important update for Indian expatriate students across the Gulf regions. Candidates who have registered to sit for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2026 in Dubai, Kuwait and Bahrain centers can now access more verified information about the exam.
The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, on Thursday, shared NTA’s advice on the exam city for engineering entrance exam in India. NTA will conduct the second session of JEE (Main-2026) in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode. The exam will be conducted from April 2 to April 8, 2026 in India and a few cities outside the country. “City declaration vouchers have now been issued to candidates in Kuwait and Dubai,” NTA revealed.
Change the city option
While candidates in Dubai and Kuwait can now view their assigned testing cities, registered students from Bahrain remain in waiting mode. “For registered candidates from Bahrain, NTA is coordinating with the Indian Embassy,” the agency added.However, candidates who wish to request change of examination city for JEE (Main) 2026 Session 2 can call NTA helpline at 011-40759000 or write to jeemain@nta.ac.in.
Moreover, candidates are advised to regularly check the official NTA website at nta.ac.in and the main JEE portal at jeemain.nta.nic.in/ for latest updates before the April examination window.
Relief for Indian Overseas Students
The announcement has brought huge relief to thousands of Indian expatriate families in the Gulf countries who have been eagerly awaiting clarity on where their children will sit for the high-stakes exam. Parents and children have been surrounded by a constant cloud of uncertainty since the beginning of the war between the United States, Israel and Iran.
While their exams were postponed earlier, they were later cancelled, leaving them confused about the grading system that would decide their results. This would also affect their future academic prospects in terms of entrance exams and admission to universities. However, CBSE has now prescribed a specialized grading system for Class 10 and 12 students. Under the mixed assessment system, Gulf countries will combine marks for completed examinations with averages calculated for papers not taken. For those who are dissatisfied with their results, improvement tests are also an option. These announcements have helped clear the fog for thousands of expatriate Indian students across the Gulf who were desperately expecting some assurances from the authorities.
