Category Archives: Visa

Hardeeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (I/C), Civil Aviation, has advised travellers to voluntarily get themselves checked for COVID-19, in case they have any symptoms. Addressing a press conference on the issue, he said, “My advice to everyone, whether they have gone as a tourists or have come in to India as part of a tour group, if they have symptoms, they should get themselves checked. While the numbers of cases of COVID-19 in India is not very high, we can’t afford to take chances. If someone came in before the universal checking of all passengers at airports started, they should come forward for a check in case of any symptoms. Some people have been identified already, and if they show any signs, they will be immediately tested. We are taking all external precautions needed, and the cabinet secretary is taking meetings every day. Under the overall control of PMO, and the PM personally, we have two groups—one is a group of ministers headed by Mr. Harshvardhan, of which I am a member. There is another group headed by the Cabinet Secretary. Each of these groups meet a number of times to take stock of the situation. It’s a case where all parts of the Government are active and in 24-hour contact with each other.”

VFS Global invites all members of the travel trade to participate in the webinar today that will highlight the organisation’s new initiatives to ensure seamless visa application experiences, as well as the optional services on offer to customers. It will be held at 12 PM today. Sanjeet Joher, Head – South Asia, VFS Global, says, “The travel agent fraternity is a key partner in the VFS Global ecosystem, and it is important for us to collaborate for a smooth peak travel season. Our webinar will help educate them on the services we offer and answer their top queries on visas.” Those who are interested in participating can get in touch with Jaspreet Kaur for further information either via email jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91-9650196532.

VFS Global, in an exclusive partnership with the Embassy of Vietnam in India, launches the first official digital Vietnam eVisa on Arrival (eVoA) solution. Travellers can easily apply on https://vietnam.vfsevisa.com/ before departure to Vietnam. For those who seek a visa urgently to travel to Vietnam, the option of special priority services on the same day (as well as next day approvals) is now available on this officially recognised online solution. The cost of the priority services is slightly higher than the cost of the normal visa processing service. On the occasion of the visit of Vietnam’s Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh to India, VFS Global and the Embassy of Vietnam in India signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation for tourism promotion and facilitation of human mobility. In 2019, more than 18 million travellers visited Vietnam from across the globe compared to 15 million travellers in 2018.

With peak travel season around the corner, VFS Global invites the travel trade fraternity to a webinar to learn more about the organisation’s new initiatives to ensure seamless visa application experiences, as well as the optional services on offer to customers. The webinar is scheduled for 26 February 2020 at 12 PM, and will highlight how VFS Global and the travel fraternity can work together for a smooth summer season.

To take it’s customer experience a level up, VFS Global has revealed that it is toying with the idea of offering its customers the option of picking up their passports without entering its visa application centre. Speaking about this is Belson Coutinho, chief marketing officer, VFS global, who said, “We are exploring a feature in Mumbai where it is like a drive-through concept where people who want to pick up their passport can drive through and collect it without entering the vac. We hope we get thhis opportunity because it largely depends upon the infrastructure and space we are able to get at the VAC but that’s a concept we want to adopt. ” He added that 2020 is going to be the year of customer experience for VFS Global. It had also recently Upgraded its VACs.

VFS Global is increasing its manpower and visa handling capacity by 40 per cent across its centres in South Asia region ahead of the peak season rush. Sharing the news, Sanjeet Joher, Head- South Asia, VFS Global, said that they are working to enhance the visa appointment system as well, apart from extra operational hours. “We are increasing the size of our team to provide better services to our customers. We want to ensure that they have a seamless experience when they visit VFS with the help of our customer relationship managers across our centres. In our efforts to educate the trade about our services and initiatives, we will organise more training sessions and roadshows with travel agents. We also want to debunk myths around visa application and procedures,” he said.

VFS Global is soon going to open an exclusive Visa Application Centre (VAC) dedicated only for travel agents and tour operators. Sharing details, Sanjeet Joher, Head- South Asia, VFS Global, said that the VAC will provide visa assistance to travel agents for non-Schengen countries and visas that don’t require biometric data. He also shared that VFS Global will also have dedicated helpline number for travel agents apart from special weekend visit to arrangements for large groups. He briefed that there will also be dedicated counters/time slots for travel agents across VFS Global facility location across India.

The UAE Cabinet has approved the issuance of a five-year multi-entry tourist visa for all nationalities visiting the country. The decision was made during the Cabinet’s first meeting during 2020 the Year of Preparation, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. The move comes in a bid to support the UAE’s tourism economy and affirm the country’s position as a global tourist destination. The decision is one of the first policy changes in line with the mega event -Expo 2020 planned in the UAE this year. Another key decision made during the meeting includes the introduction of a visa waiver for Mexican citizens travelling to the UAE. The two decisions will be implemented during the first quarter of 2020. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid emphasised that 2019 was a year full of achievements across multiple areas, adding, “We are leaving this year behind and we are proud of our government working teams, and we are full of excitement and positive energy for the year of preparation for the next fifty years to come.”

Holders of US, UK or Schengen visas can now obtain a visa on arrival in Saudi Arabia, it has been announced recently. The move comes in line with the kingdom’s recent implementation of tourist visas. While holders of American, UK and Schengen visas will now be able to obtain a tourist visa on arrival, they are not eligible for the electronic visa system. However, the visitor must have already used his US, UK or Schengen visa to visit the respective countries before arriving in Saudi Arabia.

VFS Global has launched mobile biometrics service for customers applying for Italian tourist visa across India, enabling them to submit applications, documents, and enrol biometrics from any location of their choice. This ‘doorstep’ service can be delivered to individuals and groups living in all cities in India. A team of VFS Global staff will visit the customer at the location to collect their visa application and enrol biometric data. They will also be available to assist with any visa application queries. Submissions from large tour groups, business delegates and school trips wishing to travel to Italy, will especially benefit from this  new service, as applicants will not be required to visit a Visa Application Centre to submit their applications. The documents, once processed with the visa decision will be returned by courier to the customer’s desired location. The mobile biometrics service is optional and applicants will have to pay an additional fee. According to the Embassy of Italy in India, 555,000 travellers from India visited Italy in 2019, which indicated a 15 per cent increase over the previous year.