Tag Archives: VFS

With an aim to encourage Indian travellers to visit Israel, the country has simplified the visa application procedure for Indian citizens. The relaxed visa rule involves less documentation for Indians who have availed visas of Schengen countries, US, Canada, Australia or Israel and have completed their travel to these countries.  For these travellers, the documents include a valid passport, completed visa application form, two photographs, cover letter with travel information, traveller’s insurance and passport copy. Hassan Madah – Director of the Israel Ministry of Tourism, India, says, “Easing the visa requirements will not only make the application process faster but will also increase travel to Israel as well. We are also working on an express service with VFS which will be introduced soon. In addition to this, we are working towards e-visa processing as well as easing the group visa process.” In September this year, one year multiple entry visas for business travellers was introduced. Visa processing is available through VFS processing centres located all over India for the Consulate General of Israel in Mumbai and Bengaluru as well as the Embassy of Israel in Delhi.

Observing the immense growth and potential in India’s outbound traffic, The Czech Republic has decided to open its tourism office India. The Czech Tourism India office will be located in Mumbai and will be represented through VFS Global. Present at the opening was Monika Palatkova, Managing Director, Czech Tourism Board, who said, “We have been working with VFS for visa processing since the last two years but it is only now that we decided to open an office in India. In the last five years, the volume of Indian arrivals to Czech Republic has almost tripled and we want to increase this further. From 66,000 Indian tourists that we received in 2016, we have a target to cross 1,00,000 Indian tourists by 2019.” The Czech Tourism India office will be led by Arzan Khambatta, Head, Czech Tourist Authority – Czech Tourism India. The tourism board is currently in the midst of a three-city roadshow – New Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. The delegation consists of 10 sellers from the country, including Prague Airport, who will meet the Indian trade in these cities.

Due to changes in the Service Tax structure, VFS service fees and VAS service charges for Australia Visa Application will be revised with effect from June 1, 2016.The revised primary applicant fee is Rs. 1006 (from earlier Rs. 966) and additional applicant fee is Rs. 714 (from earlier Rs. 676) . Charges have also been revised for Photo booth Rs. 154, Return Courier Rs. 307, ETA Assisted terminal Rs. 190, Assisted Form Filling Service Rs. 190, 2 way Courier/drop off courier Rs. 616 and Premium Lounge Rs. 2048.

United Kingdom (UK) granted over 360,000 visitor visas, until September 2015, a 16.5 per cent increase year on year, according to recently released statistics. With the commercial partner VFS, UK offers 15 visa application centres across India, more than in any other country. Visa application centres are situated in Delhi, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Mumbai South, Mumbai North, Pune, Ahmadabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Cochin, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Jaipur and Goa. A number of premium services are offered to the UK Visa applicants at the Visa Application Centre (VAC). VFS Users can avail walk in appointments where urgent travellers or those who have missed their appointment, can pay Rs 2537 to get a walk in appointment. Digital Assistance is provided in filling out the visa application form on the visa4uk website. The staff reads out questions on the form, and records the answers verbatim on behalf of the applicant for an extra cost of Rs 400. Group Appointments is available for group travellers who can apply at the same visa application centre at a particular time and day. This service is extended to all groups including tour operators, large families, conferences etc for Rs 500 per application. Travellers can pay for their visa by cash at the VAC, using VFS Global’s Credit Card at an additional cost of Rs 1000 per transaction. Certification service enables travellers to keep hold of their original documents. Applicants need to bring original documentation to the VAC to show VFS staff, who photocopy the documents and send to the decision hub along with the application. This service costs Rs 50 per document page. In 2015, India became the second country to benefit from the British Irish Visa Scheme, allowing Indian …