The United Kingdom has opened two new Visa Application Centres (VACs) in Mumbai.
It has also renewed its partnership with VFS Global to provide visa application services in India and across South Asia. The two new application centres will be located at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) and Nariman Point. The centre at BKC will also offer a new premium lounge offering applicants a plush and relaxed experience, with more privacy while applying for visa.
The partnership with VFS Global has been extended until 2019. Under the new contract, VFS Global and the UK Government will ensure that the VACS in a number of key markets are located as conveniently as possible for visa applicants. In particular in South Asia, the new contract also foresees major refurbishment of all VACS.
The UK also announced that it would be extending its “Passport Passback” service to all locations in India. This service allows applicants to retain their passports while visa decisions are being made, in particular to support business travellers needing to travel in the interim period. It also helps those visiting the UK who also wish to apply for other visas.
Opening the new VAC in Bandra-Kurla Complex, Sir James Bevan, the British High Commissioner to India said “The UK already provides an excellent service to visa applicants in India. Our 13 VACs and numerous additional offerings, including our same day visa service, underline that the UK is open for business. This new contract will allow us to further improve our service here and continues to show that India is always at the forefront of new services and improvements in our offer to visa applicants.”
Anil Katoch, Head for South Asia at VFS Global said, “We are honoured to be associated with the UK, an esteemed client government. We are also delighted to offer applicants and travel agents from Mumbai two new Visa Application Centres with state of the art facilities. We support the UK government in its initiative to introduce next generation outsourced visas with an enhanced service and comfortable and conveniently located visa application centre.”
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