VFS Global has opened its first Visa Application Centre in Guwahati on Thursday. Located at the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) in Guwahati, the 3,200-square-foot facility will serve applicants from all eight northeastern states - Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.
The centre will process visa applications for Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Malta, Morocco, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Applications for Malta will be accepted only for D-Visa, or long-stay visa, categories.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated the centre along with Tourism Minister Ajanta Neog, Transport Minister Charan Boro and Yummi Talwar, Chief Operating Officer - South Asia at VFS Global.
Diplomatic representatives from Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Italy and France were also present at the inauguration.
Now Access Visa Services Within Northeast
The new facility is expected to reduce the difficulties faced by applicants from the region, many of whom travel outside the Northeast to access visa services for overseas education, business, tourism and other purposes.
"We are pleased to inaugurate our new Visa Application Centre in Guwahati, strengthening access to visa services for applicants across Assam and the wider Northeast," Yummi Talwar said.
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She said the company would focus on secure, technology-led processes and make the visa application experience more convenient.
The Guwahati facility is VFS Global's third Visa Application Centre in eastern India. The company operates more than 4,300 application centres across 170 countries on behalf of 71 client governments worldwide.
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