GERMANY: Germany eases visa process in India, Bhutan

In future, visa applicants can file their visa requests in sixteen Visa Application Centres in India and one in Bhutan. This new service-oriented and customer-friendly service will avoid major travel expenses, unnecessary time spent and speed up the whole application process.

The Germany Visa Application Centres in New Delhi, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Jaipur, Gurgaon, Thimpu, Chennai, Hyderabad, Puducherry, Bengaluru and Mumbai are already serving the clients of their respective region. The centres in Goa, Pune, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Trivandrum and Kolkata will be operational over the next two months.

This new service is being run by VFS Global, the contract partner of the German Embassy.

Highlighting the new features of the outsourced visa application process, the German Ambassador to India Michael Steiner said Wednesday to media: “For most Indians and Bhutanese travelling to Europe, be it for business or leisure, Germany is high on the wish list. Therefore, the visa application process should be as smooth as possible. With our new policy, we take the visa application process to the people’s door. This is good service and customer-orientation at its best.”

Vishal Jairath, Regional Head-South Asia, VFS Global said: “The fact that the German Embassy has comissioned us with the visa outsourcing application process imbibes confidence in our abilities. I am sure this association has a long way ahead. VFS Global in association with the German Embassy New Delhi will bring convenience to all Indian business and leisure travellers.”

Catering to the growing demand of Germany bound travellers in the region, the strategic move of the German Embassy Nedw Delhi is aimed at offering new services, facilities and benefits to visa applicants to support the growing demand in tourism, trade and investments, and strengthening bilateral ties between Germany and India.

The key features of the new centres include:

• Conveniently located and easily accessible state-of-the art Visa Application Centres

• Longer operating hours allowing applicants to visit at a time of their convenience

• Shorter waiting period between making an appointment and submitting the application

• Dedicated counters for applicants and travel agents/ tour operators

• 100% secure handling of passports, documents and personal information

• Online appointment scheduling, payment and tracking of application status