Travellers from India and Bhutan to Germany will not require to apply for the necessary Schengen Visa (short-term visa) at the German missions in India any more, but can do so much more conveniently. 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 expense and time expenditure, and speed up the whole application process. 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, Michael Steiner, German Ambassador to India said, “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.”
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.
Catering to the growing demand of Germany bound travellers in the region, the strategic move of the German Embassy New 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.
Vishal Jairath, Regional Head-South Asia, VFS Global stated, “The fact that the German Embassy has commissioned 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.”
