VFS Global Open New India Visa Application Centre In London, Other Measures to Deal High Demand

VFS Global, the leading outsourcing and technology services provider for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide, opened an India Visa Application Centre (IVAC) for the Indian High Commission in central London to help deal with the surge in demand for visa applications since the opening of international borders and relaxation of Covid guidelines.

The new Centre is conveniently located in central London – Boston Place, Marylebone and was inaugurated on Tuesday 1 November by Vikram Doraiswami, the Indian High Commissioner to the UK.

“We recently opened an India Visa Application Centre (IVAC) in the UK at 12-14 Boston Place, Marylebone, London, NW16QH. Here is a snapshot of the inauguration by His Excellency Mr Vikram Doraiswami, Indian High Commissioner to the UK, and Mr Aditya Arora, COO, VFS Global,” said VFS Global in a Tweet.

The new Centre will be the third Indian Visa Application Centre in London. VFS Global operates a network of ten IVACs across the United Kingdom in;

1. Belfast
2. Birmingham
3. Bradford
4. Cardiff
5. Edinburgh
6. Glasgow
7. Central London
8. Hounslow
9. Leicester, and
10. Manchester.

At the same time, VFS Global has introduced more appointments – existing IVACs in London and Birmingham have started receiving applications on Saturdays and weekday afternoons.

Since March, VFS Global has partnered with the High Commissioner of India in London and its Consulates to set up weekend consular camps across the UK.

Together, these measures will double the current capacity so that VFS Global can support the Indian High Commission to release more appointments.

The Indian High Commissioner, His Excellency Vikram Doraiswami said in a video message on Friday, “The number of appointments we have been able to do has increased to about 40,000 per month thanks to our partners at VFS Global.”

Further, he also announced that a new process is being introduced for group tourism – for those travelling as a group, typically, via a travel agency to the same destination using the same flights.

Tourists from the U.K will now also have the option of a visa at your doorstep service (VAYD) at a cost. Details of this service are available here.

Mr Doraiswami added, “Your papers can be collected at your home and will be brought to you after it is processed. To help with that, the service provider will also offer a special service to get your documents checked online for a small cost. We are also starting a form-filling service which will be offered by our service provider VSF Global”

Speaking about the new Centre, Aditya Arora, COO, of VFS Global said;

“The new VAC will increase the visa application capacity in London by providing additional appointment slots. This along with the recently opened visa centre in Glasgow will double the capacity of visas handled by VFS Global. We are always looking at finding practical solutions to address customer experience challenges.”

“As a responsible service provider that manages non-judgmental and administrative tasks related to visa applications for the governments we work with, we have ta”ken measures along with the High Commissioner of India in London to help visa applicants with a seamless visa application experience”.