VFS Global is all set to restart operations at some Visa Application Centres (VACs) in limited cities, with the approval of respective Embassies/Consulates in India, and with strict health and safety guidelines in place.

From July 6, VFS Global India will restart visa processes for the United Kingdom. The UK Visa application facilities will be available in 11 Indian cities – Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Jalandhar, Chandigarh and Kolkata. VFS will process all categories of visa applications from these centres.

Along with the UK, VFS will also restart the visa application process for Ireland from July 6 from these centres. However, initially, only student visas and Long-stay visas will be processed for Ireland, VFS informed.

Other countries for which the VFS would be restarting visa application processes include Italy, Denmark, Norway and Belarus. For Italy, only the re-entry visas will be processed initially, and the process will begin on July 3. These applications will be processed at the New Delhi centre only.

The visa applications for Turkey, Dominican Republic, South Korea, Portugal, Norway, Denmark and Italy will re-start in New Delhi centre. All visa applications for the UAE will be through online mode only, the company said.

Customers need to schedule appointments online through the website, prior to visiting the visa application centre. There will be mandatory body temperature checks at every visa application centre. Those who have coronavirus symptoms — high fever, cough and difficulty in breathing — will not be allowed to enter the centres.

VFS Global is a visa outsourcing and technology services provider for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide. As on May 31, VFS has processed over 223 million visa applications in 144 countries through its 3390 centres.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the central government suspended international flights in the last week of March. The international passenger flight services in the country will resume in a phased manner during ‘Unlock 2.0’, the ministry of home affairs said in a statement on Monday.

“International air travel of passengers has been permitted in a limited manner under the Vande Bharat mission. Further opening-up will take place in a calibrated manner,” the central government said in a statement.