KOCHI: The visa-at-doorstep facility launched in 2016 is catching up in Kerala with many people availing of the service for securing visas to nearly 20 countries. The facility brings the officials of the visa processing agency deputed by these countries to one’s home or office or the address provided by the visa seeker to process and issue visas. The applicants need not travel to metros or other cities for the purpose.
Kochi witnessed a growth of 33 percent in the number of doorstep visa applications while the overall growth across India was 144 percent in 2018 from 2017.
The year 2018 not only saw an increase in the number of applicants from cities like Chennai and Kochi, but also first time demand for doorstep visa services from Thiruvan-anthapuram, Palakkad, Al-lahabad, Amravati, Erode, Surat, Nagercoil, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Tirupur, Muz-zafarpur, Indore, Guwhati, Jodhpur and Chattarpur. The highest number of applications processed was in Nagpur followed by Indore.
“The service has revolutionised the visa application process. Flexibility and superior customer experience are the top priorities of customers in any sector, and the visa industry is no different. Appli-cants have appreciated the customised nature of the service, and the overall enhanced experience in submitting applications, documents and enrolling biometrics, all from the comfort of their home or office,” says, Mr. Vinay Malhotra, regional group COO – Middle East, South Asia and China, VFS Global.
VFS Global has visa application centres in 17 cities in India while it offers doorstep delivery of visa services across the length and breadth of the country. In India, VFS Global offers the Visa At Your Doorstep for 17 governments, namely Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finl-and, Hungary, France, Lux-embourg, Malta, Portugal, Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany and the UK. However, the facility is not available for Schengen visa and visas of many other countries. Visa appointments are booked at phone: 91 22 6786 6028 or vasinfo@vfshelpline.com
