VFS Global has commenced Belarus visa services for the residents of India through centres in five cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. This is the first time the Belarus Ministry of Foreign Affairs has outsourced their visa services. The centres accept applications for Tourist, Business, and Private Visit visas across all these locations.

Prior to this, customers in India had to visit the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in New Delhi to apply for their Belarus visas. Customers applying through VFS Global can access a range of optional services for a seamless visa application experience.

H.E. Mr. Andrei Rzheussky, Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to India said, “Starting cooperation with VFS Global on visa issues in India is an important step of Belarus in tourism development strategy in South Asia region. A new approach of Belarus in this cooperation is reflecting the gradual tendency of travels facilitation between India and Belarus which is crucial for developing fruitful bilateral relations between our friendly countries.”

Mr. Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO – South Asia, Middle East and China, VFS Global said, “It is always exciting to commence our visa services for a new country and bring our travellers the best application experience we can offer. Footfall to Belarus has been growing in recent years, and we are looking forward to serving customers for Belarus in India.”

Belarus has recorded a steady increase in the number of Indians travelling to the destination in recent years, with an average of 1,200 applications being submitted annually.

VAC’s key features:

• Photobooth & photocopy facilities
• Internet kiosk
• Automated SMS & voice updates
• Hold-at-Location for flexibility of passport collection
• Courier return service
• Courier Assurance

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To meet the growth in foreign travel, visa application centres have introduced services that are not only tailor-made to suit the changing requirements of applicants, but also simplify the visa application process, making it more convenient, exclusive, personalised, time saving and hassle-free.

By all means, companies such as VFS Global have made great contributions to making the process of applying for a visa simple and hassle-free. With the services available in the market today, most applicants, irrespective of their schedules or location, have full access to a smooth and streamlined visa application services, such as those with round-the-clock commitments, or with minimal access to metro cities, or wishing for additional support and paperless experience.

Mr. Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO – South Asia, Middle East and China, VFS Global, says, “The trust and reliability of a customer-focused specialised travel agent still holds a very high premium, especially in countries like India. Due to this, travel agents are best placed to gauge and understand their customer’s unique requirements and can advise them appropriately on visas services that are best suited to their schedules and preferences.”

VFS Global offers travel agents a wide range of innovative and extremely useful services that smoothen the visa application process. Personalised services are purely optional and come at an extra fee, and are no guarantee of a positive decision by the concerned embassy or consulate. Nevertheless, such services continue to be highly popular among time-pressed applicants who find the convenience of these services invaluable, as commonly found in many industries.

Premium Lounges For Personalised Assistance:

Popular among families travelling with children, corporates, and frequent fliers, VFS Global’ s Premium Lounges are designed exclusively for applicants seeking a comfortable visa application process with enhanced customer service, delivered with a personalised touch. The Lounges have been built with elegant interiors and well-equipped modern amenities to ensure a smooth experience at the Visa Application Centres.

The service includes one-to-one attention with a dedicated staff member, who will guide the applicants through the entire application procedure. The personalised services are offered for select countries at most VFS Global Visa Application Centres across India. Check with your trusted travel agent for the availability of group discounts on this service.

Preferred Pricing For Groups Opting for Visa At Your Doorstep:

VFS Global representatives visit the applicant’s preferred location to accept the visa application and enrol biometrics so that applicants do not have to visit the Visa Application Centre and can complete the process from the comfort of their surroundings.

The service is quite popular because of the flexibility it offers to applicants – it is most often used by leisure travel groups, and also by applicants from Tier-2 cities not covered under the VFS Global’ s network of 17 cities, who find it difficult to travel to another city just for  completing their visa application process. Other groups who find this service beneficial are film personalities and crew, large corporate groups, and high net-worth individuals, who may find it inconvenient to visit the visa centres because of their busy schedules.

The service is available to applicants for an extra fee. Check with your trusted travel agent for the availability of group discounts on this service.

Apply Outside Regular Working Hours:

Busy schedules or work commitments need not stand in the way of smooth application experience anymore either. There are services now exclusively aimed at those who may not be able to visit the Visa Application Centre during the usual working hours. Options like the Prime Time Service provided by VFS Global allows individuals to apply for their visas outside of regular working hours without interrupting their schedules. With such services applicants no longer need to take leave from office or school for visa appointments. This service takes care of the needs of the time-poor applicants.

Check with your trusted travel agent for flexible timings during which applications can available at the Visa Application Centre.

These services have transformed the overall application process and have proved to be extremely useful for applicants to beat the peak visa application rush. And each year, development of innovative and top-of-the-line services for visa applicants continues.

QUOTE:

“The trust and reliability of a customer-focused specialised travel agent still holds a very high premium, especially in countries like India. Due to this, travel agents are best placed to gauge and understand their customer’s unique requirements and can advise them appropriately on visas services that are best suited to their schedules and preferences.”

Mr. Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO – South Asia, Middle East and China, VFS Global 

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Under these new contracts, VFS Global will continue to operate the Italy Visa Application Centres in India, Ivory Coast, Nepal, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom, and also roll out new centres in Baghdad and Basra, Iraq; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria, Bloemfontein and Polokwane, South Africa; and Gaborone, Botswana.

 Under the mandate of the Italian Embassy in New Delhi, VFS Global will continue providing Italy visa services across India and Nepal. VFS Global operates 14 Italy Visa Application Centres across 13 Indian cities, as well as one centre in Nepal in the city of Kathmandu. Additionally, VFS Global provides a drop-box facility in 28 locations across India, allowing Italy visa applicants, exempt from submission of biometrics, to submit their application without the need for an appointment at the centre.

Chris Dix, Head – Business Development, VFS Global said, “VFS Global commenced its Italy visa services 15 years ago with operations in India. It has been a long and successful relationship, and we look forward to continuing our services in the market. With the introduction of our drop-box facilities for repeat travellers, we aim to make the Italy visa process as comfortable and convenient for our applicants.”

 VFS Global won its first contract to provide Italy visa services in India in 2004 and commenced operations on behalf of the Italian Embassy in New Delhi with six Italy Visa Application Centres. In 2018, VFS Global processed 121,509 Italy visa applications from India.

• Italy awards VFS Global contract to provide visa services in three new countries – Ethiopia, Iraq and South Africa
• Re-awarded contracts to provide Italy visa services in six countries – India, Ivory Coast, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and the United Kingdom
• 14 Italy Visa Application Centres currently operational across 13 Indian cities
• Visa application drop-boxes available in 28 locations in India

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Please tell us about the current status of tourism in your country in terms of the number of arrivals.

In recent years, the Slovak Republic has become even more popular as a tourist destination. For example, in 2017 about 2,2 million foreign visitors came to Slovakia. This number is surely even higher, but statistics only include travellers staying in Slovakia at least for one night. If you take into consideration that the total number of Slovak citizens is only about 5.5 million,  you will find our tourism sector remarkable. Tourism in Slovakia generates revenues of roughly 5 billion € every year, which represents 5.2% of our total GDP.

Tell us about the overall tourism potential of Slovakia? 

When you compare Slovakia to India, we are really small because the size of our country is just about 50 000 sq km.  But even though we are relatively small you can find almost everything in Slovakia: about 120 medieval castles, almost 4200 churches and cathedrals, 9 national parks, more than 7000 natural caves, 1600 mineral and thermal springs, 40 spas and aquaparks, more than 50 ski resorts with hundreds of cable cars, almost 150 wineries… We can boast of a total of 30 records in the UNESCO list of world heritage.  Not to mention dozens of festivals, cultural events, galleries, museums and nightlife of course. You can find everything in Slovakia, maybe except the sea.

 What are the unique tourist destinations in Slovakia you would like to recommend?

To be honest, it is really difficult to recommend only a few, but I will suggest some tips to address everyone. For those who prefer nature, mountains and adventures, I would recommend our pride: High Tatra mountains, national park Slovak Paradise as well as our famous Demäňovská Ice Cave and Ochtinská Aragonite Cave that are listed in UNESCO. For those who want to see the history of medieval castles, there are Bojnice Castle, Red Rock Castle, Bratislava Castle, Spiš Castle, Orava Castle and many others.  All of them are fully renovated and wonderful. Those who would like to get to know Slovak culture and traditions should visit our open-air museums of traditional villages like Čičmany, Pribylina or Bardejov and of course they should not miss our traditional folk festival Východná every July.

What facets of tourism in your country do you think will appeal to Indians?  

I believe that all of abovementioned. We understand that travel preferences are very individual. Someone might like mountains and nature, others might like history and culture, someone might prefer to enjoy the nightlife. But as I explained in previous answers Slovakia can really offer something for everyone´s taste. Especially if you want to escape from the Indian summer heat and humidity or polluted air in winter, Slovak touristic resorts may offer you pleasant climate and fresh air during the whole year.

How important is India as a market for tourism in your country? Currently how many Indians are visiting Slovakia per year and for what purposes?

Last year we recorded more than 11 000 Indians that visited our country and stayed there more than one night. In this regard, I would like to highlight that Indian tourists on average stayed on our territory more days than other tourists. But still, there is a huge potential and we believe that we will attract even more Indian visitors in the future.

What are the new initiatives to attract Indian tourists? 

Just recently we doubled visa capacity at the Embassy and launched the cooperation with VFS Global in 3 cities – Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, which adds to tripling the visa capacity as compared to 2018. The latest initiative was an event presenting Slovakia as a tourist destination organized by the Slovak Embassy on March 6th. It was a very successful event and we are planning to organize more of them in the future, maybe even in collaboration with some agencies or organizations.

Please tell us about the Slovak visa process for Indians. How easier is it to get Slovak visa?  

Our visa issuing process has to strictly follow the Schengen Visa Code so we can say it is the same as in any other EU country. But at this point, I would like to recommend to any applicant: please, read the visa application instructions carefully and make sure everything in your application is correct and complete. Correct and complete application submitted in advance of the planned travel is likely to get easy and fast approval. As I have already mentioned, we have strengthened our visa office this year. Majority of Indian Schengen Visa applications in 2018 were business trips and average visa processing time was 4 calendar days.

How is air-connectivity between the two countries?

There is a very convenient flight connection via Dubai to Bratislava, and also direct flights to Vienna airport which is just half hour drive from capital Bratislava. And from Bratislava, it takes only 2-3 hours of car ride to get to most of abovementioned beautiful sites, mountains and attractions.

How long have you been in India? what do you enjoy the most about it? 

Together with my wife, we have arrived in June 2018 and since then we are trying to enjoy a variety of regional and traditional Indian cuisines.

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