Tag Archives: Vinay Malhotra

Citizens and expatriate residents of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia can apply for Schengen visas to Belgium at the new Visa Application Centres jointly launched by the Embassy of Belgium in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and VFS Global. The new centres provide outbound travellers from Al Khobar and Jeddah a very convenient visa application platform, ensuring enhanced quality of services and seamless procedures. Applicants also complete their biometric enrolment at the same application centre. With the launch of these new centres, applicants no longer need to visit the Embassy of Belgium and instead need to submit their visa applications at the VFS Global centres in Al Khobar and Jeddah. During the official inauguration of the Visa Application Centre in Al Khobar, H E Dominique Mineur, Ambassador of Belgium to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said, “The recent opening in Jeddah last month has already resulted in an increase in the number of visa applications received for Belgium from the Kingdom. We hope the Al Khobar Centre will also generate the same interest, and we thank VFS Global for their support. This will undoubtedly strengthen the relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Belgium.” The first Visa Application Centre for Schengen visas to Belgium started its operations in December 2016 from the capital city of Riyadh. Commenting on the new centres for visas to Belgium, Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO—Middle East, South Asia & China, VFS Global, said, “The number of applications for Schengen visas applied in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has increased significantly and continuously over the years. The positive economic environment in the Kingdom and the high level of economic growth has created more opportunities for business …

Denmark, in partnership with VFS Global, has announced the opening of its Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Kuwait. With the launch of the new centre, applicants will no longer need to visit the Embassy of Denmark. Instead, they can conveniently submit their visa applications with ease at VFS centre in Kuwait. During the official inauguration of the VAC in Kuwait, H E Ole Emil Moesby, Ambassador of Denmark to the State of Kuwait, said, “The VAC in Kuwait will facilitate much easier visa application procedures for anyone living in Kuwait who needs a Schengen visa to visit Denmark. Previously, applicants had to travel to Danish missions elsewhere in the region to apply for a visa, which made travel to Denmark somewhat cumbersome and expensive. More recently, we’ve noticed that it is not just Denmark that tourists are looking to explore. There has also been a steady increase in tourists interested in visiting Iceland, which is another great travel destination within easy reach of Denmark.” Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO – Middle East, South Asia & China, VFS Global, said, “As a hub for global trade and tourism, Denmark has many drawcards for tourists and business travellers alike and we are pleased to add this great location to our ever-growing list of destinations in the State of Kuwait. As a preferred outsourced visa-processing provider to governments across the world, we are proud to build on this legacy and will continue to provide convenient services, which open up more of the world to our valued customers.”

VFS Global has opened new Slovakia Visa Application Centre in Kuwait city in the state of Kuwait. The new centre offers residents of the state of Kuwait travelling to the Central European country greater convenience in accessing professionally-managed visa application submission services. In a statement, VFS Global said the Slovakia Visa Application Centre in the state of Kuwait is the first to be opened in the Middle East region and the fifth Slovakia Visa Application Centre to launch globally. Some of the key features of the Slovakia Visa Application Centre in the state of Kuwait include longer operating hours, professionally-trained staff fluent in the local language, an automated queue-management system for seamless submission procedures and a premium lounge for a more personalised application submission experience. Inaugurating the new Visa Application Centre, Martin Kardoš, Chargé d’affaires ad interim of the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in the state of Kuwait, said, “We believe that in close cooperation with professionals from VFS Global, Kuwaiti and other residents will find services at the new Visa Application Centre more comfortable, helpful and convenient to submit their visa requests.” Under the contract signed with the Slovak Republic, VFS Global will provide outsourced visa processing services in the state of Kuwait, Belarus, Egypt, India, Kazakhstan, Palestine, P R China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Russia, through 38 Slovakia Visa Application Centres. Also commenting on the launch of the new Slovakia Visa Application Centre in the state of Kuwait, Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO – Middle East, South Asia & China, VFS Global, said, “With the opening of the new centre, our steadfast endeavour is to provide residents with seamless visa application submission services in a …

VFS Global has opened a new China Visa Application Center (VAC) in Kuwait, marking the opening of a third such visa submission facility in the Middle East after the launch of similar centers in Dubai and Beirut. A joint statement from the Chinese Embassy in Kuwait and VFS Global said residents applying for a visa to PR China need not visit the embassy to submit their visa applications going forward. The China Visa Application Center in Kuwait City, managed by VFS Global, will proficiently facilitate the end-to-end visa application submission process. Officially inaugurating the new China Visa Application Center, Zhao Liang, Charge d’Affaires —AI, Chinese Embassy in the State of Kuwait, said, “The State of Kuwait is the first Arabian country in the Gulf area to establish diplomatic relations with PR China and in recent years, the cooperation between the two countries in all fields have grown rapidly, thus encouraging the development of robust bilateral relations. To further facilitate and enhance people-to-people exchanges and to promote visa application service standards, PR China has established this new, professionally-managed China Visa Application Center in Kuwait. The new centre will offer the residents of Kuwait a more convenient and highly-efficient visa application service. We believe that the China Visa Application Center in Kuwait City will bring residents greater convenience when applying for a Chinese visa through its comfortable environment, well-equipped facilities and warm and thoughtful service”. Commenting on the center in Kuwait, Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO — Middle East, South Asia & China, VFS Global, said, “Ever since we began our partnership with the Government of PR China in 2008, we have steadily expanded the Visa Application Centre network across the Middle …

The German Embassy has announced the opening of a new visa application centre in Kuwait in a move aimed at bringing greater efficiency to visa application processing services and enhanced customer experience to the residents of Kuwait. The centre operated by VFS Global will also provide biometric enrolment facilities to residents of Kuwait applying for Schengen visas. The processing time for a Schengen visa takes a maximum of 15 days and can be applied for up to three months before the planned date of travel. The VFS Global German Visa Application Centre in Kuwait is located at Level 25, Arraya Tower 2, Al Shuhada Street, Kuwait City, Kuwait. Inaugurating the visa application centre, H E Karlfried Bergner, Ambassador of Germany to the State of Kuwait, said, “The opening of the new centre is in line with the mandate the Federal Republic of Germany has awarded VFS Global to open external visa application facilities in 10 countries world over, including the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.” Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO—Middle East, South Asia & China, VFS Global, said, “VFS Global has a robust and long standing relationship with the Federal Republic of Germany and in the MENA region alone, it is expected that we will handle some 200,000 visa applications a year. While the decision of granting visas will rest with the German Embassy, our endeavor will be to provide visa application submission services efficiently and diligently and to the delight of our customers in Kuwait.”

The Italian Embassy in Bahrain has opened a new visa application centre in Manama in partnership with VFS Global. In a joint statement, VFS Global and the Embassy said the new centre will provide greater seamlessness to visa application processing and resident visa applicants in Bahrain need not submit their Schengen visa applications at the Embassy. The visa application centre run by well-trained professionals will provide secure processing of entry permit requirements in a friendly ambience. Applicants can also opt for the comfort and privacy of a premium lounge. Inaugurating the visa application centre, HE Domenico Bellato, Ambassador of Italy to the Kingdom of Bahrain, said, “We are pleased to start a new chapter of cooperation with VFS Global, providing a state-of-the-art service in collecting applications for short-stay visas for travel to Italy and Malta as their main destinations in the Schengen area. We are confident that the new visa application centre will further increase the number of Bahraini citizens and residents in choosing Italy as their destination for tourism and business.” Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO – Middle East, South Asia & China, VFS Global, said, “The Italian mandate to VFS Global follows a 14-year old relationship with the client government and it is our commitment to provide efficient, secure and convenient visa application services to the residents of Bahrain travelling to Italy and/or Malta as their main destinations in the Schengen area.”

VFS Global has opened a UK visa application centre in Riyadh, close to the Diplomatic Quarter. The company said that the new centre in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which will serve travellers to the UK & Australia, is equipped to handle more visa applicants conveniently with increased seating capacity and ample parking space, while also offering ancillary travel services facilities within the premises. Officially inaugurating the new visa application centre, the Ambassador of United Kingdom to Saudi Arabia, HE Simon Collis, said, “‘Our customers in Saudi Arabia are extremely important to us, and we continually look for new and innovative ways to improve the visa service we offer, both to Saudi nationals and local residents. For Saudi nationals, the average processing time for non-settlement visas is less than five days.” The new centre is located at Al Hada District, besides Courtyard Marriott Hotel and close to Ritz Carlton, Riyadh. Visa applicants to the UK and Australia can access details on visa application procedures at  www.vfsglobal.co.uk/sa/en Commenting on the launch, Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO for Middle East, South Asia & China, VFS Global, said: “The new stand-alone centre has been designed to provide a comprehensive experience to applicants in terms of visa processing and accessing necessary travel services under one canopy. The UK continues to remain a popular destination for tourism, business and student visitors from Saudi Arabia. The latest visa figures show that over 130,000 Saudi nationals were issued a UK visa in the last year. We are confident that the new centre for the UK and Australia visa applicants will provide enhanced convenience to the customers.”

The Embassy of Ukraine has opened two visa application centres in Riyadh and Jeddah to efficiently serve travellers from Ukraine in partnership with VFS Global. In a joint statement, VFS Global and the Embassy said that both the centres have started accepting visa application submissions for processing both short-term and long-term visas to Ukraine. Opening the visa application centre, Head of Consular Section of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, HE Yurii Tereschenko said, “The new visa application centres have been opened in the light of increasing number of travellers to Ukraine from Saudi Arabia. The centres will considerably ease the visa application process providing streamlined service to expatriates from the Kingdom wishing to travel to Ukraine for both tourism and business purposes.” The inauguration of the centre was done in the presence of HE Serhii Pushkarsky, Deputy Head of Mission and Bohdan Kostiuk, Consular Assistant of the Embassy of Ukraine. The opening of the visa application centres follows the VFS Global mandate from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Under the terms of the contract, VFS Global is entrusted with the opening of 10 visa application centres in eight countries across the Middle East, Levant region and South Asia. Commenting on the launch, Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO for Middle East, South Asia & China, VFS Global, said, “We are confident that the opening of the Ukraine visa application centre in Saudi Arabia will help catalyse travel to the East European country from the Kingdom.

The Embassy of Latvia has announced the opening of external visa application centres in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in partnership with VFS Global, providing convenience to travellers from the UAE in processing Schengen entry permits to the Baltic nation. Visa applicants from the UAE need not henceforth approach the Embassy of Latvia for their visa requirements as VFS Global is mandated to handle the applications as well as biometric enrolment. Speaking at the inauguration, H.E. Astra Kurme, Ambassador of Latvia to the UAE said, “It is an important step towards facilitating contacts between people and nations. The possibility to apply and receive visa to visit Latvia will significantly improve tourism and business exchange not only between Latvia and the United Arab Emirates, but also the whole Gulf region as the Embassy’s consular mandate covers all GCC region.” Vinay Malhotra, COO–Middle East & South Asia, VFS Global, said, “We are honoured to be part of this growing relationship between the two countries and are confident to bring enhanced level of efficiency in services and a seamless, delightful customer experience to visa applicants from the UAE.”

The Embassy of Malaysia in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of Malaysia in Dubai launched two new One Stop Centres (OSC), providing Malaysia visa services in Abu Dhabi and Dubai from November 1. Both centres are managed by VFS Global in partnership with S5 Systems and Megan Gayabina. The Abu Dhabi centre is located at Shining Tower on Mubarak Bin Mohammed Street and the Dubai centre is located at Wafi Mall. An inauguration ceremony was held in Dubai on November 6 in the presence of Dato’ Yubazlan Bin Haji Yusof, Consul General of Malaysia in Dubai and Vinay Malhotra, COO – Middle East & South Asia, VFS Global, along with other senior officials. Dato’ Yubazlan Bin Haji Yusof, Consul General of Malaysia in Dubai, said, “Well coordinated models such as the OSC seeks to ensure consistency in the application to provide a streamlined and efficient visa service. The OSC also flexed its visa submission time to allow more applications to be submitted as part of the new customer friendly initiative.” Vinay Malhotra, COO – Middle East & South Asia, VFS Global, said, “It is an honour to launch two new OSCs that will provide travellers to Malaysia from the UAE’s professionally managed visa processing services.”