Belgium opens visa application centre in Pune

Move aimed at offering new services, facilities and benefits to visa applicants, and boost tourism, trade and investments, and bilateral ties

Considering growing trade between Belgium and Pune, the consul general of Belgium has opened a visa application centre in Pune. Catering to the growing demand of Belgium bound travellers in the region, this decision is aimed at offering new services, facilities and benefits to visa applicants, and boost tourism, trade and investments, and bilateral ties with India.

Speaking about this, Karl Van den Bosschce, Consul General of Belgium said, “Last year, we had issued 35,000 visas, of which 10,000 were from Maharashtra. Pune and the surrounding region constituted 45 per cent of the applicants. A majority of the applicants were from the business community.”

According to Bossche, bilateral trade between two countries is of 13 billion euros which mainly includes diamonds, chocolates, automotive parts bio technology and logistics. There are over 80 Belgian companies who have made investments in Pune and surrounding region.

The VFS Global operated Schengen Visa Application Centre in Pune will accept visa applications for Belgium from applicants in the region..