German visa application centres to expedite visa process

Buoyed by an increase in visitors from India, Germany today announced the opening of the German Visa Application Centres (VAC) which will ease and fasten the visa application process for tourists.
Indian and Bhutanese travellers to Germany will now no longer have to apply for Schengen visa (short-term visa) at the German missions in India but file it in the 16 German VACs spread across India.
Germany has also opened a VAC in Bhutan to ease the entire process.
This 'customer-friendly' service will avoid major travel expenses and speed up the whole application process. The new service is run by contract partner VFS Global, officials said.

"For most Indians and Bhutanese travelling to Europe, be it for business or leisure, Germany is high on the wish list. Therefore, the visa application process should be smooth. With our new policy, we take the process to people's door. This is a good service and customer orientation at its best," Micheal Steiner, German Ambassador to India said.
The German visa application centres in New Delhi, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Jaipur, Gurgaon, Thimpu, Chennai, Hyderabad, Puducherry, Bengaluru and Mumbai are already serving in their respective regions.

The centres in Goa, Pune, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Trivandrum and Kolkata will be operation over the next two months.

VFS Global officials said that if on Day one an application is submitted, it will handled quickly and by the morning of Day 2, it will be with the Embassy for assessment thus making the process quicker.
Officials said the centres are conveniently located and easily accessible, have longer operating hours, shorter waiting period between making an appointment and submitting application, secure handling of passports and online appointment, scheduling, payment and tracking.
Embassy officials said that on a yearly basis, they were issuing 120,000 visas of which 40,000 were issued in Mumbai while 28,000 in Delhi.