Visa applications exceed pre-Covid level in Jalandhar

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 5

All those colleges which have been expecting more admissions in the coming academic session as compared to the last few years may be in for a shocker.

Popular destinations for Indian travellers include Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, UK and US. — Vishal Jairath, Head, South Asia, VFS Global

According to VFS Global, the visa processing company for 150 countries, the application volume from Jalandhar has not fallen. It has rather registered an increase of 13 per cent year-on-year basis in 2023. The visa application volumes rather remained strong in 2023 and exceeded pre-pandemic levels as outbound travel from here continues to surge, said Vishal Jairath, head, South Asia, VFS Global.

“When compared to the pre-pandemic numbers when the footfall remained the highest, visa application volumes from Jalandhar now have even surpassed the 2019 levels by 1 per cent. In comparison to the overall pre-pandemic numbers for India, visa application volumes have reached 93 per cent of the 2019 levels,” he compared growth of applications in Jalandhar with India. According to estimates from various sources, as many as 6.5 million visas were processed from India in 2023.

According to the company, popular destinations for Indian travellers include Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, UK and US. They have predicted that the travel momentum was set to sustain in 2024 as well and the applicants have been advised to apply for their visas in advance to avoid last-minute rush. “While applications for Schengen countries can be moved even six months prior to the travel, for other countries applications could be moved 90 days ahead,” said Jairath.

The company official also said that the acceptance of personalised services such as Visa At Your Doorstep (VAYD) had seen over four-fold rise against 2019. The service helps applicants to complete their entire visa application submission process from the comfort of their homes or any other location of their choice. Through this premium service, customers can submit their applications, enrol for biometrics, and get their passport couriered back to their location of choice. The VAYD service is available for 16 countries in India – Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Switzerland, and UK.

Jairath added that applicants must wary of fake websites/social media pages impersonating VFS Global and selling appointments in exchange of money. “Appointments are free and available only on www.vfsglobal.com on first come, first serve basis,” he said. The company officials said that the cases of use of forged qualification documents used by the students were also being noted.

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#Canada #China #France #Germany