Visa for six Schengen countries made easy
The French, German and Italian missions in the emirate opened a “joint visa application centre” yesterday at Al Mina Road to handle and process visa applications to six Schengen countries initially.
The centre, which would be operational from 9am today, is the first of its kind in the Middle East and would process visas of nationals and expatriate residents from Dubai and the Northern Emirates. The Netherlands and Switzerland are also expected to join the centre.
Johann-Adolf Cohausz, Consul-General of Germany in Dubai, told Khaleej Times, “This centre will facilitate visa issuance. Earlier, we were in a very constrained and limited space. Now there are more counters and better parking facilities available for applicants. The waiting period to submit applications will also be considerably reduced.”
He said he was convinced that other Schengen countries would also join the centre as it can accommodate more European countries. The German consulate alone receives over 40,000 visa applications each year.
The centre, which will work from 9am to 5pm, has about 17 counters and is equipped to handle over 60,000 applications each year. It will accept applications for travel to France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Malta and Slovenia. The services have been outsourced to VFS LLC, which will collect and check applications for completeness and forward it to the respective consulates.
Roberto Vagni, Head of the Italian consulate in Dubai, said the consulate processed 10,000 visas annually and the numbers were steadily increasing every year. “It is good to work with other European countries and we expect the Netherlands to also join us in soon,” he added.
Nada Yafi, French Consul-General in Dubai, noted that working longer hours would mean that applicants could submit applications any time. “We have more time to work on applications. It would also make it easier for potential travellers,” Yafi added.
Applicants, on the other hand, hope the new centre would improve the efficacy of the consulates. “Usually, we have to wait in long, winding queues all morning to submit applications and come back to collect them another day. Also, consulates usually accept applications only in the morning. Now, things should hopefully ease and we could look forward to faster and friendlier services,” said John Smith, an expatriate. The centre can also arrange interview appointments with consular officers where applicable. Applicants can have their passports couriered or collect it themselves. They can also track the status of the centre.
Though it will be a common point for collection of visa applications for the Schengen countries, the decision to issue visas will remain with the respective consulates. The time for processing would also remain the same as before and would take anywhere between 24 hours and three weeks depending on the type of visa and nationality of the applicant.
The centre, which would be operational from 9am today, is the first of its kind in the Middle East and would process visas of nationals and expatriate residents from Dubai and the Northern Emirates. The Netherlands and Switzerland are also expected to join the centre.
Johann-Adolf Cohausz, Consul-General of Germany in Dubai, told Khaleej Times, “This centre will facilitate visa issuance. Earlier, we were in a very constrained and limited space. Now there are more counters and better parking facilities available for applicants. The waiting period to submit applications will also be considerably reduced.”
He said he was convinced that other Schengen countries would also join the centre as it can accommodate more European countries. The German consulate alone receives over 40,000 visa applications each year.
The centre, which will work from 9am to 5pm, has about 17 counters and is equipped to handle over 60,000 applications each year. It will accept applications for travel to France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Malta and Slovenia. The services have been outsourced to VFS LLC, which will collect and check applications for completeness and forward it to the respective consulates.
Roberto Vagni, Head of the Italian consulate in Dubai, said the consulate processed 10,000 visas annually and the numbers were steadily increasing every year. “It is good to work with other European countries and we expect the Netherlands to also join us in soon,” he added.
Nada Yafi, French Consul-General in Dubai, noted that working longer hours would mean that applicants could submit applications any time. “We have more time to work on applications. It would also make it easier for potential travellers,” Yafi added.
Applicants, on the other hand, hope the new centre would improve the efficacy of the consulates. “Usually, we have to wait in long, winding queues all morning to submit applications and come back to collect them another day. Also, consulates usually accept applications only in the morning. Now, things should hopefully ease and we could look forward to faster and friendlier services,” said John Smith, an expatriate. The centre can also arrange interview appointments with consular officers where applicable. Applicants can have their passports couriered or collect it themselves. They can also track the status of the centre.
Though it will be a common point for collection of visa applications for the Schengen countries, the decision to issue visas will remain with the respective consulates. The time for processing would also remain the same as before and would take anywhere between 24 hours and three weeks depending on the type of visa and nationality of the applicant.
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