Lucknow, July 4 (IANS) People from Lucknow and other parts of the state travelling to the Netherlands and Austria, can now apply for visa in Lucknow itself.
The service at the visa facilitation services (VFS) centre that was inaugurated by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in February, has finally begun.
With this, people can apply for visas without going to Delhi, which is the nearest VFS centre.
Earlier, Saudi Arabia was the first country that started offering visa application services.
Applications can be made from Monday to Friday between 9 am and 4 pm.
A prior appointment, booked through the VFS Global website, would be required. Chief operating officer for VFS Global South Asia, Prabuddha Sen, said: “We are delighted to bring Austria and the Netherlands visa services to Lucknow. We are confident that the centre will offer applicants a convenient and seamless visa application process.”
The centre also offers optional services such as premium lounge. One availing such a facility would be able to submit applications without having to wait in queue. Other services that can be availed for an additional fee include form-filling assistance, courier service, courier assurance, photo service, printing and photocopy and SMS alerts, he added.
VFS Global offers Austria visa services in 15 cities and the Netherlands visa services in nine cities across India.
The VFS Centre in Lucknow offers visa facility for Switzerland, Estonia, Japan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia along with Austria and the Netherlands.
Spread across an area of 24,000 square feet, the centre, has a capacity to process around 1.2 lakh applications in a year.