Soon after Canada announced the suspension of in-person services, visa services provider VFS Global clarified that its Canada-centric visa application centres would continue to operate normally in 10 Indian cities.
The company will operate visa application and drop-off centers in cities across India, including Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai. VFS Global has been working with the Thai government for nearly two decades and has processed over 2.2 million Thai visa applications since 2005.
The number of visa applications in India is expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year. VFS Global, which manages visa applications for multiple countries, has already processed over 30 lakh applications from January to June 2023, compared to 60 lakh in all of 2019.
VFS Global has been awarded the global biometric collection service across seven regions by the Department of Home Affairs, Australia. The agreement covers 165 locations worldwide and includes services such as biometric collection, identity verification, digital assistance with visa applications, and online payment assistance. This agreement marks the first opening of Australian biometric collection centres by VFS Global in the Americas region.