Netherlands Inaugurates A VFS Centre In Ahmedabad To Better Cater To Locals

28 Apr 2014

It is a fact that increasingly, more number of Indians are traveling abroad for pursuing higher studies, tourism, working, or for pursuing business interests. One of the countries which also increasingly attracts Indians is Netherlands. According to the compiled statistics available, Netherlands has witnessed a rise of 15% visa requests/applications.

Business visa requests, followed by requests for visas for tourism and studies is the order in which application requests are being made to the Netherlands authorities. This is so, according to a statement made by Alphonsus Stoelinga, Netherlands' ambassador to India, while he was inaugurating a Visa Facilitation Centre (VFS) for Netherlands at Ahmedabad, on Friday, 25th, 2014.

As of now (i.e. presently), the VFS centre at Ahmedabad addresses and caters to the visa needs of six other Schengen nations and these include Greece, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain and Italy and. In the year, 2013, the Ahmedabad VFS centre received 2,000 visa requests for the six above mentioned Schengen countries and it is being anticipated that this will rise to 3,000 visas with the inauguration of the VFS facility for Netherlands, too.

The ambassador also stated that within the first month of inaugurating the centre, they got applications exceeding 40 in number per month. So, it is being expected that with the opening of the Netherlands VFS facility, the total number of applications for a Netherlands visa will be around 45-50. Some experts are also opining that tourism from Gujarat to Netherlands to the country will increase by 20-25% this year.

Also, Netherlands and the state of Gujarat have strong business ties, with more than 150 Dutch companies having their operations in the state. And, also, Netherlands is a participant country along with four other countries in the vibrant Gujarat 2015 event.

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