Italy has opened a new Schengen visa application centre in the city of Bengaluru, India.
The new centre was inaugurated by the Consul General of Italy in Bengaluru, Alfonso Tagliaferri, and VFS Global, which will be responsible for carrying out services on behalf of Italy, Schengen.News reports.
In his inaugural address, Tagliaferri expressed the importance of this new centre, stressing that it will allow to increase the quality of services and offer a better experience for applicants.
The same noted that the new centre will help to meet the high demand for Italian Schengen visas by Indian passport holders.
In addition to the above-mentioned, Tagliaferri said that they expect to see a higher number of visa applications with the implementation of the Partnership Agreement on Mobility and Migration, which was recently signed by Italy and India.
He further highlighted that the authorities will increase their efforts to process visa applications filed by Indian nationals faster.
VFS Global Chief Operating Officer for South Asia, Yummi Talwar, also commented on the inauguration of the new centre. He said that the centre will help effectively meet the growing demand for Italian Schengen visas.
Italy Granted Over 44,800 Schengen Visas to Indians in 2023
Data from the Schengen Statistics portal show that in 2023, Indians submitted a total of 52,332 Schengen visa applications to Italy. Italy approved 44,833 of these applications. On the other hand, Italy refused visas for 7,445 Indian applicants.
In terms of the total number of applications to all Schengen member countries, India ranks as the third country with the most applications in 2023. Last year, Indian passport holders submitted 966,687 Schengen visa applications.
Switzerland, France, and Germany are the top three Schengen countries that granted the highest number of visas to Indians in 2023. They granted 166,919, 146,938, and 118,919 Schengen visas to Indian nationals, respectively.
Source: https://schengen.news/italy-opens-new-visa-application-centre-in-india/
