UK visa processing to resume from July 6; dates for some other countries likely on July 1

NEW DELHI: Visa processing for United Kingdom will resume in India next Monday (July 6) in a phased manner. According to VFS Global, UK visa application centres in Delhi, south Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru (Global Tech Park), Chandigarh, Cochin, Hyderabad, Jalandhar, Kolkata and Pune will open from July 6. Chennai centre reopening that day is subject to local lockdown conditions.
VFS on Wednesday is also expected to announce when visa processing for some other countries will resume in India.
“The remaining (UK) visa application centres and enrolment locations in India will not be open for some time. We will be contacting customers who had previously booked appointments at these centres to arrange for you to complete your application at a different location,” VFS Global website for UK visa says. It has visa applications centres in 19 Indian cities.
While scheduled international flights to and from India are suspended till 11.59 pm of July 15, aviation authorities have said they may allow some routes to resume on a case-to-case basis. India is working on creating travel bubbles with countries like US, UK, France and Germany. Foreign missions here were recently requested to resume visa processing following the lifting of lockdown.
VFS says customers who were unable to attend an earlier appointment for UK visa, will be able to log into their account to book a new appointment. And those who completed their application on GOV.UK, but didn’t previously book an appointment at the visa application centre have been enabled to do so from Monday (June 29).
Given the pandemic conditions, people with prior appointment visiting visa application centres will need to observe physical distancing, undergo temperature checks and wear face masks.
“Customers exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, including fever (higher than 37.3 degrees Celsius), cough or difficulty breathing will be helped to reschedule their application submission for another day and will be advised to seek medical attention at the nearest healthcare facility of their choice,” it says.
Due to the lockdown restrictions in place globally, the group will not be offering services like super priority visa; priority visa service (visit); priority visa for settlement or migration Service and walk-in for now.
“We strongly advise all customers to purchase courier return of their documents so they do not have to visit the visa application centre again, after a decision is made. If a decision has been made on your application, and you need to collect your passport from the visa application centre, we will be contacting you to arrange this,” it says.
UK, like almost all countries globally, has new entry rules in place to minimise the spread of coronavirus and visitors will need to check the same before heading for there. Visitors travelling to the UK are currently required to self-isolate for the first 14 days.
“You may be fined up to £100 if you refuse to provide your contact details. You may be fined more if you break this rule more than once. You may also be fined up to £1,000 if you refuse to self-isolate, or you could face further action,” the UK government website says.