The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath launched a new global gateway for the state with the inauguration of the first VFS Global Joint Visa Application Centre (JVAC) and the VFS Global Academy in Lucknow.
Lucknow becomes the 21st Indian city to house a VFS Global VAC; in line with the company’s vision to expand footprints in tier two and tier three cities.
This spacious and comfortable facility equipped with modern amenities and services will have the capacity of processing approximately 1.2 lakh applications a year and will be of immense benefit to the citizens of Uttar Pradesh, who till now had to travel to other cities like New Delhi to submit their visa applications.
Spread across 24,000 sq.ft, the JVAC would cater to travellers bound to Austria, The Netherlands, The Czech Republic, Switzerland, Estonia, Hungary, Portugal, Germany, Italy and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
In addition to easing visa accessibility, VFS Global will open an academy in partnership Indian Hotels Company Ltd. (IHCL) to train local youth in world-class hospitality skills and enable employability in line with the UP-government’s skilling programme.
“It is our great honour and pride to have the Honourable Chief Minister of UP, Shri Yogi Adityanath, inaugurate the Lucknow joint visa application centre. This centre is a testament of our commitment to the people of UP. Given the visionary governance demonstrated by Yogiji’s government, the state of UP has great potential to become a global investment hub,” said Zubin Karkaria, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, VFS Global.
Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, IHCL, said, “This partnership is in line with IHCL’s commitment to build a talent pool for the hospitality industry. Given the growing potential of tourism in Uttar Pradesh, such skill building initiatives will help leverage the untapped potential of the region and create employability.”
