Russia Visa Application Centres launched in 4 cities in India

Residents of India can now apply for visas to Russia at VFS Global Visa Application Centres opened for the Embassy of the Russian Federation. The new centres will cater to the growing needs of outbound travellers to Russia, and increase accessibility to, and convenience of, visa services. With Russia emerging as a popular destination – approximately 55,000 travellers visit Russia from India each year – the application process through the new centres will prove to be smoother and more streamlined. The centre in New Delhi was inaugurated by Nikolay Rishatovich Kudashev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of India, in a ceremony held recently. During the ceremony, Nikolay Rishatovich Kudashev stated, “It is indeed a matter of great satisfaction for me to be present here with the personnel of VFS Global and the Russian Embassy to inaugurate the new Russian Visa Application Centre. It looks very impressive, very advanced and it perfectly fits into the new substance of our bilateral ties as well as our global co-operation. As you would surely know our relationship is a relationship of Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. It carries political, economic, cultural and humanitarian content, but after all and finally, it is all about people; it is all about people to people connection, making this enormous relationship going. And this person to person connection will not be possible without such a simple thing as visa. So in a way, the visa is the key to the strategic nature of our bilateral ties, and this key is in the clever hands of the people of VFS Global. I hope this visa application centre will make a real contribution to the growing strategic connection between our countries and our people.” Speaking about the development, Vinay Malhotra, regional group chief operating officer – Middle East, South Asia & China, said, “We are delighted to extend our partnership with the Russian Government to the Indian subcontinent with the opening of these visa application centres in four cities in India. The network of Russia Visa Application Centres serves the needs of the ever-increasing numbers of travellers to Russia from this region and we are confident it will deliver services that exceed the expectations of the applicants.”.