THE JAPANESE embassy in India has appointed VFS Global and Cox & Kings to process visa applications from Northern Indian states, effective April 2, 2012.
“We hope that the new system will ease the process of visa handling,” said Akitaka Saiki, Japan’s Ambassador to India.
VFS Global has also been tasked with managing two application drop-off offices in Punjab (Chandigarh and Jalandhar), while Cox & Kings will oversee a separate drop-off office in Rajasthan (Jaipur).
The new system will allow travellers to submit their visa applications from 08:30am – 17:30pm (Monday-Friday). Previously, requests could only be sumitted to the embassy from 09.30am – 12.00noon.
Meanwhile, the embassy, which is located in Chankyapuri, New Delhi will continue to accept applications for diplomatic and official visas, and other instances requiring special attention on humanitarian grounds.
The Japanese consulates in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata will continue to process applications from their respective regions.
Last year, 59,000 Indians travelled to Japan. The Japan National Tourism Organisation, which recently appointed Mileage Communication Delhi as its representative in India, is targeting 90,000 Indian arrivals this year.
Reporting by Divya Kaul
