VFS has begun offering visa services in the UAE’s capital of Abu Dhabi.
The VFS Global Visa Application Centre in Abu Dhabi opened on August 1, 2022, and accepts applications for tourism, business, student, conference, medical, relatives and family visit categories.
At the centre, applicants can avail of optional services including passport withdrawal services, video conferencing for child applicants, and form filling assistance, among others.
Applicants can also opt to submit their applications from VFS Global’s Premium Lounge which allows personalised assistance throughout the submission process.
“In February 2022, the Israel Ministry of Tourism signed a partnership with VFS Global as their tourism representation agency in the UAE,” said Atul Marwah, head of VFS Global for the Middle East and North Africa.
“We are excited to embark on this new partnership with the Israel Embassy in the UAE, bringing in VFS Global’s domain expertise to provide a smooth and efficient visa application journey.”
VFS Global has over 65 client governments, and operates a global network of over 3,500 application centres in 143 countries.
Airlines in the UAE have recently stepped up operations to Israel to cater to increasing demand on the route.
On June 23, Emirates began its inaugural daily service to Tel Aviv. Shortly thereafter, it confirmed that starting October 30, it would add a second daily flight to Tel Aviv.
Each flight that it operates also offers 20 tonnes of cargo capacity.
In May this year, Israel and UAE signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement which is expected to further bilateral trade beyond US$10 billion within five years and add US$1.9 billion to the UAE’s GDP over the same period.
Since the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, and over a period spanning from September 2020 to March 2022, non-oil trade between the UAE and Israel surpassed US$ 2.5 billion. It reached US$ 1.06 billion in the first three months of 2022 – five times the total from the same period in 2021, according to state news agency WAM.
