Kigali: Travellers from Rwanda to Belgium and 19 other Schengen destinations should now apply for their visas at a modern and centrally located Visa Application Centre launched this 15 Januray by VFS Global, on behalf of the Embassy of Belgium in Rwanda. The decision making and issuance of the visas remains a responsibility of the Embassy of Belgium.
The new centre is located in Kiyovu (Kigali) and offers applicants a whole-host of professional services such as SMS updates on the progress of the application status, courier dispatch of important documents etc. as part of the application processing experience.
In Rwanda, VFS Global is the only visa service provider that has an agreement with the Embassy of Belgium. VFS Global has partnered with the Government of Belgium to handle visa processing services since 2006 and presently serves the client government in 21countries globally through a network of 62 Visa Application Centres.
The launch is part of the contracts won by VFS Global in August and September 2018 to provide additional visa services to eight existing and new client governments to extend their visa service network.
This is the second Visa Application Centre opened by VFS Global in Rwanda after the launch of Canada visas services in September 2018.
Commenting on the launch, Mr. Jiten Vyas, Regional Group COO, VFS Global, said “We are privileged to open our first-ever Schengen Visa Application Centre in our new country of operations- Rwanda, by extending our partnership with the Embassy of Belgium in the African region. This new Belgium Visa Application Centre in Kigali will extend the convenience of a seamless and enhanced experience to all applicants by ensuring the same standard of professionalism and service quality that is established across our centres worldwide.”
The Ambassador of Belgium to Rwanda, Benoît RYELANDT stressed the following elements: ”This cooperation should allow the visa section of the Embassy to focus on its core-business and increase its flexibility. Most importantly, this “one stop center” and its integrated services should improve the quality and added-value of the services for visa applicants even more. Applications have almost doubled since 2013, reaching 9500 in 2018, with 85% of them being approved and visas delivered. We expect these amounts to keep increasing.”
Key features of the centre will include: SMS alerts for visa status update; 100% secure handling of passports, documents and personal information (privacy protection); Dedicated website for easy access to information including visa categories; requirements, checklist, applicable fees, visa status updates and appointment bookings; Dedicated contact centre and email support to answer queries and track application status, including assistance in filling-in the application forms
About VFS Global
VFS Global is the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide. VFS Global has Swiss parentage and is a portfolio company of EQT, a leading global private equity firm headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. With 2834 Application Centres, operations in 141 countries across five continents and over 187 million applications processed as on 30 November 2018, VFS Global is the trusted partner of 62 client governments. (End)