Italian authorities have opened a new visa application centre in Jakarta, Indonesia, for Indonesian travellers who need to obtain a visa to Italy.
The new centre aims to facilitate accommodation for Indonesians visiting Italy as well as promote Italian culture, language, arts, science and Italian-made products, Schengen News reported.
Starting June 21, 2024, all Indonesians and foreigners residing in Indonesia or Timor-Leste who need to obtain an Italian visa will be required to make an appointment and submit their application in person at the new Italian Visa Application Center (PT VFS Services Indonesia) between 8am and 3pm, Monday to Friday.
Commenting on the move, Italian Ambassador to Indonesia Benedetto Lateri said the move would ease the demands of a growing number of Indonesians and Timor-Leste nationals seeking to travel to Italy for tourism, business, work and religious reasons.
We are honored to have signed an agreement to provide visa services on behalf of the Italian Embassy in Indonesia. The agreement was signed on 27th March 2024 between His Excellency Benedetto Lateri, Ambassador of Italy to Indonesia, and Mr. Kaushik Ghosh, Head of Australasia at VFS Global.
Jakarta’s new visa application centre offers Indonesians easier visa application process
VFS Global, a leading global outsourcing and technology services company for governments and diplomatic missions, operates the new Visa Application Center (VAC) in Jakarta. VFS Global has had a long standing relationship with the Italian government since 2004, and provides convenient and optimized services that meet the needs of users, streamline the application process, and make travel easier.
At the same time, the new facility offers extended opening hours and is equipped with the latest equipment and services, with staff on hand to assist you at every step of the process. Dedicated call centre support, email assistance and passport courier services round out the range of services.
In this regard, VFS Global Deputy Director AMT Italy expressed great delight about this collaboration with Indonesia and stressed that this is the best way to expand the partnership between the two countries.
More than 500,000 Indonesian tourists will visit Italy in 2023 alone
Furthermore, Italy became the world’s fourth most popular tourist destination last year, recording 57.25 million international visitors, including around 500,000 visitors from Indonesia. That same year, Italian authorities made efforts to reduce the waiting time for all Indonesians applying for Schengen visas, due to a sharp increase in the number of Schengen visa applications.
