A few more countries have opened up their consulates for visa processing since our last update in September Here is a summary of the key new visa updates.

The U.S. Consulate in India has extended the validity of the USA visa fee payment already made (known as MRV fee) by one more year till September 30, 2023. This extension will allow all applicants who had made the USA visa fee payment prior to the suspension of routine consular operations in March 2020 an opportunity to schedule a visa appointment upto end Sep 2023 with the already paid fee.

Please note that the US Consulate has still not resumed processing B1/B2 visas. We will keep our clients updated as and when the US Consulate resumes routine visa operations.

Document pickup / submission services:
The U.S. Embassy/ Consulates in India will offer free document pickup/submission services at the OFC where the Embassy/Consulate is located. Applicants collecting/submitting documents from any other locations will need to pay a nominal fee of Rs 650/- per document at the time of pickup/ submission.

Canada has resumed all visa categories including Tourist, Business and Family visit visas but the processing time is currently taking more than 7 to 8 months.

All visa applications have to be lodged online.

Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain, Netherlands and Belgium have resumed processing short stay visas for all types of category for Indian nationals who have been fully vaccinated for Covishield. Proof of vaccination is required at the time of application that needs to meet certain criteria. And from 18th Oct onwards , the Visa Application Centers of Belgium, Germany & France in Pune will be operational on all days of the week (Mon – Fri) for select visa application categories.

Italy: Applicants residing in West and South of India can apply for the following categories:

• Study (Type C&D)
• Seamen (Type C&D)
• Invitation (Type C&D)
• Business (Type C)
• Family Member of EU citizen (Spouse, Parents, Children if under 21) (Type C)
• Re-Entry (Type D)
• Mission (Type D)
• Adoption (Type D)
• Diplomatic (Type D)
• Medical Treatment (Type D)
• Lavoro Subordinato (fuori quota/seamen) (Type D)

Hungary: From 18th Oct onwards, Hungary Visa Application Centers in multiple locations in India (including Pune) has resumed processing ‘C’ type short stay visas

Denmark: All categories of visas for long and short term stays have resumed but visa will be granted only if the travel is for a worthy purpose as per embassy guidelines

Austria: All visa categories have resumed for fully vaccinated travellers with Covishield however embassy must give a pre-approval

Norway & Iceland: All visa categories have resumed for fully vaccinated travellers with Covishield

Australia has resumed all visa categories including Tourist, Business, and Family visit visas but the processing time is currently taking more than 7 to 8 months.

Current exempt categories that is spouse or child of Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident may get the visas faster than other categories. All visa applications have to be lodged through the Immigrations website only (Immi Account).

The UK Embassy has resumed all visa categories including Tourist, Business, Family visit visas. The processing time is currently taking around 5-7 weeks to get the visa AFTER the biometric appointment.

UK VFS offers many additional premium services which includes Priority & Super priority services which allows applicants to get the visa faster. Click here for more details about these services.

UAE has started a new category of 5 years Multiple Entry Visa where applicants can stay upto 90 days in a year. Besides UAE has resumed processing all other types of visas.

Croatia & Czech Republic: All visa categories have resumed for fully vaccinated travellers with Covishield.

VFS Pune update: From 1st Oct, South Africa and Thailand Visa Application Centers in Pune has resumed visa processing services on all days of the week (Mon to Fri) from 9am to 3pm.

Below is the updated list of the countries and the visa categories for which visa applications can now being processed in India: