Dubai: Residents travelling to Schengen countries with Italy as their main destination may apply for their visas beginning this week at Cox and Kings Global Services (CKGS), the new service provider appointed by the Consulate-General of Italy in Dubai.
The new Italy Visa Application Centre, located at Al Deyaar Building in Al Barsha, will process all categories of visas such as tourist, business, transit, employment, student, family reunion and medical visas.
CKGS in Dubai will receive applications from all the emirates, except Abu Dhabi, whose applications will be handled by the Italian Embassy.
Giovanni Favilli, Consul-General of Italy, told Gulf News that visa applications made with their previous service provider, VFS Global, will be completed by the company. New applications will have to be made with CKGS beginning this week.
Favilli said the number of UAE travellers visiting Italy has more than doubled since last year, with 11,083 visas issued for the first six months of 2013 compared with the same period last year at 4,774.
“We want to strongly encourage travel to Italy and make the procedures simple and hassle-free. While the rules governing Schengen visas remain the same for all countries participating in the agreement, we believe that information should be clear, communication with operators should be easy and appointments to apply should be given within a short time-frame,” Favilli said.
Sanjay Bhaduri, CEO of CKGS, said his company is committed to providing assistance and convenience to travellers who want to visit Italy.
CKGS will provide appointments for visa submission within three working days from the time they receive the request. Visa processing time varies according to the nationality of the applicant and the time of the year in which the application is presented. The ordinary processing time for a completed visa application with all the required documents ranges from three to 20 days.
Applicants can choose an ordinary appointment for a service fee of Dh80, plus the visa cost of 60 euros (Dh287).
An optional premium service at Dh200 is available, where applicants are entertained in a separate lounge, and given additional services such as SMS alerts, courier service, among others. The processing time, however, for both categories is the same.
Payments for the visa and service fees can be made by cash, debit or credit card at the Visa Application Centre or online. Applicants may also view their application status online.
For more information, visit CKGS’ website at www.ckgs.ae.
