Dubai Shopping Festival visitors can now apply for visa in India without having to locate a sponsor in Dubai

The recent Emirates Airline initiative, the Dubai Visa Processing Centre, has now added several conveniences to the general visitor and the Dubai Shopping Festival visitor from India.

Says Saeed Mohammed Al Nabouda, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Shopping Festival, and "Our Indian visitors now need not worry about locating a local sponsor for a visa. Over the past several years, there has been a significant increase in the number of Indians travelling to Dubai on business or holiday. In addition, Dubai has become a very attractive stopover to passengers travelling between India and Europe/America. Additionally, as usual Dubai Shopping Festival has several added attractions for the Indian tourist. The Dubai Visa Processing Centre will help us to attract more Indian tourists."

Mr. Nabil Sultan, General Manager-India and Nepal, Emirates, comments, "Emirates believes in setting the 'gold standard' for quality of service and customer focus in the airline industry." For the benefit of its valued passengers, Emirates airline will be glad to sponsor their visas subject to their fulfilling eligibility criteria specified by Dubai Immigration.

To simplify the visa application process, Emirates has tied-up with VFS to set up the Dubai Visa Processing Centre (DVPC) in India to assist its passengers in obtaining a Visit Visa or 96 Hour Visa to Dubai.

What are the advantages to travellers applying for their Dubai visa through Emirates? First, they will not need to locate a sponsor in Dubai. Second, subject to papers being in order, applications for a Visit Visa will get processed within 3 working days. And third, applicants for a Visit Visa get an electronic visa - this means that on arrival at Dubai Airport, a passenger who has taken his Visit Visa through Emirates will not have to queue up at the Visa Delivery Counter. Instead, he can proceed directly to Immigration for rapid clearance.

Passengers of Emirates can now submit their visa application at designated offices of Blue Dart all over India. The network of acceptance centres will eventually cover 77 outlets in 31 cities. Applications will reach the DVPC by the next working day for immediate assessment and reference to Dubai Immigration. Immediately on receiving approval from Dubai Immigration, the confirmation message will get entered into the passengers' PNR.

In a message, His Excellency Dr. Saeed M. Al-Shamsi, the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates in India said, "This initiative will further enhance the historically close travel and cultural links between Dubai and India. Visitors will now have the convenience of applying for a visa locally. In fact, they will get doorstep service across 31 cities in India."