The processing time for Schengen visa for travelling to Germany has been brought down to eight weeks and efforts are on to reduce it further, Georg Enzweiler, Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy here, said Wednesday. "Visa is an important issue. We are striving to get better with application times. The thing is, we would like to change it from today to tomorrow but bureaucracy takes its toll. We are working on that through various means. We have increased our staff substantially in Mumbai and I think the waiting time has substantially gone down. "We are at roughly eight weeks now. We hope to get better with regard to that because of course it is what we want. We don't want to invite you here to promote tourism of Indians to Germany and then ask them apply for a visa three years in advance then you'll have a good chance," Georg Enzweiler said in response to a question at a press conference here. A Schengen visa is a short-stay (up to 90 days) visa that allows a person to ...
The US has completed a second round of random lottery selection for the much sought-after H-1B work visa for foreign guest workers and the successful applicants have been notified, according to a federal agency. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. We now have randomly selected, from the remaining FY 2024 registrations properly submitted, a sufficient number of registrations projected as needed to reach the cap, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on Tuesday. All the successful applicants eligible for the H-1B visas for the fiscal year beginning October 1, have been notified about it, it said. USCIS had to conduct an unprecedented second round of the H-1B lottery, which is held in the first week of April, mainly because o
Some unauthorised and unrecognised private websites try to intermediate and facilitate issuance of India e-visa through fraudulent means and the government has taken several steps to check it, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said with respect to e-Visas, from time to time, it has come to the notice of the government that some unauthorised and unrecognised private websites try to intermediate and facilitate issuance of India e-visa. "Some of them also appear similar to official Indian visa website (indianvisaonline.gov.in) and also appear through the search engines. The government of India has taken several steps to minimise such a practice. In this regard, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has coordinated with Google search engine to ensure that Indian Visa official link appears prominently in the search engine," he said, replying to a written question. Secondly, Rai said, the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) refers from time to
The Canadian government's decision to allow 10,000 H-1B visa holders in the US to come and work in the country, which is expected to benefit Indian professionals, has received an overwhelming response with the scheme meeting its target within the first day. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. The new work permit for H-1B visa holders officially opened for applications on July 16. The Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) now says applicants no longer apply for the scheme as it has been closed. "We reached the cap of 10,000 applications for this initiative on July 17, 2023," the IRCC said on its website The message on the IRCC applicant portal also says the same thing. The temporary public policy for H-1B visa holders is n
There are approximately 400,000 H-1B visa holders in the US, which is why the government is setting a cap on the new stream of people who could hold those visas at 10,000.
The issuance of visas is in line with the Government of Pakistan's commitment to fully implement the Bilateral Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974
The case of hundreds of Indian students in Canada facing deportation has once again brought into the spotlight the role of shady visa agents and operators issuing fake visa papers
Apart from new projects, in several cases, companies do not have their India chief executive officers in the country for several months now
With a limited supply of appointments, tourists applying for Schengen visas are often tempted to apply for countries wherever appointments are available
India on Friday expressed hope that Chinese authorities would facilitate continued presence of Indian journalists in China, noting that both sides remained in touch on the matter. Nearly two months ago, China informed two Indian journalists in Beijing that their visas had been "frozen". China had said it was taking "counter-measures" in response to what it alleged was India's "unfair" treatment of Chinese journalists. "All foreign journalists, including Chinese journalists have been pursuing journalistic activities in India without any limitations or difficulties in reporting or doing media coverage," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. He was replying to questions on the issue during his weekly media briefing. "We hope that Chinese authorities facilitate the continued presence of Indian journalists working and reporting from China. The two sides continue to remain in touch regarding this issue," he said. Bagchi said the Indian journalists in China have be
WSJ reported that both China and India ejected each other's journalists in the last few weeks. It further stated that earlier in May, declined to renew the visas of the last two China's journalists
Earlier in March 2023, China announced that it will be allowing the entry of foreign tourists into the country, including from India for the first time in three years
UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman said that only international students on postgraduate courses currently designated as research programmes will be allowed to bring in their family members
Australian govt is set to scrap Covid work visa in move that could see sizable number of Indian students and temporary workers scrambling for other options to stay in country
The latest number of failure rates were revealed after a member of parliament from Germany submitted a written question to the federal government
Indian companies are the second biggest foreign investors in UK, data shows, adding weight to New Delhi's push for hiring flexibility for its businesses
The US aims to increase visa interview appointments for Indian students by 30 per cent this summer, US Consul General in Mumbai Mike Hankey said here on Tuesday. He said US consulates processed nearly 1.25 lakh visa applications of students in India. During his visit to Aurangabad, Hankey held meetings with members of industries. He also visited Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University and interacted with students. "Last year, we sent more than 1.25 lakh Indian students to the US, setting a new record for Indian students going to the US in a year and establishing India as the leading country of sending students. This year we are trying to increase that number (of students) further," he told PTI. "Our goal is to expand the number of interview appointments we offer for students by 30 per cent this summer. We hope to welcome more Indian students to the USA," Hankey added. During his interaction with students, the American envoy appealed to them to visit websites and find an ...
Local analysts have been criticising Japan's current points-based system as too complex at a time as nations around the globe compete to woo skilled workers
Embassies 'put in measures' to reduce turnaround time
China has issued visas to over 18,000 Indians in the last three months, a Chinese diplomat said. Interacting with a group of journalists in Kolkata, Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in India, Chen Jianjun, said he was looking forward to more Chinese being given visas by India. "The number of visa applications for China has been on the rise. Since January, we have given visas to 18,560 Indians," he said. "Since August, 9,409 student visas have been issued to Indian students," he said. However, Jianjun said, the number of visa applications is yet to reach the pre-pandemic levels. In June last year, China announced plans to provide visas to Indian professionals and their families stranded in India following the strict restrictions imposed by Beijing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Separately, it also started processing visa applications of thousands of Indian students studying in Chinese universities who conveyed their interest to rejoin their colleges and universities. Abou