JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, November 5, 2024/ --  

• UK Visa Applications Centres open in Abidjan, Antananarivo, Banjul, Eden Island, Kinshasa, Libreville, and Port Louis 
• VFS Global was recently awarded the contract to provide UK visa services in 142 countries worldwide

Residents of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles, travelling to the UK can now book appointments to submit their visa applications through VFS Global’s (www.VFSGlobal.com) new state-of-the-art Visa Application Centres.  

Effective 22 October 2024, customers applying for a UK visa will be directed to VFS Global to book an appointment to complete their visa application. Customers will also have the option to choose additional services designed to make the application process easier.

Mr Marc Owen, Director for Visa, Status and Information Services at UKVI, said: “The opening of our new Visa Application Centres mark an exciting milestone in the provision of a world-class UK visa service. We're committed to ensuring our visa services are accessible, efficient, and meet the needs of all applicants.”

Commenting on the launch of the new Centres, Mr. Alok Singhal, Head- Sub-Saharan Africa, VFS Global, said, “We are excited to embark on this new journey with UK Visas and Immigration here across Sub-Saharan Africa. We have enjoyed a long-standing partnership with UK Visas and Immigration since 2003 and look forward to now bringing travellers from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles our best-in-class services.”

UK visa customers can now choose from a range of optional services, depending on their location, offered by VFS Global to provide enhanced comfort and convenience. These include document upload assistance, Prime Time for application submission outside of business hours, SMS notifications, document checking service, and courier return of the passport once a decision has been made.

VFS Global’s Keep My Passport While Applying service allows customers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Gambia, Madagascar, and Mauritius to keep their passports once their application is submitted and biometrics have been enrolled. Customer will only need to re-submit their passport when a decision is reached.

The services can be booked in advance on www.VFSGlobal.com or at the Visa Application Centre at the time of the appointment. These services are completely optional and have no bearing on the processing timeline and outcomes of visa applications.

As a partner to the UK Visas and Immigration since 2003, VFS Global offered visa services in 58 countries before the new contract and has now been awarded the contract to provide UK visa services in 142 countries worldwide. In the African region, VFS Global will provide Visa Application Centres for the UK in 31 countries, from October 2024.