New Turkey visa application centre opens in Dubai

A new Turkish visa application centre has opened in Dubai’s Wafi Mall.

The Turkish Consulate General in Dubai, Gateway Management and VFS Global officially inaugurated the newly renovated Turkey Visa Application Centre on April 25, 2021 which is located at Level 3 of the mall.

The centre has begun accepting visa applications for all categories and is open from Sunday to Thursday between 9am-3pm.

Spread across 5,500 square feet, it is equipped with 16 application submission counters and can accommodate up to 250 applicants a day.

Effective March 1, 2021, as part of the visa application submission process, biometric enrolment has was made mandatory for all visa categories by Turkey. The new centre therefore has dedicated biometric booths for immediate enrolment of biometric information.

Also, a dedicated kiosk at the centre offers flight ticketing service by Turkish Airlines, the national carrier Turkey.

The Turkey Visa Application Centre offers Premium and Platinum Lounge services too. Gateway Management and VFS Global’s exclusive Premium Lounges offer end-to-end personalised service, including services such as individual assistance with visa related queries, quicker completion and submissions of the applications, and immediate biometric enrolment, all within the lounge itself. Once a decision is reached on the visa application, the passport and documents will be delivered to the doorstep by courier. Automatic updates at each stage of the visa application will also be shared via SMS. In addition to these services, Platinum Lounge service also includes a personalised chauffeur service to and from the visa application centre.

In a statement issued by VFS Global, it said that an optional service was being offered to customers who want to complete their entire visa application submission process remotely from either their home or office. Gateway Management and VFS Global provide the “Visa At Your Doorstep” service whereby customers can submit the application, enrol biometrics, and get the passport couriered back to his/her location of choice.

Applications at the centre though will only be entertained by booking a prior appointment via the call centre.

“The UAE has a large number of travellers to Turkey for leisure and business, and a dedicated centre will make the visa application process more seamless as well as promote Turkish tourism,” said Vinay Malhotra, regional group COO for South Asia, MENA and Americas at VFS Global.

In January, Anwar Gargash, former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said that the UAE has no reason to be in conflict with Turkey. “We want to tell Turkey that we want normal relations with it that respect mutual sovereignty,” said Anwar Gargash, at the time. “We don’t have any problems with Turkey, like border issues or other such issues.”

Read: UAE has ‘no reason’ to be in conflict with Turkey, minister says

UAE carriers Emirates and flydubai too resumed flights to turkey in December.

Read more: Flydubai, Emirates to resume flights to Turkey this month