Visa anxiety is rising globally, but genuine travellers need not worry: VFS Global COO

Visa-related anxiety is increasing across the world amid changing geopolitical developments and evolving immigration policies, but genuine travellers should not be overly concerned, according to Yummi Talwar, Chief Operating Officer, South Asia, VFS Global.

Speaking to Pranay Upadhyay, Editor, India Today Global, Talwar said the anxiety associated with visa applications is not unique to India and is experienced by applicants across regions because the process and the uncertainty around visa approvals remain largely the same.

"People who are applying visas are people who need visas," Talwar said. "Whether it's India or whether it's Europe or whether it's Middle East... the anxiety is more or less similar everywhere."

She explained that visa applicants everywhere are aware that approval is not guaranteed.

"You know, the government say visa is not an entitlement, it's a privilege," she said, adding that anxiety at a human level is often linked to the fear of rejection.

According to Talwar, recent geopolitical developments have contributed to a rise in anxiety among travellers.

"When you look at the kind of geopolitical situation right now and the announcements from White House or even from the citizens of the country where they're protesting on, you know, migration and stuff like that. So, naturally it's becoming more and more a privilege and it's becoming more and more a political story for that country, the leadership, as we have seen across. So, I think the anxiety is only increasing."

However, she emphasised that genuine travellers should not be discouraged by the evolving environment.

"However, for genuine travelers, I don't think there is anything to be anxious. This is more about people who want to go for a reason. If you have a genuine reason to be in that country or to go to the country, I think there is no anxiety," Talwar said.

Talwar also said that the surge in visa demand seen immediately after the Covid-19 pandemic has largely stabilised.

"Post-COVID there was a little bit of a lot of news and hype on the capacity, not getting appointments. But I think that's kind of died down," she said.

She noted that India has almost returned to pre-pandemic visa application volumes and that processing capacity has improved significantly.

"If you look at India as a market, I think we are almost now at the level of pre-COVID volumes... From a capacity perspective, it's much better," she said.

Talwar added that VFS Global has expanded capacity and streamlined several backend processes to improve efficiency for embassies. The objective, she said, is to help governments unlock more appointment capacity as outbound travel from India continues to grow.

"India is still a very, very robust outbound market. People will travel... The numbers will increase," she said.