
Dubai: VFS launches ‘world's largest visa application centre'
At roughly 150,000 square feet, the centre is equipped to handle up to 10,000 visa applications daily – a capacity that stands as the highest for any single location, according to a statement.
The facility will be supported by a team of over 400 trained professionals from more than 25 nationalities, the statement added.
'Visa facilitation is a key enabler of talent attraction, tourism development, and international partnerships — all essential levers of our strategy to position Dubai as the world's most connected and future-ready city,' said Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General of Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism in the statement.
'This milestone is more than an infrastructure achievement — it reflects the strategic direction Dubai is taking to enhance global mobility, unlock access to opportunity, and accelerate growth across our visitor and business economy,' he said, adding that 'strengthening seamless access to and from Dubai remains a priority.'
VFS is a visa outsourcing and technology services specialist. It operates 3616 application centres in 158 countries, and has processed more than 311 million applications since 2001, according to its website.
It is headquartered in Zurich and Dubai and majority owned through investment funds managed by Blackstone Inc, along with minority stakeholders including Swiss-based Kuoni and Hugentobler Foundation, the wesbite states.

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