Visa applicants worried that the large student-led demonstrations in central New Delhi might paralyse consular services woke up to reassuring news on 24 July. In a public advisory posted on X and its website, outsourcing giant VFS Global confirmed that all eight Visa Application Centres (VACs) in the National Capital Region are operating normal hours. Demonstrators have sporadically blocked arterial roads near Connaught Place and ITO, prompting diversions and long traffic snarls. VFS said customers arriving ‘earlier or later than their scheduled slot will be accommodated wherever operationally feasible’. The rare offer of temporal flexibility is designed to prevent no-shows from losing precious appointment slots—something that can push corporate travellers back by weeks during the peak summer rush. According to relocation managers, Delhi VACs routinely handle 4,500-plus files a day for the Schengen area, the UK, Canada and the Gulf. The company has not changed staffing levels but is coordinating with Delhi Police to ensure uninterrupted courier movements for passport dispatch. Business-travel consultants told Global Mobility News that Friday’s statement should help multinational HR teams avoid last-minute ticket cancellations and associated re-booking costs, which can easily exceed ₹40,000 per traveller. Practical tip: travellers should carry screen-shots of their VFS appointment letters because police checkpoints on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg are demanding proof of purpose for passage during protest hours. VFS also urged applicants to monitor its social-media feeds for micro-updates, warning that any attempt to walk in without an appointment outside the stated grace window will still be refused.
Source: The Economic Times
