The VFS Global Office was inaugurated on December 7th on the Ground Floor of One Campus Place, Building A, in Mckinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. The event was led by Ambassador Marco Clemente, Italian Ambassador to the Philippines, along with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Ambassador Clemente stated that the Taguig office is an addition to the three other Italian visa application centers situated in Cebu, Batangas, and Davao.
"The Philippines is a key source of tourism and business market for Italy, and we are taking every possible measure to ease and streamline processes for travelers," Clemente mentioned.
"The establishment of these new centers is an important step towards this strategy to further develop our bilateral relations. Applicants in the Philippines will now be able to apply for Italy visa in four key cities, up from two earlier, helping them save time and travel costs," added Clemente.
Those wishing to apply for a visa to Italy can make an appointment on the website https://visa.vfsglobal.com/phl/en/ita/.
Walk-ins are also permitted but are required to pay a P2, 500 fee for the "premium lounge."
The three other Italian visa centers are located at Kepwealth Center Samar Loop (Cebu City); Unit F01, Block J, The Outlets at Lipa, LIMA Technology Center (Batangas), and FES 07, Felcris Centrale (Davao City).
The Italian visa application centers are open from Monday to Friday, 8 o'clock in the morning to 6 o'clock in the evening, and every Saturday from 9 o'clock in the morning to 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
The Italian visa center in Taguig can process 500 visas per day and can accept up to 100,000 applications per year.
Last year, the Italian Embassy received 15,607 Schengen visa applications in the Philippines, making Italy the fourth most popular destination in Europe for Filipinos.
Italian authorities approved 14,781 visa applications or 94.7% of those who applied for the Schengen visa through their embassy and partner company.
(Photos by Vera Victoria)
