Feb. 20, 2004

Applying for an Australian business or tourist visa in India will soon be made easier with the opening of six new visa application and collection centres.

From March 1, Indians will be able to lodge their applications at centres in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. More centres are expected to open in other regions.

The new centres mean Indians wishing to travel to Australia for business or tourism no longer must apply directly to the Australian High Commission in New Delhi or the Consulate-General in Mumbai.

This current requirement often meant Indians faced significant travel and inconvenience to apply for a visa.

The new network of centres would provide a better service to the growing numbers of Indians seeking to travel to Australia, a departmental spokesperson said today.

'There has been a large increase in the numbers of Indians seeking to travel to Australia including student, tourists, businesspeople and officials,' the spokesperson said.

'We expect this trend to continue and accelerate as our bilateral relations grow in strength, scope and substance.

'This new user-friendly system will help us manage this welcome growth.

'Applicants will have greater choice in where they lodge their applications.'

The centres will have comfortable waiting areas and sufficient capacity to ensure clients will not have to wait for extended periods.

Each will be open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.

Business house TT Services will provide the new centres. TT Services is a division of TT Enterprises - the first company in India to offer visa support services to diplomatic missions.