Guwahati, Oct 15: Assam’s international travel infrastructure received a boost on Thursday with the inauguration of the first VFS Global Visa Application Centre in the state and the Northeast.
Inaugurating the centre at ISBT Khanapara in Guwahati, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the facility would spare applicants the need to travel to distant cities for visa-related services, saving them time, money and effort.
“This is an important occasion for Assam and the Northeast. It will make international travel services more accessible to our people and bring the world a little closer to our region. I congratulate VFS Global on this initiative to establish its first visa application centre in Assam and the Northeast,” Sarma said.
The centre will initially facilitate visa applications for 14 countries , namely Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Morocco, the United Kingdom, Latvia, Egypt, Estonia, France, Ireland, Japan, Switzerland, Italy and Malta.
Applicants will also be able to apply for Schengen visas through the facility, which will provide access to 29 European countries in the Schengen area.
The centre is equipped with modern infrastructure, technology-enabled processes and customer support to make visa applications more convenient and organised.
Sarma clarified that VFS Global would facilitate the application process, while decisions on granting or refusing visas would remain solely with the respective governments and diplomatic authorities.
Guwahati Airport to become international transit hub on Oct 27
In a related development, Sarma announced that Guwahati Airport would become a hub-and-spoke facility for international travellers from October 27, following a declaration by the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation.
He said the arrangement would allow eligible international travellers to complete immigration formalities in Guwahati before proceeding to overseas destinations, without repeating the same process at connecting airports.
“Once immigration is completed in Guwahati, travellers will not have to repeat the immigration formalities at other airports for their onward international journeys,” Sarma said.
He added that passengers travelling from other Indian cities could also use Guwahati as a transit hub for international destinations such as Bangkok and Singapore, subject to flight connectivity and applicable travel requirements.
Assam records over 6 crore tourist arrivals
Assam recorded more than six crore tourist arrivals between 2016-17 and 2025-26, including over 2.41 lakh foreign visitors, Sarma said.
International visitors came from countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, Bangladesh, France, the UAE, Australia, Sweden, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Canada, Israel and Japan, reflecting the state's potential as a tourism destination.
Sarma also welcomed recent revisions to travel advisories concerning Assam by Australia, Japan and the 27 member states of the European Union, describing them as encouraging developments for international engagement.
“Such developments can help strengthen confidence and create a more favourable environment for tourism, business interaction and cultural exchange,” he said.