Lithuania to open visa center in Azerbaijan

/By AzerNews/

By Nigar Orujova

Lithuania will open new visa center in Azerbaijan in cooperation with an external service provider and VFS Global Company which have been selected via an international tender, Lithuanian news agency ELTA said.

Foreign citizens will be able to apply for Schengen visa directly at diplomatic and consular representations of Lithuania in their countries.

The center is expected to gather biometric data of the visa applicants.

The external service provider is a global leader which will cooperate with all Schengen area partners providing technical examination services of the Schengen visa in 1,369 visa centers of 115 countries.

Along with Azerbaijan, the new Lithuanian visa centers will also be opened in Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, China, Turkey and Armenia.

Lithuania has 16 visa centers in Russia and 13 in Ukraine.

The new visa centers will significantly enlarge territorial coverage and give better access and services to the applicants.

The centers would be set up in popular areas. They will also accept local currency or credit cards.

Opening of visa centers and their operation will come at no additional cost for Lithuania's budget.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Lithuania amounted to $25.1 million in January and June 2014, which is 1.9 times more compared to the same period of the previous year.

The two countries further expanded bilateral ties through numerous meetings, visits and events involving the public and government agencies, as well as representatives of business circles after the previous session.