A Permanent VFS Visa Application Centre has officially opened at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide visa services for Maldivians travelling to Germany and the Czech Republic.

The centre is the first of its kind to be established in the country and currently offers visas to enter Germany and the Czech Republic.

The Centre was inaugurated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdulla Shahid, Ambassador of Germany, Jörn Rohde and Ambassador of Czech Republic, Milan Hovorka at a special ceremony held on Monday.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister Shahid extended his appreciation to the German government for taking the initiative to establish the Visa Centre in the Maldives and especially highlighted efforts by Ambassador Rohde.

The Minister also thanked the Government of the Czech Republic by acknowledging the support the country has provided for this initiative, adding that it is indicative of the growing ties of friendship and cooperation between the countries.

Although visa facilitation is of key importance to the Solih administration, the administration's long term goal is to arrange for visa-free travel for Maldivians to all European Union (EU) member countries, said the minister. He further revealed that the administration plans to arrange on-arrival visa's for Maldivians travelling to EU member countries in the future.

Highlighting that Schengen visa application in the past required travelling to India or Srilanka, the minister stated that the visa centre in the capital city would allow for cost and time effective Schengen visa application.

While the centre currently only offers visas to enter Germany and the Czech Republic, the minister expressed his hopes for other EU member states to join the initiative.

As such, Ambassador of Czech Republic, Milan Hovorka noted the minister's efforts to push for visa-free travel while delivering his remarks at the opening ceremony. He stated that the minister heavily advocated for the initiative set to grant visa-free travel for Maldivians into the European Union during the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue 2020 held in January.

Both Ambassador Rohde and Ambassador Hovorka also expressed confidence that this initiative would further strengthen the increased tourism and trade between the Maldives and their respective countries.

The Maldives has on-arrival visa arrangements into 84 countries thus far, with the government having signed visa-waiver agreements with United Arab Emirates, Russia, Morocco and Thailand last year.