Residents of Assam and India’s wider Northeast will soon be able to file biometric data and paperwork for more than 60 foreign destinations without travelling to Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata. On 21 November 2025 Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirmed that VFS Global has agreed in principle to establish a full-service Visa Application Centre (VAC) in Guwahati.
The development addresses a long-standing mobility bottleneck. Applicants currently endure overnight trains or expensive flights just to lodge visa files, adding time and cost to study-abroad plans, overseas medical trips and corporate travel. Once operational—likely by mid-2026—the centre will handle popular Schengen, UK, US, Australia and Japan applications, though the final country list is pending consular approvals.
![VFS Global to Open Northeast India’s First Multi-Country Visa Centre in Guwahati]()
For businesses, the VAC could unlock new export and talent pipelines from an area that accounts for barely 2 percent of India’s outbound traffic despite rich natural-resource and services potential. HR teams managing relocation of engineers to the oilfields of Brunei or IT staff to Singapore will gain a local biometrics option, cutting lead times by a week or more.
Travel advisers note that applicants should still budget for courier days, as most passports will be routed to consulates in Delhi or Mumbai for stamping. However, VFS says it will pilot remote-video interviews for certain categories, which—if approved by partner missions—could further reduce physical trips.
The development addresses a long-standing mobility bottleneck. Applicants currently endure overnight trains or expensive flights just to lodge visa files, adding time and cost to study-abroad plans, overseas medical trips and corporate travel. Once operational—likely by mid-2026—the centre will handle popular Schengen, UK, US, Australia and Japan applications, though the final country list is pending consular approvals.
For businesses, the VAC could unlock new export and talent pipelines from an area that accounts for barely 2 percent of India’s outbound traffic despite rich natural-resource and services potential. HR teams managing relocation of engineers to the oilfields of Brunei or IT staff to Singapore will gain a local biometrics option, cutting lead times by a week or more.
Travel advisers note that applicants should still budget for courier days, as most passports will be routed to consulates in Delhi or Mumbai for stamping. However, VFS says it will pilot remote-video interviews for certain categories, which—if approved by partner missions—could further reduce physical trips.
