MANILA — Travelers from the Philippines can now apply for all Italy visa categories at any of four processing centers.

The Embassy of Italy in Manila and VFS Global, a visa outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions, launched Italy Visa Application Centers in Taguig, Cebu, Batangas, and Davao.

The official inauguration of the main visa application center in Taguig was led by Italian Ambassador to the Philippines Marco Clemente VFS Global's Australasia head Mr. Kaushik Ghosh.

“Philippines is a key source tourism and business market for Italy and we are taking every possible measure to ease and streamline processes for travelers. The establishment of these new centers is an important step towards this strategy to further develop our bilateral relations,” said Clemente.

The ambassador said Filipinos’ interest in visiting Italy was growing. So far, the Embassy’s Consular Section has issued 35,000 visas this year, which is already more than the 22,000 visas issued last year. The Embassy is looking at increasing visa issuances to 50,000 to 100,000 next year.

Visa application centers equipped with modern amenities and services would have well-trained customer service representatives to assist visa applicants. To enhance customer experience, applicants get dedicated call center support, along with a click-to-talk facility, and webchat, email, webform, and chatbot support for quick query resolution.

“These centers in the Philippines will play a crucial role in effectively catering to the growing demand for travel to Italy, one of the most popular destinations in the world. We are confident that these visa application centers will enhance customer experience by making the visa application process even more smooth and seamless, thereby helping us better serve travelers better,” said VFS' Ghosh.

Ambassador Clemente said he hoped a direct flight between the Philippines and Italy would be revived as this would benefit the tourism sector and business ties between the two countries. He said this could happen soon following talks with Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco.

Here are the addresses of Italy Visa Application Centers in the Philippines:

• Taguig: Ground Floor, One Campus Place, Building A, McKinley Town Center, McKinly Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, Metro Manila
• Cebu: Unit 1001C & 1004B, 10th Floor, Kepwealth Center Samar Loop, cor Cardinal Rosales Ave, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu
• Batangas: Unit F01, Block J, Ground Floor, The Outlets at Lipa, LIMA Technology Center, Barangay Bugtong na Pulo and San Lucas, JP Laurel Highway, Lipa City, Batangas 4217
• Davao: FES 07, Second Floor, Alfresco Area, Felcris Centrale, Brgy., 40-D Quimpo Blvd, Davao City, 8000

Business hours:
Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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