3rd Chinese Visa Centre opens in City

Chinese Ambassador Mr Yao Jing on Monday inaugurated third Chinese Visa Application Service Centre (VASC) here at Gerry’s officials and businessmen from Pakistan and China attended the ceremony.

The new Chinese Visa Centre would help to facilitate the business community, students and tourist of Punjab.

In addition to visa applications to mainland China, Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR, the Visa Centre would also cater to applicants wishing to get their documents attested by Chinese missions. Addressing the ceremony, the Chinese ambassador emphasised that Sino-Pakistan diplomatic relations had entered into a new era with the blooming of second phase of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The new VASC, he hoped, would improve bilateral relations by making travelling between the two countries easier, asserting that business community of Punjab would take full advantage of the convenience of the new visa centre.

China hopes to now focus on furthering socio-economic relations and in line with this, the government is offering scholarships to Pakistani students interested to further their knowledge in various fields in China, he said.

In his welcome address, Akram Wali Muhammad expressed his gratitude to Chinese missions for their support in establishing the visa centre. He said that new Chinese Visa Centre brought the application process closer to the residents of Punjab as they would no more travel to Islamabad or Karachi to submit their applications.

The ease of access would encourage more Pakistanis to travel to China and explore the beautiful sights and vibrant culture of that country and it would have a positive impact on economic relations, as it would ease the movement of businessmen as well, he maintained.

He mentioned that Chinese Visa Centre at Gerry's was equipped with biometric enrolment and interview facility. The centre operates between 9am to 4:30pm from Monday to Friday, while the applicants could also get an online appointment before visiting the visa centre, he concluded.