ĐÀ NẴNG — The new joint United Kingdom and Australia Visa Application Centre has been inaugurated in the central city to help those in central Việt Nam apply for UK and Australian visas.

Vice director of Đà Nẵng’s Foreign Affairs Department, Lê Thị Thu Hạnh confirmed the news with Việt Nam News yesterday.

The centre, which is located at ACB Tower, 218 Bạch Đằng Street, is open from Monday to Friday, and will also be open on Saturday mornings for those willing to pay an extra fee.

Applicants in central Việt Nam no longer have to travel to either Hà Nội or HCM City to apply for visas.

The British Deputy Head of Mission Stephen Lysaght hoped that the visa centre would encourage more visitors from central Việt Nam to come to the UK.

“The British Government is committed to improving the visa service for our Vietnamese customers and as well as the new Application Centre, this year we have introduced a new online application form, which is quicker and simpler to fill out. For the first time the form is available in Vietnamese, so that customers can better understand the visa requirements.”

Applications at the central city will be processed within five business days

The embassies will provide an option for online applications with introductions in Vietnamese to assist applicants with necessary documents.

Russia and Laos have also opened their Consulate General in the city.

Japan also plans to open a Consulate in Đà Nẵng as a way of boosting tourism and exchange between Japan and the central city in the future. — VNS