"Globally, the year 2017 saw us add eight new client governments to our portfolio, of which three (Georgia, Algeria and Ukraine) signed on for services in India as well. In India, we processed over 4.5 million visa applications and opened centres in cities like Pune, Kochi, Jalandhar, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Puducherry," said Vinay Malhotra, COO, middle East and South Asia at VFS Global.

Besides the Tier1 metro cities in India - visa and other travel service providers like VFS Global and Cox and Kings expanding their base to cover Tier2 and Tier 3 cities across the country. The rise in demand from these cities have pushed towards simplified visa processes for Indian travellers over past few years.