Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 16) — The French government inaugurated new visa processing centers in Manila and Cebu on Friday, promising a more “efficient” application experience for Filipino travelers.
The new visa centers are run by service provider TLS Contact.
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LOOK: France inaugurates a new visa processing center in Manila
French Ambassador Marie Fontanel @MarieFontanelPH expects the new visa processing center to boost travels among Filipinos to France
TLS Contact now handles the visa application process @cnnphilippines pic.twitter.com/5XOev4FK1n
— Tristan Nodalo (@TristanNodalo) December 15, 2023
French Ambassador to the Philippines Marie Fontanel said she welcomed this development and expects that this would encourage more Filipinos to travel to France.
\"We will approach 40,000 visas [issuances] for this year,\" said Fontanel. \"This is the best year ever. I'm very proud and happy about that.\"
TLS Contact has processed around 1.3 million visa applications for the French government worldwide.
The new center in Manila can process about 600-visa applications daily.
\"We want to offer a simple, easy, efficient and transparent process to any Filipinos wanting to travel to France,\" said TLS Contact Chief Operating Officer Gabriele Piva.
France is part of the 27-country border-free Schengen area.
The Philippines is among countries whose nationals need to go through the whole process of meetings and interviews to obtain a visa that would allow them to enter the Schengen area.
The French envoy reminded visa applicants to make sure that they meet all the requirements.
\"Three weeks to one month is the current processing time. Of course, there are always exceptions on emergencies,\" said Fontanel.
\"We always know how to find solutions. My other advice is to ensure that the file is complete,\" she added.
