Dubai Shopping Festival visitors can now apply for visa in India without having to locate a sponsor in Dubai.

The recent Emirates Airline initiative, the Dubai Visa Processing Centre, has now added several conveniences to the general visitor and the Dubai Shopping Festival visitor from India.

Says Saeed Mohammed Al Nabouda, CEO, DSF, "Our Indian visitors now need not worry about locating a local sponsor for a visa. Over the past several years, there has been a significant increase in the number of Indians travelling to Dubai on business or holiday. In addition, Dubai has become a very attractive stopover to passengers travelling between India and Europe/America. Additionally, as usual Dubai Shopping Festival has several added attractions for the Indian tourist. The Dubai Visa Processing Centre will help us to attract more Indian tourists."

Nabil Sultan, general manager India and Nepal, Emirates, comments, "Emirates believes in setting the 'gold standard' for quality of service and customer focus in the airline industry."

For the benefit of its valued passengers, Emirates airline will be glad to sponsor their visas subject to their fulfilling eligibility criteria specified by Dubai Immigration.

To simplify the visa application process, Emirates has tied-up with VFS to set up the Dubai Visa Processing Centre (DVPC) in India to assist its passengers in obtaining a Visit Visa or 96 Hour Visa to Dubai.

Passengers of Emirates can now submit their visa application at designated offices of Blue Dart all over India. The network of acceptance centres will eventually cover 77 outlets in 31 cities.

Applications will reach the DVPC by the next working day for immediate assessment and reference to Dubai Immigration.

Immediately on receiving approval from Dubai Immigration, the confirmation message will get entered into the passengers' PNR.