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India extends Australia consular service hours
VFS Global adds Saturday operations to clear backlog after nationwide service disruption.
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Ankita Baidya - Sat, 25, Jul 2026
- 03:01 EDT
- 23
VFS Global will operate Indian consular centres across Australia on Saturdays until application backlogs are cleared. / Facebook/ India In Australia (High Commission Of India, Canberra)
VFS Global will operate all Indian Consular Application Centres (ICACs) across Australia on Saturdays beginning July 25, along with extended weekday hours, until the current application backlog is cleared and services return to normal, the High Commission of India in Canberra has announced.
"To assist customers, VFS Global will be operating all centres across Australia on Saturdays starting tomorrow (25 July 2026) and extended operation during the week days, till all the backlog is cleared and all services are back to normal," the High Commission said in a post on X.
Also read: India resumes consular services across Australia with upgraded VFS centres
The High Commission advised applicants to book appointments online in advance through the official VFS Global website before visiting any ICAC.
Applicants were also asked to review the updated VFS website for the latest information on application procedures, document checklists, payment options, postal application requirements and applicable fees before submitting their applications.
The High Commission reiterated that VFS Global remains the only authorized provider of Indian consular, passport and visa services in Australia. The announcement was shared with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian Diplomacy and High Commissioner to Australia Nagesh Singh tagged in the post.
The expanded operating hours come two days after Indian passport, visa and consular services resumed across Australia on July 23 following the launch of upgraded ICACs.
The resumption ended a 23-day nationwide disruption that began on July 1 after legal proceedings affected India's outsourcing contract for consular services. During the suspension, applicants could not submit new passport, visa or Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) applications, although emergency consular assistance remained available through Indian diplomatic missions.
The upgraded centres are operating in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. According to the High Commission, the facilities now offer additional service counters, increased staffing, more appointment slots, longer operating hours for application submission and document collection, shorter waiting times, multilingual toll-free customer support, and round-the-clock interactive voice response and AI-enabled digital assistance.
Walk-in applications are not accepted at any of the centres.
In addition to the applicable Government of India fee, VFS Global charges a service fee of AUD 115 per application. According to the High Commission, the fee includes courier return of documents, SMS application updates, photocopying and photograph services, and form-filling assistance where applicable.
The High Commission said the extended operating hours are intended to accelerate the processing of pending applications while restoring normal service levels.
It added that the government remains committed to providing accessible, efficient and customer-friendly consular services to the Indian community and all applicants across Australia.
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