China, Cooperation, Good for Business, Latvia

The new Latvian visa centers have opened in the following cities: Changsha, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Jinan, Kunming, Shenyang, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Wuhan, and Xian.

VFS Global is now accepting visa applications and forwarding them to the Latvian Embassy in Beijing in 15 visa centers across China.

The opening of the centers makes it easier for foreigners to apply for Latvian visas, since people in China's provinces and cities are given an opportunity to submit their visa documents closer to their place of residence, the ministry said.

Under cooperation arrangements with VFS Global, applicants can submit their applications at the visa centers, having scheduled an appointment in advance at a time of their most convenience. The documents accepted are then forwarded to the Embassy of Latvia in Beijing for processing.

The visa centers also offer additional services, including consultations on the required documents, help with filling out visa applications forms electronically, photocopying, taking photographs, arranging insurance, and delivery of passports to the applicants' address, thereby facilitating the application process.

In 2015, the Foreign Ministry signed a contract with VF Worldwide Holdings Ltd., better known as VFS Global, on the reception of visa applications from visa applicants in Georgia, the UK, China, India, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, and South Korea, for subsequent forwarding to Latvian embassies