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Visas

Appointments to submit visa applications (both for national and Schengen visas) must be booked online. The online booking system is available on the VFS website at this link https://visa.vfsglobal.com/lka/en/ita/book-an-appointment. Payment shall be made by credit card (belonging to the applicant or to the inviter) at the time of booking. When booking the appointment, it will also be necessary to select the category of visa required (i.e. family reunion, employment, tourism, religious reasons, business, study). Changes of category at a later stage will not be possible (please choose carefully your visa category). For visa categories that are not explicitly mentioned, an appointment for “all other categories” must be booked. If in doubt about the category of appointment to request, it is advisable to contact the VFS information desk.

The booking must be done directly by the applicant and NOT through agencies or intermediaries.

Maldivian citizens (as well as residents in the Maldives) may book dedicated slots at the VFS center in Male’, always through the website. Due to passport shipping time requirements, applications in Male’ must be submitted at least one month before the expected departure date. Slots for Maldivians are NOT divided into different categories (they will have to book one of the slots reserved for Maldivian citizens/residents, regardless of the type of visa they are applying for). In case of urgency (departure expected between two weeks and one month), Maldivians and Maldives residents are allowed to book an appointment (category “Maldivians”) at the VFS center in Colombo. In this case they must submit their application in Colombo and wait in Colombo until the passport is given back (up to two weeks). Collection of passport by a third person will not be allowed.

New appointment slots will be opened on a weekly or monthly basis. If appointments for the requested visa category are temporarily fully booked, please wait a few days and then try again. Do NOT book an appointment for a visa category that is not the one you are applying for.

Once an appointment has been booked, the applicant must submit the application at the VFS offices in Colombo (First Floor, No 464, Galle Road Colombo 03) on the day and at the time indicated in the booking (please remember to bring a printout). The list of documents to be submitted for the different visa categories is available on the VFS and Embassy website.

The new appointment system entirely replaced the “first come first served” system previously in force. Submitting an application at VFS (or at the Italian Embassy) without an appointment is therefore no longer possible

Please note that the appointments already booked through Forsiter with the old system remain valid (those who are in possession of a valid receipt will be able to continue to show up at VFS on the indicated day and time).

FAMILY MEMBERS OF EU CITIZENS (as defined by directive 2004/38/EC, i.e. spouse or registered partner, sons and daughters up to 21 years old and dependent parents) will be able to book an appointment through the fast track Prenot@mi, available at this link https://prenotami.esteri.it/. Once the appointment has been booked, family members of EU citizens will need to show up directly at the Italian Embassy, 55 Jawatta Road (NOT at VFS like other applicants) on the day and time indicated in the booking. Please do NOT book an appointment through Prenot@mi if you do not fall within one of those categories.

DIPLOMATIC PASSPORT HOLDERS may submit official visa applications directly at the Embassy without appointment (Monday to Thursday, from 10.00 am to 12.00).

For those who submit the visa application directly at the Embassy (EU family members and diplomats), passport recollection is done at the Embassy from 1.30 to 3.30 pm, from Monday to Thursday (after a communication from Embassy officers). For all other visa application submitted at VFS, recollection is done through VFS.

ADDITIONAL SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS related to a visa application that has already been submitted and is currently pending may be delivered at the Embassy without appointment from Monday to Thursday from 1.30 to 3.30 pm. In this case, the applicant will need to show up at the Embassy showing the receipt of his previous visa submission together with the new documents to be added to the application.