New Delhi: Indian visa, passport and other consular services provided through VFS Global across Australia have been temporarily suspended from July 1, leaving thousands of travellers and members of the Indian community facing uncertainty. The suspension affects all VFS Global centres in Australia and will remain in place until further notice, according to official announcements issued by the company and Indian diplomatic missions.
The disruption impacts a wide range of services, including applications for Indian visas, passport renewal and reissue, Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards, Police Clearance Certificates (PCC), and document attestation. As VFS Global is the authorised service provider for these applications in Australia, no new requests are currently being accepted through its centres.
The temporary suspension comes at a time when many people are preparing to travel during the Australian school holiday season. Australian citizens planning trips to India, Indian nationals needing passport services, students, business travellers and families with urgent travel plans are among those affected by the unexpected pause in services.
Although VFS Global has confirmed the suspension, it has not given a detailed explanation for the interruption. The company has only stated that consular, passport, visa and OCI services are temporarily unavailable and advised applicants to regularly check its official website for updates on when services will resume.
However, several Australian media reports have linked the disruption to delays in renewing VFS Global's contract with India's Ministry of External Affairs. According to these reports, the previous agreement between the two sides expired on June 30. While VFS Global reportedly emerged as the successful bidder in the latest tender process, legal proceedings in India are said to have delayed the signing and implementation of the new contract. Neither the Ministry of External Affairs nor VFS Global has officially confirmed these reports.
The High Commission of India in Canberra and the Indian Consulates in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth have also informed applicants about the temporary suspension. They have advised people not to visit VFS centres until services restart and to continue monitoring official announcements for further information. Indian diplomatic missions have indicated that only genuine emergency cases may be handled directly through the respective missions.
Applicants who had already booked appointments from July 1 onwards may experience cancellations or delays. Those waiting for passport renewals, OCI cards or police clearance certificates have been asked to remain patient until a fresh announcement is made regarding the reopening of services.
The suspension has raised concerns among many members of the Indian community in Australia, particularly those with upcoming travel plans or time sensitive documentation requirements. Some travellers may need to postpone their journeys if they are unable to obtain the necessary travel documents before their planned departure dates.
There is some relief for travellers from countries eligible for India's electronic visa programme. Reports indicate that India's e Visa system continues to operate separately through the Bureau of Immigration under the Ministry of Home Affairs and has not been affected by the VFS Global suspension. Eligible travellers may therefore continue to apply online for e Visas where applicable. However, passport services, OCI applications and other consular services that require VFS Global remain unavailable.
As of July 1, no date has been announced for the restoration of normal operations. Officials have urged applicants to rely only on updates issued through VFS Global and the official websites and social media channels of the Indian High Commission and Consulates in Australia.
Until a new agreement is finalised and services resume, thousands of applicants across Australia are expected to face continued delays in obtaining Indian travel and consular documents. The Indian government and VFS Global are expected to provide further updates once the contractual issues are resolved and operations can safely resume.