Visas to France will now be issued within five working days from the date of application, said Arnaud Montebourg, French minister of industry.

Montebourg made this statement while opening the French visa application center in Alkhobar, the second such facility in the Kingdom after Riyadh.

The government of France opened the new visa center in cooperation with VFS Global, the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for diplomatic missions and governments.

Montebourg inaugurated the new center in the presence of Prince Faisal Abdullah Al-Faisal Al-Saud, French Ambassador Bertrand Besancenot, Mohan V. Mathew for Etimad, Hariprasad Viswanathan for VFS Global and other dignitaries.

The new visa application center is located at the second floor of the Unified Visa Application Center on King Faisal St., opposite SABB, in Al-Raka, Alkhobar.

The new center will cater to the growing demand of France-bound travelers in the region and this new initiative is aimed at offering new services, facilities and benefits to visa applicants, and boost tourism, trade and investments, and ties between Saudi Arabia and France.

“The opening of this VFS Global office in Alkhobar will simplify the procedures for the growing number of Saudi citizens traveling to France,” Montebourg said, adding that France is the third largest foreign investor in the Kingdom.

“We work very closely with Saudi authorities and companies to strengthen our strategic partnership and to develop cooperation in new sectors such as nuclear and solar energies, energy efficiency, health and the agro-food industry.”

These new areas of cooperation, he said, will foster visits by Saudi businessmen, tourists and students traveling to France.

The French Embassy in Riyadh estimates that it would have issued some 32,000 visas by the end of this year from its consular division and around 43,000 visas from its consulate in Jeddah.

Saudi Arabia is home to some 6,000 French nationals, around 600 of whom live in the Eastern Province.

An official from the French Embassy said there are some 1,400 Saudi students currently studying at various universities in France. “We hope to attract more Saudi students to Paris for their higher studies,” Montebourg added.

Every year, some 30,000 Muslims come from France for the Haj pilgrimage and another 19,000 come throughout the year for Umrah.