The Finnish authorities have announced that the country will open a new Honorary Consulate in India’s Ahmedabad.
According to the Embassy of Finland in India, the Consulate will open on June 9, playing a key role in strengthening economic cooperation and fostering closer ties between Finland and Gujarat, Schengen.News reports.
To be there for the opening of the new consulate, Ambassador Kimmo Lähdevirta and a high-level business delegation will travel to India next week.
Commenting on the decision to open the consulate, the Embassy of Finland in India said that this is an important step for Finland-India relations.
The same stressed that both authorities are committed to deepening the cooperation in a number of fields, including education and innovation, among others.
This marks an important milestone in Finland–India relations and underscores Finland’s growing commitment to deepening cooperation with India and Gujarat, with a focus on digitalization, education, sustainability, and innovation.
The embassy further revealed that Kulin Lalbhai, who is a prominent business leader, has been appointed as the Honorary Consul in Finland.
Unlike embassies and consulates general, the aim of honorary consulates is to provide basic consular services. They assist citizens in emergency situations, promote economic and cultural ties, and, in some cases, support visa or document processing, among others.
Even though the authorities have yet to share at what capacity the honorary consulate will be able to contribute to visa processing, it is believed that it will offer significant relief to this part of the country.
Indians Among Top Schengen Visa Applicants in 2024
Indian passport holders were among the top Schengen visa applicants last year. Statistics from SchengenVisaInfo show that Indians rank third, with them submitting 1,108,239 Schengen visa applications last year.
Of the total number of applicants, 936,748 were issued a visa, whereas 165,266 had their applications denied, with the rejection rate standing at 15 per cent.
Finland alone saw 17,762 visa applications from Indians during the same year, with the country approving 13,878 of the requests.
Different from Finland, there are some countries that received a significant number of applications from Indians.
The top three Schengen member states that granted the highest number of visas to Indians in 2023 are Switzerland, France, and Germany.
The main country of application for Indians last year was Switzerland, with the country receiving 217,373 visa requests from this nationality.
Switzerland approved 191,162 Schengen visas for Indians, and it rejected 26,126 applications filed by them.
France and Germany registered 197,959 and 142,955 applications from Indians in 2024, respectively.
France granted 165,564 Schengen visas and Germany granted 126,812 Schengen visas to Indian passport holders last year.