VFS Global, the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions, entered into a strategic partnership with the Sunway Resort Hotel in Selangor, Malaysia. Through this alliance, VFS Global aims to offer UK student visa services through its UK Premium Application Centre at the Sunway Resort Hotel in Selangor.
UK student visa customers can now book appointments at the Premium Application Centre to submit their applications and enrol biometrics. This partnership will provide customers residing in and around Selangor with a new location option in addition to the existing free-to-use Visa Application Centres located in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.
This is a premium location for customers wishing to apply for their visa in the ambience and comfort of a 5-star hotel. There is a fee of MYR 250 to apply at this location, which includes courier and SMS updates. The fee for this service must be paid online while booking your appointment, before attending the Visa Application Centre.
Jeanne Chan, Director of Commercial, Sunway Resort Hotel, said, “We are delighted to partner with VFS Global for a strategic initiative that offers convenience to UK student visa applicants at our hotel. Through the opening of this new visa centre, we look forward to extending the warm hospitality and exceptional services of the Sunway Resort Hotel and providing customers with convenient access to plan their international travel.”
Kaushik Ghosh, Head ? Australasia, VFS Global, said, “The partnership with the Sunway Resort Hotel in Selangor provides additional and conveniently located touchpoints to our customers. UK student visa customers will continue to enjoy the same comfort, convenience, and best-in-class services at this new location that they do at our Visa Application Centres, as well as experience the comfort and hospitality offered by the Sunway Resort Hotel.”
VFS Global has enjoyed a long-standing relation with UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) in Malaysia since 2004, offering UK visa services through centres in Kuala Lumpur.
For more information, please visit https://visa.vfsglobal.com/mys/en/gbr.
Student visa applications from Malaysia in 2022 rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, reiterating early recovery in international travel. According to VFS Global, student visa application in 2022 were 4% higher than the volumes in 2019. Applications were 38% higher in comparison to 2021 as many international borders were closed with pandemic-induced travel restrictions and international university campuses operated hybrid schedules.
More than 7,220 Malaysian nationals were issued a Student visa to study in the UK in 2022 (www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-december-2022), just shy of pre-pandemic numbers in 2019. Given the travel restrictions in 2020 and 2021, the number of visas issued in this category in 2022 rose by 3,000 and 500, respectively.
About VFS Global
VFS Global is the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions. VFS Global is the trusted partner of 68 client governments, operating a global network with more than 3,300 Application Centres in 145 countries. The company has processed over 264 million applications since its inception in 2001. The company manages non-judgmental and administrative tasks related to applications for visa, passport, and consular services for its client governments, enabling them to focus entirely on the critical assessment task. VFS Global has its headquarters in Zurich/Switzerland and Dubai/United Arab Emirates.
VFS Global is majority-owned by funds managed by Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager. Blackstone seeks to create positive economic impact and long-term value for their investors, the companies in which they invest, and the communities in which they work. Blackstone’s USD 991 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets, and secondary funds, all on a global basis.
The Swiss-based Kuoni and Hugentobler Foundation and EQT, a global investment organisation, headquartered in Stockholm/Sweden, hold minority stakes in VFS Global.
The registration for the 2022 (Phase II) Consumption Voucher Scheme (Scheme) will close on Saturday (July 23). The Government spokesman today (July 21) reminded eligible persons who have not registered before, and existing registrants who want to change their stored value facility (SVF) account for receiving consumption vouchers under Phase II to grasp the time to complete the procedure through the electronic registration portal in the Scheme website (www.consumptionvoucher.gov.hk) or one of the temporary service centres (Note).
For existing registrants who do not want to change the SVF account, the Government will later conduct checking on their eligibility according to the eligibility criteria announced on June 13. All registrants will receive notification on the checking result by SMS issued through the specified telephone number (+852 6059 1120). People may also enquire about their checking result through the interactive voice response system of the hotline 18 5000. Eligible registrants will be disbursed with electronic consumption vouchers by instalments starting from August 7.
The spokesman said that registrants who wish to submit representations after being notified that they are not eligible may download the “Application Form for Review” from the Scheme website or obtain it through the Scheme hotline 18 5000. They should return the completed application form together with relevant documents through the following channels within 14 days after receipt of the SMS notification:
(1) by post to the “Consumption Voucher Scheme Secretariat” at P.O. Box 185000, General Post Office, Hong Kong;
(2) by fax (number 3106 0701);
(3) by email (enquiry@consumptionvoucher.gov.hk); or
(4) by hand to the eight temporary service centres located in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories or the “Consumption Voucher Scheme Secretariat” on 17/F, Pioneer Centre, 750 Nathan Road, Mong Kok, Kowloon. The temporary service centres will be opened from 9am to 6pm from Monday to Saturday (except public holidays) until August 13.
The Secretariat will issue SMS to confirm receipt of the review application. Under normal circumstances, the Secretariat will notify the applicant in writing of the review result within six weeks.
People may visit the Scheme website or call the hotline 18 5000 for details about the Scheme.
Note:
The addresses of the eight temporary service centres are as follows:
Hong Kong Island
1. 20/F, West Exchange Tower, 322 Des Voeux Road Central, Sheung Wan (MTR Sheung Wan Exit A1)
2. Unit 1202, 12/F, Olympia Plaza, 255 King’s Road, North Point (MTR Fortress Hill Exit B)
Kowloon
3. Units 601 – 602, 6/F, 9 Wing Hong Street, Cheung Sha Wan (MTR Lai Chi Kok Exit C)
4. Units 1834 – 1838, 18/F, Pioneer Centre, 750 Nathan Road, Mong Kok (MTR Prince Edward Exit B2)
The Steel Sector in India has traversed a fascinating journey from a mere one million tonne at the time of independence to 120 million tonnes in the last financial year said Shri Ram chandra Prasad Singh here last evening in an official event to present National Metallurgist Award -2021.
The Union Steel Minister, Shri Ram Chandra Prasad Singh in his address elaborated that due to versatility and longevity of steel He foresees that steel application across segments will see a quantum jump. He also said that newer areas of usage such as increasing deployment of drone technology will provide ample opportunities to the steel players.
The Minister said, he expects Indigenous Research and Development in Iron and Steel Sector will rise to the next level and will be central to the growth of the sector in times to come.
The Secretary Steel, Shri Sanjay Singh said that Indian Steel Industry is on the cusp of transition. This phase of transition can only be driven by strong Research and Development, which would address the need for green steel, reduce carbon emission and efficiency in steel production.
Awardees of National Metallurgist Award have been shortlisted by Ministry of steel through a very well-conceived and transparent process by two stage mechanism of screening committee and selection committee. The applications for participation in award process were invited by the Ministry through a notification.
The following awardees were presented the award for 2021 by Hon’ble Union Minister of Steel –
S No.
Name
Award Category
1
Sri Hemant Madhusudan Nerurkar
Lifetime Achievement Award
2
Sri B S Murty
National Metallurgist Award
3
Sri Gnanaprakasam Balachandran
Award for R&D in Iron & Steel Sector
4
Sri Pratik Swarup Dash
Certificate of Excellence (R&D in Iron & Steel Sector)
5
Sri Ashok Kamraj
Young Metallurgist (Metal Science) Award
6
Ms Minal Shah
Young Metallurgist (Metal Science) Award
These Awards have been instituted to recognize outstanding contribution of Metallurgist who are working across value chain of Iron and Steel Industry covering areas of Manufacturing, R & D , Design ,Waste Management , Education , Energy Conservation and finally those working towards making the steel sector ‘Atmanirbhar’
Ministry of Steel expects that the rationalized awards will be a great motivator for the metallurgists working in the field of Iron and Steel Industry.
The following is issued on behalf of the Air Transport Licensing Authority:
The Air Transport Licensing Authority has decided to grant the licence in relation to the application made by Greater Bay Airlines Company Limited to operate scheduled air services with effect from today (February 21) till February 20, 2027 (both days inclusive).
Under the licence, Greater Bay Airlines Company Limited may operate scheduled journeys for the carriage in Hong Kong of passengers, cargo or mail over 104 routes at unlimited frequency from and to Hong Kong International Airport.
The decision of the Authority will also be published in the Gazette on February 25.
The Government today (October 31) announced that eligible persons born in 1960 should apply for the JoyYou Card, a Personalised Octopus Card tailor-made for the Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities ($2 Scheme) from tomorrow (November 1) via the Octopus App mobile application or by posting the application forms.
The JoyYou Card carries a personal photo and the name of the eligible beneficiary for identification. Each eligible person will be issued with one card only. Octopus Cards Limited (OCL) will send the JoyYou Card to the applicant’s Hong Kong postal address within four weeks upon receipt of the completed application. The Government will subsidise the $20 application fee for the first application of eligible persons, and the applicants do not need to pay any application fee to the OCL separately.
In accordance with the application timetable announced, the OCL will accord priority to applications from eligible persons born in 1960 in November, while other overdue applications will be processed later and therefore it may take a longer time for late applicants to be issued JoyYou Cards.
Eligible persons aged 60 to 64 must use a JoyYou Card to enjoy the $2 concessionary fare from February 27, 2022. As for eligible persons born in 1957, 1958 and 1959, the OCL has so far received a total of about 294 000 applications, representing about 82 per cent of the estimated local population born in the same years. The Government appealed to the above eligible persons who have yet to apply for the JoyYou Card to submit their applications as soon as possible to ensure that they will be able to enjoy the concession as scheduled.
In addition, for applications with incomplete information or supporting documents, the OCL has issued SMS and letters to the applicants concerned for supplementary submission. Applicants who have received SMS should call the service hotline (2266 2222) as soon as possible. As for applicants who have received letters, they should submit the supplementary information within 14 days by using the return envelope enclosed. Otherwise, their applications cannot be processed further.
The OCL has started sending JoyYou Cards to applicants by post since mid-August in phases and has notified applicants via SMS to check if they have received it. Applicants who have not received their JoyYou Cards 10 days after receiving the SMS or four weeks after completing the application should call the service hotline.
The links to download the Octopus App mobile application, application form (without postage-free return envelope) and the distribution points for paper application forms (with postage-free return envelope) can be found on the JoyYou Card webpage (www.octopus.com.hk/joyyou/en). The webpage also features videos illustrating the detailed steps to apply for the JoyYou Card. For enquiries on the JoyYou Card, please visit its webpage or call the service hotline.
The Government will launch enhancement and anti-abuse measures of the $2 Scheme on February 27, 2022, including lowering the eligible age from 65 to 60, benefitting more than 600 000 persons aged 60 to 64, when these beneficiaries must present their JoyYou Card to enjoy the fare concession. Prior to February 27, 2022, JoyYou Cards can only be used as normal Adult Octopus Cards. Current beneficiaries aged 65 or above of the $2 Scheme may continue to use their Anonymous Elder or Personalised Octopus Cards at present to enjoy the $2 concessionary fare. The Government will announce arrangements for them to apply for JoyYou Cards in the first quarter of 2022. Moreover, eligible persons with disabilities may continue to enjoy the $2 concessionary fare by using their existing Personalised Octopus Cards with valid “Persons with Disabilities Status” and do not need to apply for the JoyYou Card.
