On Tuesday 9 January, Mr Yann Braem, Consul General of France in Erbil, and Mr Dheyazan Talat Shafeeq, TLScontact Country Manager for Iraq, inaugurated a brand new visa application centre for France in Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The inauguration ceremony took place in the presence of HE Mr Safeen Dizayee, Minister of the Department of Foreign Relations of the Kurdistan Regional Government, and Mr Omed Khoshnaw, Governor of Erbil. This inauguration follows the opening last year of a satellite centre for French visa applications in Mosul, helping to increase the geographical coverage of French visa operations in Iraq.
TLScontact became the official service provider for French visa applications in Erbil on 3 January 2024, with the opening of a new centre situated at: Global Business Centre, Gulan Street, Opposite Ster Tower and the Turkish Consulate. The centre is open five days per week, from Sunday to Thursday, for the collection of visa applications and applicants’ biometric enrolment. All applications will continue to be processed by the Consulate General of France in Erbil, the sole decision-maker.
New measures introduced to improve appointment availability
We have introduced Advanced Fee Payment for all customers wishing to make an appointment at the new Erbil centre. This means that when they book their appointment on our website, customers must pay the TLScontact service fee online by credit card in order to confirm their reservation. This measure has been taken to maximise appointment availability, by ensuring that appointment slots are not blocked unnecessarily.
Additional services to improve customer experience
We offer a range of optional services, such as application and form-filling assistance, to assist customers with their visa application. Other services are also available, such as the express courier return service, which allows customers to have their passport returned directly to them once a decision has been made on their application, to an address of their choice.
Commenting on the event, Consul General of France Yann Braem said:
“I am delighted to inaugurate this new centre, which demonstrates France’s commitment to offering a high-quality service to visa applicants in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Through this new partnership with TLScontact, we aim to make it easier for visa applicants to obtain an appointment, and offer them more comfort and convenience during the application process.”
TLScontact Country Manager for Iraq, Dheyazan Talat Shafeeq, said:
“This new opening marks a new phase in our partnership with France in Iraq. With this new centre, we are increasing our geographic reach to cover more Iraqi provinces, following the opening of our satellite centre for France in Mosul last year. Our teams are fully mobilised to provide the best possible service to the Consulate General of France in Erbil, and to our Iraqi visa customers.”
TLScontact has operated in Iraq since 2014, where today we collect visa applications not only for France, but also for Belgium, Hungary and the United Kingdom.