Netherlands resumes visa service in Pakistan after brief halt

ISLAMABAD: The Netherlands on Monday resumed visa and passport services in Pakistan following a brief suspension.

On Friday the Dutch government said in a statement that its embassy in Pakistan, which is in a tightly guarded “diplomatic enclave”, had temporarily halted issuing visas “due to circumstances beyond our control”.

On Monday evening, the embassy updated the statement: “The Netherlands embassy in Pakistan has resumed all consular/visa related services.”

The Ambassador of Netherlands to Pakistan Ardi Stoios-Braken tweeted: “Update: The Embassy of the Netherlands in Pakistan has resumed all consular/visa services. VFS/Gerry’s in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad can immediately start giving appointments to accept visa applications.”

Update: The Embassy of the Netherlands in Pakistan has resumed all consular/visa services. VFS/Gerry’s in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad can immediately start giving appointments to accept visa applications.

— Ardi Stoios-Braken (@AStoiosbraken) November 12, 2018

Earlier, she had said in a Twitter statement: “The Embassy of the #Netherlands in #Pakistan is open. The issuance of visa has been halted temporarily. Last week, the embassy was temporarily closed for 2 days bcs of construction work.”