An Indian visa centre is set to open in Leicester following a 20-year campaign.
A special lunch reception was held at the Peepul Centre today (May 30) to celebrate the successful campaign, which was backed by thousands of local people.
Leicester East MP Keith Vaz said: “This is a dream come true. I cannot believe that after so many people campaigning over the last few decades, that it has finally happened. It will allow residents to save even more time and money.
“With the Home Office Biometric Centre opened recently in the city centre and now a new Indian visa centre, Leicester is the hub of the East Midlands.”
Birmingham and London are the only cities which currently have a centre, making Leicester the third city in the country to get one.
A number of local councillors and dignitaries attended the lunch hosted by MP Keith Vaz in honour of the new Indian Deputy High Commissioner Dr Virander Paul, who has recently arrived from Washington.
Mr Vaz added: “I’m delighted that Dr Virander Paul formally announced the news with me. It shows a fresh commitment of the High Commission to help people of Indian origin in Leicester.”
Twenty balloons were also released at the event to symbolize each year of the campaign, which launched in 1993.
