Brussels, 31/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - In May 2008, France, Germany and Netherlands are planning to open a joint visa application centre in Dubai to speed up visa applications from Dubai and the northern United Arab Emirates, according to a report in the Khaleej Times of Dubai on 30 March 2008. The centre could handle well over 60,000 visa requests a year. The centre will collect applications, check them and forward them to the respective consulates, which will decide on whether or not to issue a visa. The Dutch consulate in Dubai also issues visas for Belgium and Luxembourg, and Germany represents Latvia and Slovenia in Dubai. Other countries may join the scheme later, like Italy and Switzerland. This is the first time such a joint centre has been organised in the Middle East, but others already exist in other parts of the world. In 2007, the very first joint visa application centre was organised in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, and a second has since been opened in Podogrica, Montenegro. (B.C.)