The United Kingdom's visa application center in Shanghai opened its doors on Tuesday.

The newly renovated visa application center, located in central Shanghai, covers roughly 700 square meters — the center before the renovation was 400 sq meters — and neighbors the visa application centers of Italy and Spain.

The number of visa application processing booths at the new center has increased from 10 to 15.

There are now a total of seven booths for collecting fingerprint information and taking ID photos, an increase of three. In addition, the number of interview booths has increased to seven.

Staff at the new application center said the new center can receive a maximum of 1,000 applicants every day, up from 700.

At present, a Chinese applicant can receive a response from the center within 15 working days. By summer this year, the center hopes to approve of visas for applicants within 24 hours.