So, I applied for a long-term study visa to Italy as a PhD student on 28th July 2026. On 28th August, I received a call from the consulate, as well as an email from VFS, stating that I have some pending documents I need to submit. I talked to the Consulate on call the next Monday and they advised me to courier the documents to VFS Mumbai, since I live far away from VFS centres and it would be impractical for me to travel to Mumbai for a 'formality' (their words, not mine). I sent the documents on Tuesday through Speedpost, they went out for delivery on Friday (04/09). I called the VFS office to ask whether they received anything but they informed me that they don't accept couriers and to get a written confirmation from the Consulate. Could not reach the Consulate even after calling for more than an hour. Subsequently, I get the following update from IndiaPost. Panicked because I thought my documents were not accepted by VFS and were now being returned to me. Friday night, however, the tracking on VFS updated to this. Anyone in a similar situation or has any idea what might have happened? Seems like a system glitch but I'm not sure.

Sorry for the long post. Seemed like context would be needed for proper solution (if any)! 

In a weird situation