04. New
Developments

Geraldine McCafferty, Deputy Head of Mission, British Embassy Beijing (first from left); Barry Mulligan, Deputy Head of Mission, Ireland, China (second from left); Lewis Neal, His Majesty's Trade Commissioner to China (fourth from left) with Zubin Karkaria, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, VFS Global (first from right) and Kishen Singh, Chief Operating Officer, Mainland China, Hong Kong & Mongolia, VFS Global (third from right) at the inauguration ceremony

Our newly renovated UK and Ireland Visa Application Centre in Beijing, China was inaugurated on 11 October by Geraldine McCafferty, Deputy Head of Mission, British Embassy Beijing; Lewis Neal, His Majesty's Trade Commissioner to China; Barry Mulligan, Deputy Head of Mission, Ireland, China; Zubin Karkaria, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, VFS Global and Kishen Singh, Chief Operating Officer, Mainland China, Hong Kong & Mongolia, VFS Global, in the presence of other dignitaries.

VFS Global employees at the Town Hall in Morocco

Italy has signed a contract with us to offer visa services on its behalf in Morocco. As part of this contract, we have successfully inaugurated 2 visa application centres in Casablanca and Rabat in Morocco.

H.E. Hareb Al Mheiri, Executive Director of ADRO (fifth from left) and Atul Marwah, COO - MENA, VFS Global (third from left) at the MoU signing ceremony

Abu Dhabi Residents Office (ADRO) and VFS Global have partnered to streamline the process for potential residents and enhance Abu Dhabi’s standing as an international hub for global talent. The MoU was officially signed by H.E. Hareb Al Mheiri, Executive Director of ADRO and Atul Marwah, COO -MENA, VFS Global.

H.E. Iain Grant Frew, British Ambassador to Vietnam (fourth from left) and Mark Holton, Head of Home Office International Operations, Vietnam (fifth from left) at the launch

H.E. Iain Grant Frew, British Ambassador to Vietnam, launched the On Demand Mobile Visa service for UK visa applicants in Vietnam on 8 September, enabling them to submit their visa applications from the comfort of their home or office. The event was also attended by Mark Holton, Head of Home Office International Operations, Vietnam.

H.E. Pavel Kafka, Ambassador of Czech Republic to Saudi Arabia (third from left), and Petra Qsous, Head Consular & Visa Section, Embassy of Czech Republic, Riyadh (second from left) at the inauguration

H.E. Pavel Kafka, Ambassador of Czech Republic to Saudi Arabia, and Petra Qsous, Head Consular & Visa Section, Embassy of Czech Republic, Riyadh, inaugurated our new Czech Republic VAC in Dammam on 25 September.

H.E.Lee-Sang Soo, Ambassador of South Korea to Libya (second from right), at the inauguration

Our South Korea VAC in Tripoli, Libya, was inaugurated in the presence of H.E Lee-Sang Soo, Ambassador of South Korea to Libya, on 18 September.

László Szoldatits, Consul, Embassy of Hungary in Greece, (centre) at the inauguration

László Szoldatits, Consul, Embassy of Hungary in Greece, inaugurated our Hungary VAC in Nicosia, Cyprus on 12 September, expanding our operational presence in the region.

Fabio Schina, Consul General, Consulate General of Italy in Chongqing (first from left), and Merzi Screwvala, Deputy Regional Head - Southwest China, VFS Global (second from left) at the inauguration

Fabio Schina, Consul General, Consulate General of Italy in Chongqing, and Merzi Screwvala, Deputy Regional Head - Southwest China, inaugurated the Italy VAC in Chongqing on 11 September.

H.E. Paulo Neves Pocinho, Ambassador, Embassy of Portugal in Doha (second from left), and Sami Alsoufani, Institutional Relations, Embassy of Portugal in Doha (left) with VFS Global representatives at the contract signing ceremony

We recently signed a contract with Portugal to provide visa services on its behalf in Qatar. H.E. Paulo Neves Pocinho, Ambassador, Embassy of Portugal in Doha and Sami Alsoufani, Institutional Relations, Embassy of Portugal in Doha were present at the contract signing ceremony.

H.E. Jan Vyčítal, Ambassador of Czech Republic in Tunisia (second from left) and Johan Virassamynaїck, Regional Head, North Africa, VFS Global (first from left) at the inauguration

H.E. Jan Vyčítal, Ambassador of Czech Republic in Tunisia and Johan Virassamynaїck, Regional Head, North Africa, inaugurated our Czech Republic VAC in Tunis on 4 September.

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CGI Federal, the wholly-owned US operating subsidiary of CGI, has extended its 10-year partnership with U.S. State Department to support consular services for the Bureau of Consular Affairs in India. The services will be delivered under a new 10-year task order awarded in January 2023 under the Global Support Strategy for Overseas Consular Support Services 2.0 (GSS 2.0) contract. As part of CGI’s GSS team, VFS Global has been a subcontractor to manage US visa application submissions in India since 2012. With the recent extension, VFS Global will continue to assist with the processing of non-immigrant and immigrant visa applications in India for the US.

Paulo Lourenço, Ambassador, Embassy of Portugal in Cape Verde (first from left) and Santanu Bhattacharya, Regional Head-Sub Saharan Africa, VFS Global, (first from right) at the inauguration

Paulo Lourenço, Ambassador, Embassy of Portugal in Cape Verde, inaugurated our Portugal VAC in Praia, along with Santanu Bhattacharya, Regional Head-Sub Saharan Africa, on 6 September.

Bergdís Ellertsdóttir, Ambassador of Iceland to USA (left) and Amit Kumar Sharma, Head - Americas, VFS Global (right) at the contract signing ceremony at the Embassy of Iceland in Washington DC

VFS Global has worked with the Government of Iceland since 2015. Under the new contract, apart from outsourcing the short-term C visas (including biometric enrolment) in India, United Kingdom, United States of America, Malaysia, and China, VFS Global will also accept D-visa applications in 43 countries on behalf of the Icelandic Directorate of Immigration.

Mo Jinwen, Director of Air Traffic Management committee of Changsha Area of Free Trade Zone (right) and Kishen Singh, COO - Mainland China, Hong Kong & Mongolia, VFS Global (left) at the contract signing ceremony

Changsha Area of China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone (PFTZ) announced the signing of the VFS Global Joint Visa Centre project in Changsha PFTZ. The contract was signed between Mo Jinwen, Director of Air Traffic Management committee of Changsha Area of Free Trade Zone and Kishen Singh, COO - Mainland China, Hong Kong & Mongolia, VFS Global.

Choi Hee-deok, Consul-General, Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Shenyang (third from right) and Kishen Singh, COO - Mainland China, Hong Kong & Mongolia (third from left) at the launch

Choi Hee-deok, Consul-General, Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Shenyang; Zhao Hongbin, Deputy Director of the Foreign Affairs Office of Liaoning Province; Kim Ki- young, Director General of the Korea Immigration Service Foundation; Ji Jingjia, Chairman of Shenyang Korean Association, and Jin Zhenglie, Chairman of The Korean Federation of the three northeastern provinces along with Kishen Singh, COO - Mainland China, Hong Kong & Mongolia, inaugurated the first VFS Global Korea VAC in Shenyang on 1 September.

Michael Lutz, Regional Manager, Asia Pacific, UKVI, (right) and Kishen Singh, COO - Mainland China, Hong Kong & Mongolia, VFS Global (left), at the launch

Michael Lutz, Regional Manager, Asia Pacific, UKVI, and Kishen Singh, COO - Mainland China, Hong Kong & Mongolia, VFS Global inaugurated the new UK VAC in Shenzhen, China, on 21 June.

H.E. Mamadou Kiari Liman-Tinguiri, Ambassador of the Republic of Niger to USA (right) and Amit Kumar Sharma, Head – Americas, VFS Global (left) at the contract signing ceremony

We recently signed an agreement with the Embassy of Niger in Washington DC as the exclusive outsourcing service provider for visa applications in the US. The contract was signed between H.E. Mamadou Kiari Liman-Tinguiri, Ambassador of the Republic of Niger to USA, and Amit Kumar Sharma, Head – Americas, VFS Global.

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VFS Global has started offering visa services on behalf of Egypt in 12 cities across India -- Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, New Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Jalandhar, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Pune – from 23 June. To avail these services, applicants can walk in without any appointment.

Dina Giluce, Consul, the Embassy of Latvia in Kazakhstan (centre), Yaseen Effendi, Regional Head-CIS, VFS Global (right) and Mariya Kurilenko, Head of Operations at VFS Global in Kazakhstan (left) were present at the contract signing ceremony.

We recently signed the Schengen Visa (Type C) and National Visa (Type D) services contract with the Embassy of Latvia in Kazakhstan. Dina Giluce, Consul, the Embassy of Latvia in Kazakhstan, Yaseen Effendi, Regional Head-CIS, VFS Global and Mariya Kurilenko, Head of Operations at VFS Global in Kazakhstan were present at the contract signing ceremony.

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Campus France, a government agency that operates under the French Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of higher Education, has outsourced its services for the first time in Algiers, Algeria to VFS Global. Campus France offers assistance to students who want to pursue their higher studies in France. As part of this tie-up, the documents of students will be verified and their interviews will be conducted at our premises. We will also provide the online payment solution, workshop/events appointment module and translation services.