01. VFS Global secures mandate to offer UK Visa and Citizenship services in 142 countries

VFS Global will roll out 240 Visa and Citizenship Application Service (VCAS) Centres for the UK

VFS Global, which has been a trusted partner for the UK Government since 2003, has won the global contract for overseas UK visa and Citizenship services, the latest in a long line of wins for the world’s leading visa, passport and citizen services provider.

We will roll out 240 Visa and Citizenship Application Service (VCAS) Centres for the UK in 142 countries in the Africa & Middle East, Americas, Australasia & Europe, China & Taiwan, and Asia & Asia Pacific regions, in 2024. These centres will accept all categories of visa applications as well as UK passport applications in some locations. The contracted applicant count is estimated at 3.8 million globally.

We are delighted to win this contract and expand our partnership with UK Visas and Immigration to become their service provider for all UK visa customers overseas. We are excited to begin operations in new locations, and to take the next step towards providing customers with a seamless and simple visa application experience. This win is a testament to our dedicated efforts to provide all our client governments with best-in- class services."

Zubin Karkaria,
Founder and CEO, VFS Global

Beyond the scale of the deployment, VFS Global will invest to improve the customer journey and increase accessibility - including through new customer websites, and through updated in-person experiences. And VFS Global will deploy its latest technologies to maintain robust identity checks and ensure the integrity of the visa application process. The new contract is expected to deliver savings to the UK Government.

According to the UK government's statistics, UK is a popular destination for travellers from across the globe, with the country recording a 96 per cent increase in visa applications as of June 2023 compared to the same period in June 2022, with customers from India (30 per cent), China (13 per cent), and Nigeria and Turkey (6 per cent) being the top four application locations.

In addition to the VCAS Centres, VFS Global will expand its network of additional paid application centres bringing the visa application process closer to home for customers through partnerships with popular hotels and resorts. VFS Global currently offers these in India, UAE and the USA through hotel partners in those countries.

This win comes soon after VFS Global being awarded the global biometric collection service mandate with Australia and renewal of the global visa service contracts with Sweden and Norway.

The agreement spanning Australian biometric collection centres at 165 locations worldwide includes new geographies in addition to existing locations operated by VFS Global

In September, the Department of Home Affairs, Australia, awarded the global biometric collection service to us. The agreement spanning Australian biometric collection centres (ABCC) at 165 locations worldwide includes new geographies in addition to existing locations operated by VFS Global. The awarded regions comprise Americas, Mekong, Middle East and North Africa, North Asia, Pacific, South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Over many years, the department and VFS Global have enjoyed a successful partnership, during which VFS Global has continued to demonstrate flexibility as the department’s needs have evolved over time. We look forward to the continued growth of this partnership and roll out of the biometrics collection programme under the new agreement."

Anthony Phillips,
Director of In-Person Services and Support, Department of Home Affairs

According to the agreement, VFS Global’s core services include Biometric Collection and Identity Verification, Digital Assistance with online visa applications submission and Online Payment Assistance on the Department’s ImmiAccount portal. We will also provide additional (as required services) such as remote interview hosting, document and claim checking, paper digitisation and local addressing and document delivery. The roll out will take place in two broad phases with 59 centres to be operational by January 1, 2024, and the rest under Phase 2 in line with the department’s directives.The agreement also marks the maiden opening of Australian biometric collection centres (ABCC) by VFS Global in the Americas region.

This win is pivotal as tourism in Australia is recovering steadily after border restrictions were lifted in November 2021. According to Tourism Australia, the continent saw 6.2 million visitor arrivals for the year ending July 2023. This is a year-on-year growth of over 391 per cent, illustrating the significant recovery of its tourism industry. However, these numbers still have a long way to go to reach 2019’s 8.7 million arrivals. Australia’s travel and tourism sector has been one of the pillars of the economy and accounts for over 10 per cent share of its total gross domestic product (GDP).

According to Tourism Research Australia, visitor arrivals will move higher than pre-pandemic levels in 2025 and total 11.0 million by 2027. International spend will return to pre-pandemic levels in 2024.

VFS Global will provide Schengen visa services short term C visas including biometric enrolment in 37 countries

The Swedish Ministry of Justice has awarded VFS Global the global tender to provide visa services in 37 countries across the globe. Under this new agreement, VFS Global will continue to operate on behalf of the Government of Sweden in 8 regions worldwide – South Asia, the Americas, South East Asia, China, the Middle East & North Africa, Africa, Europe, and Russia.

VFS Global has worked with the Government of Sweden since 2014. Under the new contract, we will provide Schengen visa services, short term C visas including biometric enrolment in 37 countries. Since 2019, VFS Global has handled nearly 500,000 visa applications on behalf of the Government of Sweden.

We are looking forward to a continued, smooth and professional Schengen visa cooperation with VFS Global, for many years to come. Quality promotion measures, regionalisation and technical development are some areas where we are working on jointly. We continue our fruitful coordination and cooperation with VFS Global and strive to improve the process even further."

The Swedish Ministry of Justice and the Swedish Migration Agency

VFS Global has successfully handled nearly 1.5 million applications on behalf of the government of Norway

The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has awarded VFS Global the global tender to provide visa and residence permit services in 52 countries across the world. Under this new agreement, we will continue to operate on behalf of the Government of Norway in all regions worldwide – Americas, Australasia, China & Hong Kong, Europe & CIS, Middle East & North Africa, Russia, Belarus & Armenia, and South Asia. We have worked with the Government of Norway since 2014 and successfully handled nearly 1.5 million applications on their behalf.

We look forward to a continued smooth and professional cooperation with VFS Global on provision of visa and residence permit service.The cooperation we have developed has proven to be effective and fruitful,with both our organisation working well together in performing their respective responsibility and tasks."

Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs