Empowering Governments to enhance people’s cross-border mobility.
To lead and set the standard in the visa and consular services industry,
through innovation, technology and customer service excellence.
We make people’s cross border mobility simple and convenient
through highly secure, reliable, efficient, and innovative technology solutions.
For our Client Governments:
By being the partner of choice, through trust, technique and technology.
For our Customers:
By providing exceptional customer service, ensuring convenient and seamless experiences.
For our Colleagues:
By creating meaningful work opportunities and building successful careers, in a diverse and inclusive workplace.
For our Investors:
By delivering stakeholder value and embracing best-in-class corporate governance and ethics.
For our Community:
By developing partnerships that drive positive economic, environmental, and social impact.
Integrity, Commitment, and Entrepreneurship have been the bedrock of our business excellence and industry leadership. In keeping with the evolution of the business dynamics, we have extended the set of our core values to make the organisation inclusive, adaptive and responsive. Together, our core values articulate our central beliefs, which we apply to our daily work, and form the foundation of all our people and business practices.
Integrity
Be compliant with all laws; Be true to your word, commitment and your role.
Entrepreneurship
Embrace innovation. Turn ideas into business solutions and add economic value.
Commitment
Build a culture of trust.
People First
Value our people. Care for them and treat them with equity and fairness. Embrace Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Agility
Reinvent, adapt and succeed in a dynamic environment.
Can Do Attitude
Maintain a can-do attitude and find winning solutions.
Customer Centricity
Understand customer needs. Strive to exceed expectations continuously.
Sustainability
Create long-term and sustainable value for all stakeholders.
Digital Mindset
Embrace new technologies and leverage them to drive digital transformation.
Our Code of Conduct is based on our Values and Principles, which provide practical guidance to our employees to overcome ethical challenges or situations that they may not have encountered before. Our Board of Directors and Executive Management team are personally committed to the Code of Conduct and recognise that our Values and Principles are central to the sustainable growth of VFS Global.
This Code of Conduct is applicable to VFS Global’s Board of Directors, Executive Board and all employees, as well as to Facility Management Companies (FMC) personnel we work with. This Code is supplemented by more detailed internal policies, procedures, and guidelines issued by VFS Global, which are applicable to specific geographic areas and/or fields of activities of the organisation.
VFS Global is primarily in the business of trust, and we are committed to the highest standards of information security and data privacy.
Our client governments and the people who entrust their personal information to us must have confidence in both the integrity and security of our operations. We manage the data under our safekeeping throughout its lifecycle and in accordance with the privacy and security laws of the countries in which we operate.
Data security is paramount for us. By embedding it within the design and function of all our processes, we ensure it remains an integral element of all of our systems and services.
VFS Global’s Information Security team ensures in-depth control through a comprehensive governance framework.
The IT-Grundschutz certification by the Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (BSI) or the German Federal Office of Information Security, provides a sound and sustainable methodology for VFS Global’s information security management system (ISMS). IT-Grundschutz covers technical, organisational, infrastructural, and personnel aspects in equal measure and offers a systematic approach to information security that is compatible to ISO/IEC 27001. VFS Global is amongst one of the first to achieve this certification by an organization based outside Germany and at a global level
VFS Global is Esquema Nacional de Seguridad (ENS) High certified. This certification establishes security standards that apply to all government agencies and public organisations in Spain, and service providers on which the public services are dependent.
Cyber Essentials is a UK Government backed scheme and is developed by UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). Cyber Essentials certification provides assurances about security controls deployed by VFS Global.
Above certifications provide independent assurance on management and operations of cyber security controls in VFS Global and demonstrates our commitment with respect to cyber security.
VFS Global is committed to conducting business in an ethical manner. A core principle of our commitment to ethical practices is a ZERO-TOLERANCE to bribery in all forms including the payment of bribes to gain or retain business, the receipt of bribes, and the making of facilitation payments to expedite a government process. Our zero-tolerance to bribery is clearly articulated in the VFS Global Code of Conduct and our Anti-Bribery & Corruption Procedure.
The Anti-Bribery & Corruption Procedure applies to the VFS Global’ Board of Directors, employees, and associated persons. In accordance with our zero-tolerance to bribery, VFS Global’ Board of Directors, employees and associated persons are expressly prohibited from engaging in any form of bribery including:
VFS Global promotes an open culture of reporting of wrongdoing and encourages staff to speak up if they have concerns relating to the breach of this procedure.
As the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide, we lead by example in the way we do business. VFS Global is committed to high standards of ethical conduct and compliance with all laws and regulations of the countries in which we operate. We have a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy towards illegal and unethical business practices, including bribery and corruption, tax evasion, forced labour, or other breaches of human rights.
Our 'Third Party Code of Conduct' defines our principles for conducting business with third-parties, and what they are required to comply with as part of their contractual arrangements with VFS Global. This ‘Third Party Code of Conduct’ is applicable to all suppliers and sub-contractors engaged in providing goods or services to the company.
VFS Global expects that its third party and sub-contractors will comply with the values and principles contained within this document and that they will ensure compliance within their own supply chain as well.
We believe knowing about potential breaches early means we can deal with them quickly and appropriately. We expect our third party to raise any concerns about our business conduct, or a potential breach of this Code without the fear of retaliation. Concerns/ breaches can be raised by sending an email to SpeakUp@vfsglobal.com or by reporting via: vfsspeakup.ethicspoint.com. Every report is taken seriously and handled in complete confidence to protect the third party who may have reported a concern in good faith or assisted us with an investigation.
VFS Global Third Party Code of Conduct is also available in Arabic, French, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai and Turkish languages.
To provide reliable, timely, accurate and quality Customer Care with empathy to our Customers and Missions. We will leverage technology backed with robust processes to deliver consistent best-in-class experiences across channels, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction, loyalty and brand sentiment.
As part of our Customer Care charter, we operate a dedicated Customer Care unit. This unit is an integral part of the organisational customer experience strategy as its plays a key role in echoing the ‘Voice’ of our external customers in all our customer service practices and processes.
The core deliverables and innovative solutions managed by our Customer Care unit is to:
Additionally, we are committed towards handling all customer grievances speedily and with the utmost attention. To ensure we live-up to this commitment, we have a robust Complaints Management System to ensure we:
Our Complaints Management System general procedure* is as follows:
*While the above steps are followed as per process, depending on the nature of the feedback/complaint, procedural changes can be made to ensure the most timely, efficient and suitable outcome / resolution.
VFS Global ensures customer satisfaction through quality of service, safety and security by the use of right technology, robust processes and the engagement of its employees and customers, leading to continuous improvement.
At VFS Global, we are committed to comply to all Legal, Regulatory, Statutory and other requirements with the ultimate aim of providing the safest environment and healthiest atmosphere to all our employees, customers, suppliers, and to anyone else interacting with us while conserving the natural resources and continually improve our processes.
We at VFS Global ensure and commit ourselves to the health, safety and security of our employees, contractors, partners, visitors and customers through provision of ergonomic and safe work environment infrastructure and transportation and complying with applicable legislations.
In a world of global migration, economic disparity, development and transitioning, Modern Slavery is a growing issue. Modern Slavery includes forced labour, debt bondage, human trafficking, descent-based slavery and child slavery. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), approximately 21 million people around the world are in slavery; this includes 5.5 million children.
VFS Global has a zero tolerance approach to Modern Slavery within its operations and supply chains and encourages its staff to report related concerns and incidents using the escalation matrix available across the organisation. The management is obligated to act on any raised concerns and held accountable for lack of action where necessary.
As on {{stats_ordinal_indicator_date}}, VFS Global has operations in {{stats.operation_countries}} countries, with {{stats.application_centres}} centres processing visas for {{stats.client_governments}} client governments, and is deeply committed against Modern Slavery in every one of its corporate offices and Visa Application Centres across the globe.
The VFS Global Policy under the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 reflects the company’s commitment to acting ethically and with integrity in all its business relationships and to implementing and enforcing effective systems and controls to ensure slavery and human trafficking is not taking place anywhere in the VFS Global organisation and its supply chain.
VFS Global is committed to ensuring that all its employees are abreast of its zero tolerance approach to Modern Slavery and equipped to respond to any related situation that may arise. An official rollout of this policy ensures that the policy is disseminated to staff across the board in all regions. The employees are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the policy, which is hosted on the organisation’s portal. For further clarifications, contact details of General Counsel and the Anti-Corruption Compliance Officer (ACCO) is made available.
Training and awareness sessions are designed to ensure complete understanding of the risks of modern slavery and human trafficking in the supply chains and business. Train the Trainer programmes are designed to ensure the dissemination of accurate information to employees with regards to the policy. A training calendar will be planned for employees in a phased manner, spanning across the various regions/countries of operations starting from 01st April, 2024 and will continue until 31st March, 2025.
Trainings will be imparted through various channels noted below:
Upon recruitment, new joining staff is required to undergo training on this policy as part of VFS Global’s induction programme. For existing employees, classroom style and virtual (via video call) trainings, and eLearning modules (web based trainings) are available, followed by online assessments. eCertificates are awarded to staff upon successful completion of the training modules and assessment. Quizzes, case studies and awareness sessions will be planned periodically to ensure complete understanding and recall of the policy. The training sessions will be followed with regular audits by the Internal Audit as well as Corporate Security teams to ensure compliance to the policy across the organisation and supply chain.
The Statement is signed by General Counsel, Head - Corporate Risk, Legal and Compliance of VFS Global Group
Zubin Karkaria
Founder and CEO
As a Group, we are committed to ethical business practices (as highlighted in our Integrated Report and Code of Conduct), and respect local laws in the territories where we operate, which has a direct bearing on our approach to taxation. We are committed to comply with the tax laws and practices of the countries we operate in and have implemented robust governance processes to enable us to do so.
Our tax function is involved in structuring business arrangements, agreements, restructuring projects and acquisitions conducted by the Group. Consequently, all tax risks are identified and considered before concluding such business decisions. The tax function also reviews and advises group businesses on all key agreements and arrangements, specifically cross-border transactions, and the input of the tax function is mandatory as an internal policy prior to the final sign-off on these agreements / arrangements from the Legal team.
Based on pre-determined guidelines, escalation mechanisms are in place within the Group with respect to key tax matters / risks including reporting to the Deputy Chief Financial Officers, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Executive Officer of the Group, the Audit Committee, or the Board, as may be required.
Tax planning is only considered where there is a commercial rationale and is carried out within the parameters of the legal and tax frameworks set out by the jurisdictions in which we operate.
All tax decisions are made in response to commercial activity and tax is just one of many factors taken into consideration when making such decisions. Any tax planning that is undertaken is reviewed annually, along with the Group’s tax strategy, as part of the annual Audit Committee meeting.
We endeavour to use automated technology to track tax-related compliances in various operating jurisdictions and modify / alter / create technology used in operations for easy and accurate implementation of tax reforms, wherever possible.
The Group has always maintained a co-operative and collaborative relationship with tax authorities and will continue to do so. In territories such as the UK, we hold meetings to discuss our tax affairs and pro-actively engage with tax authorities, wherever required.
We have a minimal tax risk tolerance as a Group. We are committed to comply with the tax laws and practices in all countries which we operate, and we continuously monitor changes to tax legislation, ensuring that we take advice where appropriate from professional advisers.
Given the nature of our business and geographic footprint, it is inevitable that risks may arise with respect to the application of tax laws that are complex and uncertain at times. The level of tax risk that we accept is driven by our overarching values, sustainability strategy, and brand reputation. We routinely seek professional advice where the application of tax laws to a material transaction or a given situation is reasonably unclear or uncertain, or where specialist knowledge is required, particularly in international tax matters.
The Group’s Internal Audit function is also responsible for reviewing the relevant processes and ensuring controls are in place for tax. The Audit Committee also provides an oversight for the tax compliance processes and reviews the controls on a quarterly basis.
This document is prepared on behalf of VF Services (UK) Limited, VFS Global Services PLC, TT Visa Services Limited, VDash Limited, VASCO Worldwide Limited, pursuant to Paragraph 22(2) Schedule 19, Finance Act 2016, for the financial year 2021 and is intended to comply with all other obligations within Schedule 19, Finance Act 2016.
Published on 26 April 2023.