VFS Global has secured the service provider role for United Kingdom Citizenship and Visa Application Centers worldwide, covering 142 countries.
With an annual responsibility for handling around 3.8 million applicants, the company is set to expand its reach by inaugurating UK application centres in 84 more countries in 2024, VisaGuide.World reports.
As part of the new contract, technology will be invested to improve customer experience, accessibility, and security measures. Thus, the UK contract marks VFS Global’s sixth global win in 2023.
Since VFS has been a trusted partner of the UK Government since 2003, it has recently secured a global contract for UK visa and citizenship services overseas, adding to its extensive portfolio of achievements as the world’s leading provider of visa, passport, and citizenship services.
In the coming year, VFS Global will open 240 Visa and Citizenship Application Service (VCAS) Centers for the UK, including 142 countries across Africa and the Middle East, the Americas, Australasia and Europe, China and Taiwan, and Asia Pacific regions. These centres are set up to handle all categories of visa applications and, in some countries, UK passport applications as well.
We are delighted to win this contract and expand our partnership with the Home Office to become their service provider for all UK visa customers overseas.
The UK remains a preferred destination for global travellers, with India, China, Nigeria, and Turkey emerging as the top application countries. Complementing the VCAS, VFS Global plans to expand its reach by expanding its network of fee-based application centres.
This expansion aims to bring the visa application process closer to customers by creating partnerships with famous hotels and resorts. VFS Global offers this service in India, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States through hotel partnerships.
According to data provided by the UK government, June 2023 witnessed an estimated 125 million passenger arrivals from outside the Common Travel Area (CTA), encompassing returning UK residents. The figure represents an increase, or almost double (+79 per cent), compared to the year ending June 2022, when travel restrictions related to the global COVID-19 pandemic were still in effect, totalling 70 million arrivals.
Such data also shows that the latest passenger arrivals represent over four-fifths (85 per cent) of the total number recorded in 2019 (146 million), the period immediately before the COVID-19 outbreak.
During June 2023, a total of 3,287,404 visas were also granted, marking a surge of 58 per cent compared to June 2022.