DUBAI, 30 October 2018: VFS Global has been awarded a regional contract to provide Germany’s visa services in the Asia-Pacific region.
Under the terms of a new contract signed with Germany’s Federal Government Foreign Office, VFS Global will operate visa application centres in 36 new locations across 14 countries.
VFS Global has worked with Germany for the last 13 years, but on a smaller scale offering visa services in selected countries in Asia rather than covering the entire region.
The company is expected to start operations in the new visa application centres during the first quarter of 2019.
Residents of Brunei, Fiji, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, China and Thailand will soon be able to apply for Germany visas through VFS Global.
The People’s Republic of China alone will require additional visa centres in 15 cities.
In addition to these facilities, VFS Global will also offer a Mobile Biometric Service in 24 locations throughout the region. The Mobile Biometric Service enables applicants to submit their documents and biometric information from a location of their choice, such as their home or office, eliminating the need to visit a visa application centre.
VFS Global group chief executive Officer, Zubin Karkaria said: ” With the new contract, Germany visa applicants across 14 countries in Asia Pacific can enjoy streamlined and efficient visa services at VFS Global centres and avail of innovative services like the ‘doorstep’ visa service.”
VFS Global head of business development, Chris Dix commented: “VFS Global currently operates 59 Germany visa application centres across 16 countries – this new contract will take the total of countries which have centres operated by VFS Global to 30. We are confident that applicants in the new countries of operation will appreciate the better accessibility and convenience of the visa services offered.”
Meanwhile, the company also confirmed new visa service contracts for:
Belgium in Rwanda;
Estonia in China, India, Belarus, Turkey, and Russia;
Hungary in India, Belarus, Kazakhstan;
Italy in Bahrain and Ecuador;
Lithuania in Ukraine;
Slovenia in 13 countries (Australia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Canada, Iran, Kosovo, Mexico, New Zealand, Serbia, South Korea, Taiwan, UAE, UK, USA);
Czech Republic in Vietnam, Mongolia and Uzbekistan.
VFS Global plans to open an additional 97 visa application centres to meet the requirements of the new contracts and offers applicants a convenient and easy visa application process in these additional countries. The rollout will be completed by mid-2019.
VFS Global claims to be the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions, worldwide.
Headquartered in Dubai, UAE, the company has Swiss parentage going back to Kuoni Travel. It is now a portfolio company of EQT, a leading global private equity firm headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.
