Priyanka Saxena Ray
Key Achievements and Milestones in 2024
In 2024, we signed several global contracts, notable ones including Indonesia’s eVisa on Arrival for 97 nationalities, Schengen visa and residence permit services for Finland in 32 countries, and biometric collection services for Australia’s Department of Home Affairs in Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa, building on the seven regions awarded in August 2023.
In South Asia, we were appointed to deliver Algeria visa services for India, Nepal and Sri Lanka and in India, the mandate to deliver Moldova visas.
A key milestone was crossing the 300 million applications mark in December last year. It is notable that the last 100 million applications were achieved in the past five years despite the pandemic-driven travel slowdown of 2020-2022.
Overall, business momentum continues to remain strong, and we have grown in line with the growth in the outbound market in 2024.
Innovative Solutions in 2024
VFS Global has always been at the forefront of delivering innovative solutions. We have developed a hybrid digital journey for our Appointment Management System, combining the benefits of visa application centres and online processes. This system ensures that only verified applicants get appointments and they will only have to visit the Visa Application Centre for their biometric appointments.
The Visa at Your Doorstep (VAYD) service has gained immense popularity, with services extended to 17 Schengen member states and the UK in India, branded as On-Demand Mobile Visas.
Message to Travel Agents and Tour Operators for 2025
We have been educating them to advise their customers to apply in advance and not wait until the last minute due to the seasonal rush. One can apply for a Schengen visa six months from the date of travel and a UK visa three months from the date of travel. Advanced planning will help applicants get their appointments on time.
Second, visa appointments are free and available only on www.vfsglobal.com on a first-come, first-served basis. Due to high travel demand, some unscrupulous operators promise appointments for a fee, which is illegal, and they should not fall for it. As a responsible service provider, we continue to create awareness against this menace and have deployed countermeasures on the appointment booking system to prevent fraudulent misuse by bots and third-party entities.
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