Company type | Private company |
---|---|
Founded | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India (July 2001 ) |
Headquarters | Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
|
Number of employees | 8960 (as on 30 November 2022)[1] |
Parent | The Blackstone Group |
Website | www.vfsglobal.com |
VFS Global is a visa and passport administration outsourcing company for governments and diplomatic missions.[2] Zubin Karkaria founded the company in 2001 while he was chief executive at Kuoni Travel.[3] Formerly based in India, the company is now headquartered in Dubai with offices in 147 countries.[3] In 2018, VFS processed approximately 25 million visa applications, often containing passport details and financial histories, on behalf of the British Home Office and 61 other governments.[3]
During the past two decades of its operations, VFS Global has attracted considerable controversy as well as criticism from governments, journalists, and clients.[4] It has been criticized for allegedly exploitative and monopolistic practices, lack of transparency, and numerous data security failures.[5][6] Many visa applicants from lower-income countries reported that they "missed flights and were wrongly denied visas due to delays and administrative errors, including apparent failure to scan vital documents."[6]