How visa outsourcing firm VFS ‘exploits’ applicants through value-added services – Report

A recent report by Lighthouse Reports has alleged that VFS Global, a visa outsourcing company, pressures visa applicants into paying for optional add-on services.

Published in collaboration with 14 media organisations, the report said the findings were based on a year-long investigation involving hundreds of internal European Union documents obtained through freedom of information requests, financial statements, analyses of customer receipts, and interviews with former VFS employees.

According to the report, VFS Global has become “notorious” for compelling visa applicants to pay for services that are meant to be optional.

The services include late-arrival fees, VIP lounge access, SMS updates, and courier delivery for passport returns.

Most of the applicants are from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

“Dozens of them told us they were pushed, misled or left with little practical choice but to pay extra fees to the company,” the report stated.

The investigation also alleged that value-added services were sometimes included in customers’ bills without their explicit consent.

“Most customers would just accept this,” a former VFS employee in Kenya was quoted as saying.

Lighthouse Reports said revenue from these services has become central to VFS Global’s business model.

According to the investigation, the company’s profits increased fourfold between 2017 and 2024, with VFS consistently attributing its profitability and future growth prospects to the sale of value-added services.

The report further alleged that VFS employees receive low base salaries, while bonuses are tied to monthly sales targets for additional services.

“A visa officer currently working at VFS in Nigeria said the bonuses for selling value-added services could amount to almost twice the base salaries of contractors,” the report said.

It added that some EU governments acknowledged being aware of what the investigation described as “consistent deficiencies” in VFS Global’s services.

Responding to the allegations, VFS Global said “any suggestion that VFS Global’s financial growth has been generated through improper conduct is false”. (TheCable)