VFS Global, a leading visa and passport administration outsourcing firm, says that under a new agreement with the Government of Finland, it will continue to provide Schengen short-term visa services and residence permit services for Finland, including biometric enrolment in 32 countries including India across 10 regions. 

In a press statement, VFS says that since 2010 it has handled more than 8.5 million visa applications on behalf of the Government of Finland.

“We anticipate a seamless and professional collaboration with VFS Global. In our tender, we especially highlighted the global coverage of the outsourced services, quality of biometrics and technical capacity, quality control, risk management and customer service,” says the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

“The external service provider receives applications, collects biometric data and application fees and forwards them to the missions. It does not make visa decisions. Visa decisions continue to be the responsibility of Foreign Ministry officials,” it adds.

Jiten Vyas

“VFS Global is delighted that we will continue to serve the Government of Finland as their trusted service provider. We have enjoyed a strong partnership with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and welcome the opportunity to renew our services. We look forward to offering visa applicants best-in-class visa solutions and a seamless application process across 10 regions globally,” says Jiten Vyas, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Business Development, VFS Global.

The statement adds that the 10 regions worldwide where these services will continue to operate include South Asia, the Americas, Southeast Asia, China, the Middle East, North Africa, Africa, Europe, CIS and Russia.

VFS Global says it is responsible for managing the front-end administrative duties only. This includes the collection of application forms and required documents as per the checklist as well as the enrollment of biometrics.