You may soon be able to apply for driver’s licence, passports and more through VFS citizen services in India

VFS Global, the world's largest visa outsourcing company, has defended its operations following a global investigation into its visa services, including allegations concerning appointment slots and pressure to purchase premium services.

In an interview with The Indian Express, founder and CEO Zubin Karkaria said the company works with 71 governments across 168 countries and is subject to extensive government oversight.

“There was no EU investigation as was claimed,” Karkaria said, adding that governments conduct thousands of audits of VFS Global's systems. He said the company has around 20,000 employees and undergoes about 10,000 audits annually covering areas including security, technology and GDPR compliance.

‘We have a very strict zero-tolerance policy’

Addressing complaints about its operations, Karkaria said VFS Global maintains a strict compliance system.

“We have a very strict zero-tolerance policy,” he said, adding that action is taken if employees or individuals associated with its operations are found engaging in wrongdoing.

“We don’t compromise on security, we don’t compromise on customer centricity, we don’t compromise on anything — that is a regulation,” he said.

Karkaria also defended the company's handling of sensitive applicant information. He said its frontline systems are “dumb terminals”, meaning information cannot be downloaded, saved or printed.

According to him, VFS Global does not retain applicants' biometric information after it is transmitted. He said basic details such as an applicant's name, telephone number and address are retained until the passport is returned and then automatically erased.

AI used to detect fraud

Karkaria said VFS Global has been developing AI products for three years and has already deployed them for eight governments across 1,200 routes.

He said AI is being used to identify forged documents and prevent manipulation of visa appointment systems. According to Karkaria, facial recognition can help detect attempts to use different photographs and names to block appointment slots.

AI can also flag anomalies in documents submitted with visa applications, including bank statements, he said.

Karkaria does not expect the technology to immediately lead to a reduction in the company's workforce, saying VFS Global is continuing to expand.

Over 200 centres in India

VFS Global has more than 200 centres in India, Karkaria said. The company opened a centre in Lucknow last year and is expanding its presence as travel from tier-2 and tier-3 cities increases.

He said VFS Global requires approval from the embassy concerned before opening centres or appointing staff for a particular country's visa services.

The company is also planning to enter citizen services in India, potentially handling services linked to passports, driving licences and national IDs.

Listing plans remain open

Karkaria said VFS Global began in Mumbai 25 years ago and now processes nearly 30 million visa applications annually, with around 4,400 visa centres globally.

The company invests more than $100 million annually in technology, he said, while noting that 60 per cent of the global visa business remains handled directly by governments.

VFS Global had planned to list in 2019, but the Covid pandemic disrupted those plans. The company was again considering a listing earlier this year but is currently holding back due to the crisis in the Gulf region.

“We are very agnostic in terms of whether we list or we will look at a strategic partnership with somebody,” Karkaria said.