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Global firms to outsource Visa jobs too
Walletwatch - India
Global firms to outsource Visa jobs too
Bangalore: Overseas companies outsourcing to India is passe.
The new trend is embassies and high commissions in India
outsourcing their non-decision making processes before
issuing visas to local agencies. In fact, on the last count
- beginning March - nine countries have followed this model,
from just US and UK few years back, and more are expected in
the mid-term. Result? No long queues outside embassies and
at least 25-30 per cent jump in number of applications year
on year.
This year, between 1.1 and 1.4 million visa applications are
likely to be processed (collectively) by embassies and
consulates of these nine states on the back of rising
international travel, according to industry estimates. The
promising results of outsourcing in India have prompted some
of the countries to consider a similar strategy at their
outposts in other countries. For instance, one of the
service providers, VFS, is offering the facility to
embassies in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia,
Thailand, China and the GCC region. Next month, it will be
commencing operations in Ghana (West Africa) and South
Africa as well.
Outsourcing was initiated essentially to handle the
exceptional growth in number of visa applications. The
embassies had major constraints in terms of staffing and
office space, and the only way they could handle the ever
growing number was by outsourcing all non-assessment work
like providing information, accepting applications,
collecting the fees, creating applicant databases,
scheduling interviews and handling the return of passports.
The process has helped visa sections focus their resources
on assessments and background checks, which has certainly
helped genuine travellers. The overall number of visas
issued has certainly gone up, but this is more a function of
increased travel and the resultant rise in number of
applications.
The embassies are now known to process three to four times
the number of applications they did just a few years back,
with roughly the same staffing and office space. Without
outsourcing, there would have been very long processing
timelines for getting a visa. The most recent entrant to
this club is Canada, which is piloting outsourcing of
non-core functions for the first time anywhere in the world
in India. Others on the list include USA, UK, Australia, New
Zealand, Dubai, Ireland, France and Italy. Germany has only
outsourced the application collection service in the South.
The Canadian High Commission's visa counselor, Sidney Frank,
says it may extend this model to other countries if it is
successful in India. It is setting up application collection
desks in nine cities and expects at least 20-30 per cent
more applications to be processed this year. For instance,
last year its high commission in New Delhi and consulate in
Chandigarh issued 48,884 visitor visas and 19,200 permanent
resident visas. There are only two companies in the
outsourcing service space at present - VFS and TT Services -
though it is understood that some travel companies are also
scouting for opportunities. Incidentally, VFS is an arm of
Swiss travel company Kuoni while TT Services is part of TTK
Group and also has exposure in travel and cargo business. |
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