Enabling People to become Global Citizens A Recall of the VFS Contribution

Recalling the Parivartan brought about by a corporate such as VFS Global, in introducing the idea of visa outsourcing; born in India, an idea that changed how people can and do travel easily, introducing “ease in travel”.  

At this time of the year, when we are convening for the 22nd edition of BITB, building India’s travel businesses with a theme, Paryatan is bringing Parivartan, is this one name that comes foremost that succeeded in making local go vocal by going global, literally around the world. A “Made in India” idea that soon spread globally among countries on solving their increasing demand to issue visas, as international travel grew, and as complexities also increased, as demands on scrutiny to ensure security, governments found the right answer. OUTSOURCING became the solution, globally.

One cannot help recall, it wasn’t yesterday, just a few decades ago, when I had walked into the office of SOTC in Mumbai for a business meeting. I remember vividly at that time being introduced to a young man who had a corner table, somewhere across the room, as one of the budding young executives in the team. Over the years, one gathered that this young man was inspired with an idea, “why not become an implant or an extension of the US consulate and help them with their visa facilitation”?  

So, when we talk of tourism bringing about transformation, and when we say it is already doing so, travel services that were introduced twenty years and more ago, are delivering, globally, in an area such as visa outsourcing! A more corporate and enlightened approach to what travel and tourism can do for societies? Improve efficiency, scale down the time required and effort; the cost is nominal and it’s a win-win for all concerned. It is best like an IPL match – there are no losers, only winners.  

Imagine a visa processing centre in a country like India? How many can one country have, and at what cost? An outsourced player can provide a pool where more than one country can be clients, thereby distributing the cost among the many, instead of just one. And, what about penetration into the countryside? VFS Global, I am told, has 18 offices throughout India. This helps ease in travel, making it possible for more Indians to get their visas, by going closer home. Remember, in the days gone by, we sent passports by courier, and these were held up with one embassy over months! This is helping more Indians become a part of the global eco-system, influencing and impacting the way we live.

There was never any looking back. The idea germinated in India on a sales desk at the SOTC office in Mumbai. The idea fructified, went on to become a company in its own right, amongst the first Indian Made in India multinationals to become global. But here again, with a difference. Please remember, in an industry, in a thought process, in a service industry, an idea and an innovation that developed within the country. So, it’s not just manufacturing air conditioners, which were never invented in India. It is not about rolling out cars, because the first car was never made in India, or even buying a thousand aircrafts, because those were never Made in India. They still aren’t. 

And here is the vital difference, the idea of outsourcing visa applications, going across the seven seas. Looking back, it was a swell of an idea, a no -brainer. Looking back last 30 years, imagine the volume, the numbers, the sheer momentum of travel, and how it would have become impossible for governments to cater to these numbers within their own confines. Imagine the payouts involved, the staff with the government machinery, and the works. VFS is employing some excess of 18,000 employees globally. 

So here was an idea, a company, that over the years, what one can make out of VFS, as the flag bearer in this field, standing tall. They are no longer the only player which is only natural and that too should be most expected and equally welcome. After all, every endeavour must and does have competition that is always healthy for the customer and the end user. Competition that must also inspire and aspire that plays out on a level playing field, where everybody gets his chance, based on merit and due consideration for value of services ordered. 

From what one gathers, high-tech innovation, because so much of it could never have been done manually, adaptation of technology, and also adhering to the strictest security considerations, considering that these are very high security matters concerning immigration and such like, made it inevitable for this revolution and change to happen. Necessity is the mother of invention; in this case, the mother was VFS Global, as conceived in the SOTC Mumbai office.

As the global leader in technology services, empowering secure mobility for governments and citizens, VFS Global has embraced globally accepted benchmarks in technological innovation, including Generative AI, to support governments and diplomatic missions worldwide. The company manages non-judgmental and administrative tasks related to applications for visa, passport, and consular services for its client governments, increasing productivity and enabling them to focus entirely on the critical task of assessment.

With a responsible approach to technology development, adoption and integration, the company prioritizes ethical practices and sustainability while serving as the trusted partner to 71 client governments. Operating over 4,100 Application centres in 168 countries, VFS Global has processed more than 547 million transactions* since 2001. This is an impeccable track record, indeed, by any standards. Just imagine how such a number could have been handled within a government office?

Headquartered in Zurich and Dubai, VFS Global is majority owned by Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, along with minority shareholders including Swiss-based Kuoni and Hugentobler Foundation, Singapore based Temasek and UAE based Dubai Holdings.

From all accounts, VFS Global has achieved much of this with a growing satisfaction level, amongst the governments that it serves, and equally among the travelling public. This writer has too made his annual or bi-annual visits to get visas – I have always had a guide that would prepare my papers, ensure all documentation is done, which basically avoids the possibility of being turned back for inadequate documentation. But this guide of many years, has stressed repeatedly that his influence is not at test, his office boy hands me our files and leaves us. The rest is an un-escorted entry, in line, and mostly faultless.  

Over the years, we have always admired the success of not only VFS as an idea, but even more so, of Zubin Karkaria, the founder and CEO, who has moved with the organization over the years, growing into what is truly multinational, with prestigious international investors of repute. 

So, will we have only nice things to say about VFS Global? Largely, I should imagine, and why not? One does not have to look around for possible lapses to make it more acceptable. For years, we looked upon Indigo as the best performing airline in the country, and will perhaps even do so, today, in spite of being called out as ‘biased’ focusing upon only one airline.  A large organization such as VFS, I presume, would have all the usual suspects associated with the corporate world. The few disgruntled or less satisfied employees who did not make the cut, those others who could not meet their targets, or worse still, the guys who showed that extra zeal in meeting targets, not willing to be left out. Every business has its own revenue streams, its numerous verticals, where from time to time, one vertical is shining more than the other. Each time and place produces its own heroes, also its villains.

In a business as complex as this, all verticals become critical, and the aspiration to do well and succeed can make the sales guy go for a over kill, in converting sales calls. In such cases, the overzealous, who may have a direct interface with the customer, may not be able to distinguish between making a suggestion or cajoling, these are technical words, one never knows when one is crossing which barrier and entering another; from active selling to cajoling, to coercing, to pushing somebody into accepting. There can always be pressure from the bosses, or what else is corporate culture? What remains important and critical for an organization such as VFS, is to ensure is the healthy overall environment, where tough discipline and checks and balances, call them safeguards, over its verticals remain in force and intact.  Successful organizations are ever demanding 24×7; giving them time to relax produces sloth! 

What next for VFS Global and the business of outsourcing? Visas are not going away anywhere. Overall, what is good for this business is also that newer corporate entities have joined this business. They are equally well -footed and they too have a big future. I think this whole industry has a future, even though there are challenges as well, going forward. As more regulations kick in, there may be more simplifications as well. But having said that, there will always be innovations, as this same technology can be applied in the availability of civil services provided by municipal authorities the world over. The processes are the same, only applied to different set of people for another set of public services. Regardless, this story remains admirable, and worthy of the Made in India story, made in India to go global, in a manner that saved governments millions in providing a basic service like a visa, to enable people to travel across the globe. VFS Global remains the obvious market leader, and must hold its head high while adhering to the highest standards of commitment to whatever is their ‘promise’.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Navin Berry, Editor, CS Conversations, over five decades has edited publications like CityScan, India Debates and Travel Trends Today. He is the founder of SATTE, India’s first inbound tourism mart, biggest in Asia.
Blogs at: https://www.csconversations.in/nb-blogs