VFS India

Infobox Company
company_name = VFS Global Pvt. Ltd.
foundation = July, 2001
company_type = Private company
company_slogan = Trusted Partner to Diplomatic Missions Worldwide
location = Mumbai, India
homepage = [http://www.vfsglobal.com/ www.vfsglobal.com]

VFS Global, formerly known as VFS India is the visa facilitation arm of the Kuoni Travel Group established in July 2001. This organization initially started as a courier intermediary between visa applicants and the Embassy of the United States, Chennai, India when the embassy was not able to handle the crowds outside the embassy. This service now grown internationally and has a near monopoly in many countries like India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Russia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Ukraine, South Africa for people applying for travel permission to countries like USA, UK, and Australia and providing visas for the B1/B2, L1/L2, H1/H2/H3 and other categories (explanation below) is their main occupation. They are the communication point between the embassy and the traveling citizens. VFS India has various branches all over India.

Today, VFS Global is a niche player in the visa outsourcing spectrum. As a specialist business process outsource agency, VFS Global focuses on serving visa sections of diplomatic missions by providing administrative support and managing non-judgmental tasks related to the entire lifecycle of a visa application process, thereby enabling the missions to focus on the key tasks of assessment and decision making.

According to their website, VFS Global serves 26 diplomatic missions in 42 countries worldwide, handling over seven million applications every year.

Controversy

VFS Global ran into trouble in May 2007, when it was reported [ [http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/business_money/online+visa+security+flaw/517157 Online visa security flaw] Channel 4 News] that the company's online UK visa application system was flawed and insecure allowing applicants identities to be stolen. It was also reported that the security flaw had affected online applications from India, Nigeria and Russia. The VFS site was immediately shut down after the technical problem was brought to the attention of the UK media [ [http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry1466.html Exposed: Indian visa application data accessible to anyone with a web browser] Davey Winder, Daniweb] and an independent government investigation was launched [ [http://www.gnn.gov.uk/content/detail.asp?NewsAreaID=2&ReleaseID=285359 Statement by Lord Triesman on the reported security breach of the vfs visa application website] Government News Network] by the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO).

The security breach which was first reported by an Indian applicant [ [http://sanjibmitra.blogspot.com/2007/05/identity-leakage.html Identity Leakage: Trust VFS to reveal all] Sanjib Mitra, Open Circuit] in December 2005 after which no effective remedial action was taken by either VFS nor UKvisas, the joint Home Office and Foreign & Commonwealth Office unit which runs the UK's visa service through British diplomatic Posts overseas. The same applicant went public in May 2007 after he noticed that his earlier warnings were ignored. It is estimated that this security breach has resulted in approximately 50000 applicant's identities having been possibly compromised until its subsequent closure in May 2007 following the media outcry.

The report [ [http://www.fco.gov.uk/Files/kfile/IndependentInvestigation26July2007.pdf Report of the Independent Investigation] Foreign & Commonwealth Office] [ [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/11/uk_visa_site_investigation/ Investigator ridicules UK visa site] The Register] [ [http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9030018 U.K. government slammed over bug in outsourced Web site] ComputerWorld] of the investigation by the Independent Investigator, Linda Costelloe Baker highlighted "organisational failures" by both VFS and UKvisas.

The report also recommended that the VFS online visa applications not be resumed for applications from India. This will be replaced by the secure online applications made available directly at the UKvisas website.

In November 2007, the UK Information Commissioner's Office announced that it had found the Foreign Office in breach of its obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998. The Information Commissioner's Office required the Foreign Office to sign an undertaking [ [http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/pressreleases/2007/fco_undertaking_131107.pdf Foreign Office in breach of the Data Protection Act] Information Commissioner's Office] that it will comply with the Data Protection Act and will not reopen the VFS UK visa online facility. It has been reported [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/nov/14/data.protection.breach Government broke data protection laws] Guardian Unlimited] that as a result of this ruling, the Foreign Office will terminate its relationship with VFS. There has been no formal comment from VFS regarding this matter.

Notes & References

External links

* [http://www.vfsglobal.com VFS Global]
* [http://www.vfs-usa.co.in VFS USA]
* [http://www.vfs-uk.co.in VFS UK]
* [http://www.vfs-au.co.za. VFS Australia]