VFS Global office. / VFS Global.

Zubin Karkaria, founder and CEO of VFS Global, highlighted the firm's 'Made in India' success story and outlined expansion plans in the US.

Founded in Mumbai, the Dubai-based firm manages visa and passport issuance-related administrative and non-discretionary tasks for its various governments across the globe.

In an interview with New India Abroad, Karkaria emphasized the importance of maintaining strong ties with governments and catering to evolving customer needs in the travel industry.

Excerpts from the interview below.

India is more prominent on the world stage today – your view on the India story in 2024 and beyond?

Besides the fact that VFS Global was conceptualized and launched in India in 2001, it is today one of our largest and most important markets. I have always believed in the immense potential of the country and in the past few years we have seen this potential materializing.

I am also very optimistic about our country’s future and am deeply committed to our Honorable Prime Minister, Modi's Viksit Bharat vision. The country is undergoing a rapid economic and social transformation, which creates new opportunities for business, trade, tourism and culture.

We are very optimistic about the prospects of India as a global destination and a source of outbound travelers. India has a vibrant and diverse economy, a large and young population, and a rich cultural heritage. These factors make India attractive for both investors and visitors.

Tell us about the business opportunities in the travel sector in India (in terms of investments, MICE tourism, business and pilgrim travel).

Foreign Direct Investments has been one of the main drivers of business and travel opportunities in India. India ranked among the top 10 recipients of FDI in 2019, attracting $51 billion in inflows, a 20 percent increase from the previous year according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Report 2020.

Secondly, the government has also introduced several reforms to improve the ease of doing business and attract more investors, such as the Make in India, Digital India, and Startup India programs which created a conducive environment for entrepreneurship, innovation, and job creation as well as enhanced the competitiveness and productivity of the Indian economy.

Meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) is another strong growth driver for the travel sector in India. According to a Ministry of Tourism report, India hosted around 1.3 million MICE tourists in 2018, accounting for 5.7 percent of the total foreign tourist arrivals. This segment is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12 percent in the next five years.

Similarly, India being melting pot of many faiths, pilgrim tourism is picking up in India. The rising diasporic population that wants to stay connected to their roots.

India is a key market for VFS Global, as it offers immense opportunities for business and travel in the next few years. It is also home to nearly one-third of our global workforce. Out of our total global staff strength of over 11,000, more than 3,600 employees are working in India.

Can you take us through VFS Global’s ‘Made in India’ story?

VFS Global is a truly Indian success story that has gone global. I conceptualized and launched VFS Global in India, one of the earliest “Made in India” unicorns to become a global leader in its field.

From serving one foreign government in India in 2001, VFS Global has grown its operations to serving 67 governments with a global network of more than 3500 VACs across 149 countries.

In India, we serve more than 50 sovereign governments with 570 centers across 19 cities. The organization has also been instrumental in the economic development and the growth of inbound tourism to India. As the first outsourced visa services partner of the Ministry of External Affairs (India) in 2008, the company currently manages passport and visa services for India in 13 countries and has handled around 20 million applications from the Indian diaspora. 

We are also operating the Pravasi Bhartiya Sahayata Kendra, a 24/7 information dissemination and grievance redressal centers in Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai, Patna and Kochi started by the MEA for expatriate workers since 2014.
 

Zubin Karkaria conceptualized and founded VFS Global in 2001. /

What is VFS Global doing to enhance cross border mobility?

When we conceptualized VFS Global two decades ago, our primary objective was aiding secure cross-border mobility of bonafide travelers and helping governments focus on the critical task of visa decision-making. Since our inception in 2001, the company has efficiently processed more than 278 million visa applications and over 130 million biometric enrolments since 2007.

We manage the front-end administrative part of the visa application process – starting from accepting the visa application to returning the passport to the visa applicant post the decision-making process by the Embassy or Consulate.

For visa applicants, the big changes have been the exponential increase in visa submission points – often from just two or three locations in a country to 10-20. Submission times that were highly restricted (e.g. 2-3 hours daily at an Embassy) have now increased substantially to 6-8 hours daily.

VFS Global also offers many optional value-added services curated based on specific demands from applicants for greater personalization and convenience such as document scanning, photocopying, locker service, courier charges, form-filling, SMS service, Premium Lounge, Visa at Your Doorstep (VAYD) that enables an applicant to submit and visa application (including biometric enrolments where applicable) from the comfort of their homes or offices.

What are VFS Global’s expansion plans in the US?

Established in 2008, we have robust operations in the United States catering to 25 client governments through a network of 113 VACs with fixed presence in 10 cities. Among the Five Eyes Alliance members we serve the governments of UK, Canada and New Zealand in the US.

Our established network and unique value proposition continuous to inspire conversations with many prospective client governments realizing the benefits of outsourcing. Given the steady growth in the diasporic population of natives particularly from the Caribbean and LATAM in the US, governments have witnessed continuous surge in demand for passport renewals. 

Maintaining firm ties with the home country is instrumental in keeping travel and tourism routes rich and fertile. It also brings remittances home and contributes to the GDP growth. Thus, prompt passport and consular services have resulted in various business dialogues.

In addition, our US operations offer personalized optional services such as Visa at Your Doorstep applications, which are gaining immense popularity. The highest demand for this service has been to the UK, Austria, and France. 

The service has been a key differentiator at university campuses with on-site assistance provided by the VFS Global team. It not just saves students’ time and money but enables them to stay focused on their studies with the ultimate convenience of applying for visas without ever having to leave the campus. 

We conducted more than 70 camps since 2021 that resulted in collecting more than 8,000 VAYD applications. These camps are held in close coordination with embassies in the locations where diaspora is present including university campuses.

Our expansion plans are aligned to the expectations of our clients and customers. We have seamlessly scaled up operations in record timelines across geographies and remain confident to replicate it in the US.

WTTC President and CEO with VFS Global CEO, Zubin Karkaria in Dubai. /

What is the global travel forecast for 2024 when seen from VFS Global’s lens?

We have witnessed an early travel rebound from the pandemic and the momentum is expected to remain strong in 2024. Expectations for personalized support services are growing rapidly. 

The massive spike in premium services such as Visa at Your Doorstep is a case in point. I have also noticed greater emphasis on sustainability and social responsibility, as travelers become more aware and conscious of the environmental and social impact of their travel choices.

What is the relevance of technology in the travel documentation space with focus on ease and convenience?

Technology has been changing the travel and tourism industry for several years and has been a key growth driver for us at VFS Global. Over the last 10+ years VFS Global has been partnering with and supporting its client governments by building more than 16 unique digital products and solutions that make the visa application and processing secure, seamless and efficient. 

For instance, services such as Digital Document Check (DDC) and Digital Application Submission (DAS) significantly reduce the time a customer needs to spend at a VAC. Similarly, we have built robust end-to-end eVisa platforms for 12 sovereign governments.

How does VFS Global manage sensitive applicant data and personal information and ensure it is secure?

Data protection and information security are business critical functions at VFS Global. In line with the service level agreements with our client governments, applicant data is automatically purged from our systems as soon as the application data is transferred to our client governments as per our data purging policy.

As a trusted partner to 67 governments with an extensive global network across 149 countries and a responsible corporate citizen, we comply with various data localization, privacy, and protection laws, including General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). 

We fully adhere to the highest international standards such as ISO/IEC 26801:2013, UK Cyber Essentials, Spain National Cybersecurity framework, Germany IT Grundschutz, etc.

Tell us about the company's future and growth strategy?

We are confident to witness renewed growth impetus at VFS Global. We believe that the worst of the pandemic is behind us, and that the general recovery trend will only strengthen, albeit with some volatility. We have a clear growth strategy.

The focus will be on further strengthening our position in our core business of responsible outsourced visa services, while simultaneously focusing on diversification opportunities in high growth potential businesses such as outsourced Passport services and eVisa services. We also see more governments integrating biometric enrollment in their visa application process to further increase the security of the process and we are ready to support them with multiple biometric solutions such as Multi-Mission Model (MMM) biometric kits to meet their requirements.

Our market leadership in visa outsourcing is fueled by our technology-driven approach. We've partnered with the Responsible AI Institute, focusing on foundational governance for ethical AI applications across diverse contexts. We will work in line with governments’ expectations to embrace the Responsible AI journey.

Since coming under Blackstone ownership, we have accelerated our M&A focus and have deployed over $150m towards several strategic acquisitions including in China, Bangladesh, and Algeria. With the support of Blackstone, we continue to evaluate other M&A opportunities. With our underlying goal being to make cross-border mobility more seamless, we aspire to create deep brand affection amongst our customers, colleagues, investors, and communities, whilst developing our business and enhancing shareholder value in a sustainable and secure manner.