VFS Global’s visa application centre at Wafi City Mall in Dubai. The firm has an exclusive partnership with emirates airline offering uae visa processing through Dubai Visa Processing Centres. — KT photo by Mukesh Kamal

The Middle East is a strategically and commercially important region for VFS Global Group, and Dubai headquarters brings the company much closer to its potential business interests, chief executive officer Zubin Karkaria tells Abdul Basit

VFS Global Group, which processes around 15 visa applications per minute globally, has moved its headquarters from Singapore to Dubai as the emirate offers great connecting point between Europe and Asia, according to its chief executive officer Zubin Karkaria.

The world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide provides service for 18 client governments in the UAE.

Globally, the company operates 1,375 Visa Applications Centres (VACs) in 117 countries for 45 client governments. It has processed more than 88.5 million applications since 2001. The company operates 140 centres across 12 countries in the Middle East.

“The Middle East for us has always been an important region — and hence we have often launched new services and innovations first in the Middle East region. It’s a region where customer service level demands are high and hence encourages us to strive continuously towards enhancing service levels,” explained Karkaria, who is also first Asian on the executive board of more than 100 years old Kuoni Group.

He added: “We are driven towards exceeding our client’s expectations from the solutions we provide, the service we deliver and the efficiencies benefitted. VFS Global has always and will continue to invest in technology supporting innovation in the industry.”

Following are the excerpts from the interview:

Since how long have you been operating in the Middle East and how have you evolved over the years?

VFS Global introduced operations in the Middle East in 2004 with the launch of Australia Visa Application Centre (VAC) in the UAE. We expanded our operations in the region in 2005 by launching Australia VACs in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. In the same year we also launched operations for UK visas in the Middle East by setting up a UK visa application centre in Qatar. At a global level we had been serving the UK government since 2003. By 2007 our UK visa operations had expanded to the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia. In 2008, we introduced our service for the governments of India, Singapore, France, Germany and Italy with centres in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Our association with the Middle East actually preceded the launch of visa centre operations in the region, and dates back to 2002 when we signed a contract with Emirates airline to process UAE visa applications for Emirates’ customers under the brand Dubai Visa Processing Centre (DVPC) — initially in India and then across the globe. And in 2008 we introduced these Centres in Iran, Jordan and Lebanon.

In 2013 we won the global contract of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Saudi Arabia, for providing visa application and biometric enrolment services. We commenced service for Saudi Arabia visas in the UAE in 2013 — Dubai and Sharjah in March, and Abu Dhabi in June. Our centres in each of these cities are conveniently situated, spread across an area of over 10,000 sq feet, and between the three centres we have 30 biometric enrolment counters.

Overall we have been able to grow our Middle East operations steadily with the addition of new client governments on a continuous basis. Today we serve 24 client governments in the region. This is offered via 140 application centres located in 12 countries.

With a strong customer service orientation and constant drive to develop and introduce technology-based solutions for our client governments we have enabled the growth in our business across the Middle East.

Furthermore the passion for innovation and strong process orientation has supported the introduction of many new services. VFS Global started biometric enrolment services in 2007 for the Home Office - UK Visas & Immigration in 33 countries. Today, however, our biometric services extend well beyond managing biometric enrolments to developing end-to-end solutions such as multi-mission-model, single tenancy solution, mobile biometrics and authentication systems, and integrating them into the visa application process. We offer biometric services to 21 client governments across 105 countries.

In the Middle East, we have introduced the multi-mission-model solution at our centres across the UAE, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. In all, we offer biometric services to 17 client government in 11 countries in the Middle East.

How significant is the Middle East region for VFS Global and how do you see it growing over the next five years?

The Middle East region enjoys multi-dimensional importance from our perspective, fundamentally due to its growing influence on the global political and economic development, which results in increasing travel to and from the region.

On one hand, Middle East governments offer us immense potential in terms of services we can provide them within the region as well as on a global level. On the other hand, other governments also offer us potential to grow our operations for them in the region. We are confident that our immense experience and strong credibility will stand us in good stead over the years to come.

We have also been privileged with an exclusive partnership with Emirates airline offering UAE visa processing through our Dubai Visa Processing Centres. VFS Global currently operates 33 Dubai visa processing centres across 16 countries globally. With the support and vision of Emirates, we have been able to introduce sophisticated B2B and B2C services to support the unrelenting growth of traffic to the UAE. The online B2C service works exclusively via the Emirates website and in the UAE this service extends the opportunity to residents of the UAE to invite their visiting family by facilitating an e-visa.

What is the volume of business that VFS Global currently handles and what is your expansion strategy?

VFS Global operates 1,375 visa application centres across 117 countries worldwide for 45 client governments. We have approximately 50 per cent share of the outsourced visa services business. Our total counts since inception exceeds 88 million applications, with an annual count for 2013 of 18 million applications. Simultaneously, we have completed biometric enrolments for more than 19 million applicants since introducing the solution in 2007. Our objective remains to continuously enhance the visa application experience for our customers and visa applicants through innovative technology-driven solutions. So in general technology is a key focus area for us.

One of our key strategic priorities is to continue to develop our identity management solutions business. Over the past few years we have developed strong core competence in setting up and managing biometric projects and in developing and integrating end-to-end biometric solutions and we will now continue to build on this development. We believe that identity management is going to play an increasing role in various processes across industries. Finally, it is our people who will drive the company forward, and we will continue to invest in their development.

What kind of investment are you looking at?

We will continue to invest in adequate human and financial resources to enable us fulfill our strategy and achieve our objective. Investment will be driven by technology and infrastructure requirements.

You have recently moved the VFS Global Head Office from Singapore to Dubai. What necessitated that and how would it help your business in the region?

Dubai is a leading metropolis which also serves as a great connecting point between Europe and Asia. This city, and the UAE in general, has a wealth of assets and conditions that make it a world-class business centre and leisure destination with political and economic stability and high end infrastructure. Middle East is also a strategically and commercially important region for VFS Global, and being based out of Dubai brings us much closer to our potential business interests.

What are the major challenges facing your company?

As with most other businesses, change is the only constant. Since inception, in 2001, we have maintained our position as the market and innovation leader in this industry and that is because of our commitment and belief in our people, quality, innovation and technology.

Over the years, we have developed strategic partnerships with leading IT companies. These partnerships have enabled and facilitated innovation providing solutions to meet the changing environment of the business. Given the sensitive and critical nature of our IT-enabled business operation, VFS Global has grown into a technology-driven company.

As a global company, we support a diverse culture with a multicultural representation of over 100 nationalities working for VFS Global. This enables us to work effectively and offer services with local language ability and sensitivities.

Unique strengths VFS Global is renowned for being the pioneers, the innovators and the leaders in the provision of visa services and front office services for governments. Over the past 13 years the company has developed a highly successful business model which features unique strengths and key differentiators over its competitors. The firm’s global reach of over 1,300 application centres in 117 countries provides it with the capability to roll-out new projects in any part of the world within the shortest of timeframes. The extensive experience that it has gained in working as a commercial partner to a wide range of governments around the world has provided it with a unique understanding of the ever-changing nature of the business and an ability to adapt to clients’ specific and wide-ranging needs. The company’s outstanding track record of delivery reflects a collaborative approach and commitment to investing in resources and supporting clients in their business delivery. Security is an absolute priority. The firm’s uncompromising approach towards security is central to its operations and is applied consistently across operations. VFS Global is committed to an ongoing rigorous programme of improvement to its processes, systems and infrastructure. The firm’s proven reliability in service delivery across an extensive worldwide network means that its clients and their customers can count on it to provide an efficient, effective and consistent service across the globe.

Profile: Zubin Karkaria In 2001, Zubin Karkaria conceptualised and set up VFS Global — one of the most outstanding examples of innovation across the Kuoni Group, and led VFS Global to become a global leader in its space within four to five years of its inception. He is also the executive vice president of the Switzerland-headquartered Kuoni Travel Holding Ltd, and a member of the group executive board of the company. Joining the Kuoni in 1991, Karkaria handled several managerial roles before he was appointed as COO of Kuoni India’s Tour Operating division in 1999, and then as the chief executive officer and managing director of Kuoni India and South Asia in 2005 — managing the outbound and domestic tours division, the business travel division, and the inbound travel division, and simultaneously growing the VFS Global business. Karkaria has served on the boards and committees of several industry bodies including as external director on the board of India Tourism Development Corporation. He has also won several accolades recognising his business leadership and entrepreneurial skills, including being listed by India’s Business Today as one of the ‘Top 25 Young Executives in India’. Karkaria is a commerce graduate from Mumbai University and a Business Management diploma holder from Poddar College, Mumbai.

abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com