For thousands of Nigerians seeking to travel abroad each year, the visa process is an expensive ordeal. This investigation by Lighthouse Reports reveals how VFS Global, the world’s largest visa outsourcing company, now faces allegations of exploiting vulnerable applicants.
A year-long cross-border investigation coordinated by Lighthouse Reports has uncovered how VFS Global, the world’s largest visa outsourcing company, built a profitable business by aggressively selling optional services to visa applicants, many of whom believed they had little choice but to pay.
The investigation found that VFS generated substantial profits from selling add-on services such as SMS notifications, courier delivery, e-visa account creation and access to premium lounges. Applicants in many countries including Nigeria, say they sometimes feel pressured or misled into purchasing services that are not mandatory.
In response, VFS Global denied that its financial success resulted from improper practices. In a statement, the company insisted that any suggestion that “VFS Global’s financial growth has been generated through improper conduct is false.”
As the world’s largest visa outsourcing firm, VFS Global manages visa application centres on behalf of 71 governments, including several European countries.
Yet, the report which involved 14 international media organisations revealed that a current visa officer working for VFS in Nigeria told investigators that frontline workers face intense pressure to convince applicants to purchase additional services because bonuses from those sales can significantly exceed their monthly salaries.
It stated that most Nigerian VFS contractors earn about €126 which is roughly N220,000 at current exchange rates per month, while commissions from selling optional services can amount to almost twice their base salaries.
The incentive structure, investigators found, encourages aggressive sales tactics directed at applicants who often assume VFS staff are speaking on behalf of foreign embassies.
Former employees in several countries allegedly admitted that optional services were sometimes added to customers’ bills without their consent because many applicants simply paid without questioning the charges.
The report argued that the outsourcing model has effectively created a captive market in which applicants have limited alternatives, particularly those from countries with relatively weak passports.
For many Nigerians applying for Schengen, UK, Canadian and other visas processed through VFS centres, the company serves as the mandatory first contact point. Although embassies determine whether visas are approved or not, applicants are generally required to submit their documents through VFS and pay both government visa fees and VFS service charges.
Lighthouse Reports said it traced many travellers across Africa, Asia and the Middle East who felt compelled to purchase additional services after being told they would speed up processing, improve convenience or were necessary to complete their applications.
They claimed after analysing VFS Global’s financial records, they found the company’s profitability had grown dramatically. Consolidated financial statements reviewed during the investigation revealed that the company’s profits increased fourfold between 2017 and 2024 and that revenue from value-added services has become a major driver of the company’s financial growth.
Further analysis, it said from the more than 2,000 visa application receipts obtained through Freedom of Information requests from Swedish embassies across 16 countries in Africa and Asia revealed that value-added services accounted for approximately 30 percent of VFS’s revenue in the sampled applications.
Internal European Union documents obtained through Freedom of Information requests allegedly shows that governments contracting VFS were aware of recurring shortcomings in the company’s operations but rarely imposed significant sanctions.
