VFS Global has secured a global tender from the Swedish Ministry of Justice to provide visa services in 37 countries around the world.

Under this new agreement, VFS Global will retain its role as the representative of the Government of Sweden in eight regions worldwide, including South Asia, the Americas, Southeast Asia, China, the Middle East and North Africa, Africa, Europe, and Russia, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

As Business Traveller reports, Sweden visa applications in India are processed through eight VFS Global Visa Application Centers (VAC) located in major cities, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Pune.

Since 2019, VFS Global has processed approximately 500,000 visa applications for the Government of Sweden.

“We are looking forward to a continued, smooth, and professional Schengen visa cooperation with VFS Global for many years to come,” the Ministry of Justice pointed out.

The Ministry also emphasised that they are collaborating with VFS Global on various initiatives, including quality promotion measures, regionalisation, and technical development.

According to the same authority, coordination and cooperation with VFS Global continue to be successful, with a joint commitment to improve the visa application process further.

VFS Global has been in partnership with the Government of Sweden since 2014. Under the terms of the new contract, VFS Global will administer Schengen visa services for short-term C visas, which will include biometric registration, in a total of 37 countries.

These countries include Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, USA, Vietnam, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

As for Bangladesh, applicants can submit a visa application to Sweden at the VFS Global visa application centre in Dhaka from Sunday to Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Head of Business Development at VFS Global, Chris Dix, expressed his pleasure that VFS remains the exclusive service provider for the Government of Sweden.

He also mentioned the strong partnership that VFS Global has maintained with the Swedish Migration Agency and the Ministry of Justice for almost a decade. In addition, Chris added that VFS Global is committed to providing Swedish visa applicants with excellent visa solutions and ensuring a smooth application process in eight regions worldwide.