VFS Global has found itself to be the subject of unwelcome scrutiny after recent investigations raised questions about how the visa processing giant is handling applicant data while pushing customers towards expensive add-on services.
A year-long investigation by Lighthouse Reports found that many visa applicants were encouraged to purchase value-added services such as premium lounge access, courier delivery, and SMS notifications — not realising that these are optional add-ons. Some customers were reportedly left with the impression that these services could speed up visa processing or improve their chances of approval, despite no such guarantees.
In many cases, the additional charges significantly increased the overall cost of obtaining a visa, accounting for as much as a third of the total expense.
Amid this backdrop of scrutiny, several Indians are now revealing their own VFS horror stories on social media.
“Dark patterns”
Every year, more than a million Indians apply for a Schengen visa. In their journey to Europe, VFS Global is often the first step.
The Dubai and Zurich-headquartered company manages visa applications for dozens of governments and operates thousands of visa centres across the world. It handles a large portion of travel applications for Europe.
{{/usCountry}}The Dubai and Zurich-headquartered company manages visa applications for dozens of governments and operates thousands of visa centres across the world. It handles a large portion of travel applications for Europe.
{{/usCountry}}Now, several Indian travellers are speaking up about their unpleasant experiences with VFS, alleging pressure to buy expensive but unnecessary services, high handedness by staff, arbitrary and illogical rules among other things.
San Francisco-based Indian-origin founder Apoorva Govind recalled how VFS Global would not allow applicants to carry backpacks inside, then charge them a prohibitive fee for ‘handling’ their bags.
“I hope they burn this f***** company to the ground. They have the worst dark patterns ever. They won’t let people bring in backpacks (remember, we have to carry 100s of pages of documents) & then turn around and charge $20 to “hold on” to your bag. What a scam,” she wrote on X.
She also recalled how she was made to retake her pictures and forced to pay extra.
“I remember I was there to renew my Indian passport and they made an excuse for why the photograph doesn’t work and forced me to take a new set of pictures with yet another “optional” but not really optional charge to have my picture taken,” she recalled.
“Visa trauma”
Amsterdam-based Indian professional Pratim Bhosale had her own horror story about VFS.
“90% of the visa trauma I had was because of VFS Global,” she wrote on X.
Bhosale said that Bhosale would always push her and other applicants to pay a premium fees for “consultation” on how to apply to a visa, refusing to check documents unless the fee was paid.
“They would treat everyone so badly when all people did was stand in a queue waiting for their turn to apply for a visa. I really hope no one has to ever go through VFS’s dark patterns,” she said.
“I second this. Just moved to the Netherlands and the NL embassy at Bengaluru was a breeze and very polite in their processes. Compared to VFS for my other visa applications, VFS is running a scam center,” a user added in the comments section.
Pushed to buy premium services
Several X users confirmed that they were coerced into buying premium services.
Aarthi Iyengar claimed that when she reached a visa appointment exactly on time, she was not allowed inside and then asked to pay an additional ₹5,000 for the appointment to be rebooked.
“I shouldn't have to miss my appointment entirely and then pay 5k (or how much ever that is) for "premium services" just because I reach the venue at 12.10 on the dot for a 12.10 appointment!” she wrote, calling VFS the biggest “scam”.
VFS Global reacts
VFS Global dismissed the Lighthouse allegations in a statement, caliming that applicants are always informed about the “optional nature” of add-on services.
"VFS Global is a trusted partner to governments worldwide. Given the nature of our work in visa administrative services, we operate under rigorous oversight across all markets, including for governments with some of the most stringent integrity and security requirements. For a quarter of a century, we have supported client governments in delivering secure and efficient visa services at scale, and our work is subject to regular competitive tender. We do not tolerate fraud, data misuse, or any conduct that falls below the high standards our clients and their applicants expect of us.
“Our optional value-added services are developed in consultation with, and approved and monitored by, our client governments. Whether applicants choose to use these services or not, they have no bearing on visa application decisions, which are solely a matter for governments. We are committed to ensuring that the optional nature of these services is clearly and consistently communicated at every touchpoint,” a VFS Global spokesperson said in a statement.