02

Integrated Report
2021 at a glance...
The VFS Global Integrated Report 2021
documents the organisation's annual business,social, environmental and governanceperformance.
It also demonstrates VFS Global's vision ofsustainable growth with measurable actions
and future commitments.

Reporting Scope and Parameters

Feedback

The VFS Global Integrated Report 2021 emphasises our
objective of incorporating sustainability into the heart ofour operations while also taking into account basic
reporting criteria such as accuracy, completeness, andbalance. The purpose of this report is to give our
stakeholders an overview of our performance, structured
around our sustainability framework and the mostimportant material aspects. In order to frame the content
of this report, these subjects were established through athorough materiality assessment.

We always value feedback and strive to improve ourreporting. Hence, we welcome your comments andsuggestions on this report as well as our performance.
Please feel free to contact us through any of thefollowing channels:

This report has been prepared for VFS Global andtherefore gives greater emphasis to matters, which are
relevant to VFS Global AG (the “Company”) and its
subsidiaries (collectively “VFS Global” or “VFS” or “theGroup”) related to VFS business. It has been prepared
to provide information to its stakeholders. Where thereport contains forward-looking statements,
management makes these in good faith based on
information available to them at the date of approval of
the report.
Unless stated otherwise, information covers the ﬁnancial
year starting 1 January to 31 December 2021 of VFS
Global. All statistics are as on 31 December, 2021.
This report was created in line with the Global Reporting
Initiative (GRI) Standards: Core option as part of ourcommitment to transparency and international bestreporting standards. Appendix contains our GRI
Standards Content Index.

Emailcommunications@vfsglobal.com

LinkedInVFS Global

YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/c/VFSGlobalOfﬁcial

Instagram@vfsglobalofﬁcial

Facebook@vfsglobalofﬁcial

Twitter@vfsglobal

VFS GLOBAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

Introduction

Sustainability

Economic growth

Colleagues

Environment

Contents
01. Introduction
CEO Address

05

1.2

Corporate proﬁle

07

1.3

Purpose-Vision-Mission

08

1.4

Executive Management Proﬁles

10

1.5

Organisational Structure

14

1.6

Financial Highlights

15

1.7

Business Milestones

16

1.8

ESG Highlights

17

1.9

International Standards

18

2.2

VFS Global Sustainability Strategy Framework

2.3

Engaging with our Stakeholders

2.4

Materiality Assessment Analysis

2.5

Contributing to the Sustainable Development Agenda

03. Contributing to Sustainable Economic Growth

Financials

21
22
24
28
32

3.1

Customer Relations

35

3.2

Data Protection and Information Security

40

3.3

Business Continuity and Resilience

42

3.4

Approach towards Tax Matters

43

Appendix03

4.1

Corporate Culture and Ethics

45

4.2

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

47

4.3

Talent Attraction and Retention

50

4.4

Training and Development

52

4.5

Employee Health and Wellbeing

54

05. Protecting our environment
5.1

Reducing our Carbon Footprint

57

5.2

Waste Management and Recycling

59

5.3

Green Procurement

59

5.4

Water Management59

06. Supporting Our Communities

02. Sustainability

Sustainability in VFS Global

Governance

04. Nurturing our colleagues

1.1

2.1

Communities

6.1

Supporting our Communities

61

6.2

Employee Volunteerism & Giving

64

6.3

Supplier Relations

67

07. Delivering Good Governance
7.1

Governance Framework

7.2

Compliance

08. Financial Review

69
74
78

09. Appendix
9.1

Worldwide Network

9.2

GRI Index

85
90

VFS GLOBAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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Environment

Communities

Governance

Financials

Appendix

04

01.

Introduction

VFS GLOBAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

Introduction

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Environment

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Appendix05

1.1

Message from
Founder and CEO
The last two years have been extremely challenging foreveryone globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic withthe tragic loss of so many lives and livelihoods. However,I am pleased to say that we believe the worst is behind
us and a recovery process which started in the latter halfof 2021 will continue to strengthen over the next coupleof years. It is important for us – individuals andorganisations – to now look forward and contribute to therecovery process and the overall development of the
global community.
We are, of course deeply saddened by the ongoing
Ukraine-Russia conﬂict and hope and pray that peace
returns to the region very soon, so that people can startrebuilding their lives.

Zubin Karkaria

Founder and Chief Executive Ofﬁcer
VFS Global GroupVFS Global’s ﬁrst Integrated Report bears testimony tothe importance we give to Sustainability and tointegrating our ESG goals within our business strategy.
In 2021, we passed a signiﬁcant milestone in our journeyof business excellence – we ﬁnished twenty successful
years since our inception, pioneering the outsourced visa
services industry. Over the years, we have developed
from a start-up in India to a global leader, continuously
setting new benchmarks for the industry and pioneering
new solutions and gaining the trust of 63 governments
who we currently serve across 143 countries. Though the
pandemic presented many challenges, we are pleased
with the way we overcame these and emerged evenstronger as a company.

We continued the well calibrated process of restarting
our Visa Application Centre (VAC) operations in 2021
(after temporarily closing down 92% of our VAC network
as a safety measure in mid-2020) and by end of 2021
63% of our VACs were open again. The primary focus in
our restart process has been, and continues to be, on
ensuring the health and safety of our people and ourcustomers, and also adopting a very agile approach inview of the very volatile situation. Furthermore, we used
the opportunity to upskill our global team ofprofessionals, and develop innovative new products andservices geared towards changes in the consumer
mind-set.
In 2021, we also signiﬁcantly increased our focus on
Sustainability – a journey we initiated many years back.
We appointed a dedicated Head of ESG and have arobust and comprehensive Sustainability strategy built on
ﬁve fundamental pillars. The strategy is backed up by
well-deﬁned KPIs and targets which are linked with theperformance goals of all top management members andcascaded down throughout the organisation. We havealways believed our people are our most important asset
and we have consistently invested in developing
individuals to achieve their full potential and indeveloping an overall “fellowship of winners”. Hence,“Nurturing our People” is one of the most importantpillars of our Sustainability strategy. People development
and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – not just within our own
organisation, but across all our suppliers and partners –will remain key focus areas for us.
VFS GLOBAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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Governance

Our Code of Conduct protects the dignity of all ourcolleagues, regardless of various diversity categories(gender, religion, race, nationality, special abilities, sexual
orientation, etc.). We remain deeply committed toAnti-Modern Slavery and prevention of human trafﬁcking
across our organisation and across all our suppliers andpartners. As a responsible global leader, we also realize
our duty to minimize our carbon emissions through ouroperations over the coming years, a journey we haveinitiated through multiple initiatives, including acquiring
renewable energy, planting trees and other offsetting
mechanisms.
Over the past two years we have transformed ourbusiness and our organisation to make it even more
resilient, efﬁcient, and productive, strengthening inparallel our leadership team, to ensure we can keep
adding value for all our stakeholders over the years tocome. Business volumes started recovering since thethird quarter of 2021, and though we foresee market
conditions to remain volatile, we expect a general trendof strengthening business recovery over the next coupleof years.

Financials

Appendix

06

We are also greatly encouraged that in October 2021,
Blackstone, one of the world’s largest alternative asset
managers, agreed to acquire a majority stake in VFS
Global – a transaction which was completed in May
2022. With Blackstone committed to supporting thefurther development of our company, and with arefreshed strategic vision developed in 2021, we aim toplay an even bigger role in enhancing global mobility ofpeople in the future in a seamless and secure manner.
The existing shareholders, Switzerland-based Kuoni and
Hugentobler Foundation and Sweden-headquartered
EQT AB, will remain minority shareholders of VFS Global,
along with our management team.

We still see good growth potential in our core business ofvisa services, and also expect strong growth in our
passport services business. Over the next few years, wewill continue growing these businesses, while
simultaneously maintaining our focus on compliance,
information security and data protection, customer
service, developing innovative products and services
and sustainable business practices. As a responsible
global leader, VFS Global remains deeply committed toenhancing our value proposition for all our stakeholders
through continuous investment in human capitaldevelopment and technology.
VFS GLOBAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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1.2

Company ProﬁleWho are we?
VFS Global (the “Company”) is the world’s
leading outsourcing and technology services
specialist for governments and diplomatic
missions worldwide.
The Company manages non-judgmental andadministrative tasks related to applications forvisa, passport, and consular services for its
client governments, enabling them to focus
entirely on the critical task of assessment.
More than two decades ago, a visionary idea tooutsource visa application processing services
revolutionised global travel. During this journey, VFSGlobal has built an unparalleled network of 3,516
Application Centres and operations in 143 countries
across ﬁve continents for 63 client governments. The
company has successfully processed over 236 million
applications since its inception in 2001 and over 104
million biometric enrolments since 2007. An integral partof this plug-and-play infrastructure is the VFS Global
Information Services that supports operations globally via
61 contact centres, providing relevant information in 57
languages and 1,662 websites.

Colleagues

Environment

Communities

Governance

VFS Global has also developed an innovative and highly
secure eVisa solution, which enables customers to apply
for their visa online through a user-friendly interface.
Leveraging on the robust experience in the visa
application processing domain, the company provides
governments with holistic administrative solutions forprocessing passport applications and providing efﬁcientconsular services. In 2021, we facilitated 1.05 million
applications for passport and consular services.
VFS Global ofﬁces and operations across the world are
certiﬁed by several industry best practices for diverse
functions such as Quality Management System,
Information Security Management System, Environmental
Management System, Engineering and Management of
Websites for Systems, Software and Services
Information, Customer Satisfaction, and Workforce
Management.
VFS Global is majority-owned by the global investment
organisation EQT. The Swiss-based Kuoni and
Hugentobler Foundation holds a minority stake in VFS
Global. EQT is a global investment organisation withofﬁces in Europe, North America, and Asia-Paciﬁc andwith a 27-year track record of consistent investment
performance across multiple geographies, sectors, andstrategies. EQT AB Group is listed on the Nasdaq
Stockholm stock exchange. EQT manages and advises a
range of specialised investment funds and otherinvestment vehicles that invest across the world with themission to generate attractive returns and future-proof
companies.

Financials

Appendix07

On 6 October 2021, EQT signed a deﬁnitive agreement
to sell a majority stake in VFS Global (the “Company”) to
private equity funds managed by Blackstone, world's
largest alternative asset manager (”Blackstone”). EQTPrivate Equity will retain a minority position in the
Company alongside Blackstone and the Kuoni and
Hugentobler Foundation following the closing of thetransaction which was completed in May 2022.

20

63

143

3,516

236+

104+

Years since
Inception

Countries ofOperation

MillionApplications

ClientGovernments

Application
CentresMillion
Biometric
Enrolments

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Appendix08

1.3

Purpose, Vision and Mission
Charting a new journeyCompleting twenty years of operations was agreat milestone to introspect and reimagine
the larger purpose VFS Global was created toserve. Our journey so far has been driven by
the vision to create new opportunities andfortifying them with unmatched service
excellence.
We attribute this legacy of global leadership in visa,
passports and consular services to the certitude andcooperation of our client governments and customers. It
also demonstrates the remarkable dedication andcommitment of our global workforce.
At the cusp of entering a new phase of growth, the VFS
Global leadership revisited the company’s vision, mission
and purpose. Twenty years ago, we started as partners
to our client governments. Today as a key enabler in thetravel eco-system, we aim to empower them throughinnovations that make people’s cross-border mobility
more seamless, and with an aspiration to create deepbrand affection amongst our customers, colleagues,
investors and communities.
VFS Global’s new Purpose, Vision and Mission
statements to our stakeholders is a new journey ofoffering technology-led sustainable value creations forthe world.

Purpose

VisionEmpowering governments toenhance people’s cross-bordermobility.

To lead and set the standard in thevisa and consular services industry,
through innovation, technology andcustomer service excellence.

MissionWe make people’s cross border mobility simple and convenient through highly secure,reliable, efﬁcient, and innovative technology solutions.
For our Client Governments:

By being the partner of choice, through trust, technique and technology.

For our Customers:

By providing exceptional customer service, ensuring convenient and seamless experiences.

For our Colleagues:

By creating meaningful work opportunities and building successful careers, in a diverse and inclusive
workplace.

For our Investors:

By delivering stakeholder value and embracing best-in-class corporate governance and ethics.

For our Communities:

By developing partnerships that drive positive economic, environmental, and social impact.
VFS GLOBAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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VFS Global Values
Our core values of Integrity, Commitment, and Entrepreneurship sit at the heart of the way we work. They articulate ourcentral beliefs, which we apply in our daily work, and form the foundation of all our people and business practices.

Financials

Appendix

09

Integrity
We act with integrity and honesty at all times.
Our people are encouraged to speak up
about risks or concerns through widely
established internal channels.
We lead by example by being genuine
and reliable.

Commitment
We stay true to our word and strive todeliver on what we promise.
Our people believe in our vision and follow
through no matter the circumstances.
We recognise and reward long-term
success through robust Rewards &Recognition.

Entrepreneurship
We embrace entrepreneurial spirit bycontinually turning innovative ideas intobusiness.
We encourage our people to seize
opportunity and shape its success.
We strongly encourage our leaders tonurture innovation, conﬁdence andempower our people for success.
VFS GLOBAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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Appendix10

1.4

Executive Management Proﬁles
VFS Global Executive Board, as on 01 April 2022

Zubin Karkaria

Founder andChief Executive Ofﬁcer

In 2001, Zubin Jal Karkaria conceptualised and set up VFS Global – asan outstanding example of disruptive innovation – and led the company
to become a global leader in its space within 4-5 years of its inception.
He was also the CEO of the Switzerland-headquartered Kuoni Group (ofwhich VFS Global was a part) globally from 2015 until 2017 when theGroup was split-up into stand-alone businesses following its
privatisation. VFS Global, headquartered in Dubai, UAE, and as of 18
May 2022, is a portfolio company of Blackstone, the world’s largest
alternative asset manager and listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Joining Kuoni in 1991, Zubin handled several leadership roles before he
was appointed as the CEO and Managing Director of Kuoni India andSouth 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. He was made amember of the Kuoni Group Executive Board in 2013, and in 2015 hebecame the ﬁrst Asian to be appointed as the CEO of Kuoni Group atthat time parent company of VFS Global.

In December 2016, Zubin was appointed ‘Chevalier de l’Ordre Nationaldu Mérite’ (Knight of the National Order of Merit) by the President of theFrench Republic, François Hollande. This exclusive distinction
recognised Zubin’s exemplary contributions of over the past three
decades in supporting the development of travel and tourism to France.
He has won several other accolades recognising his leadership andentrepreneurial achievements, including being recognised as the“Pioneer of the Global Visa Services Industry” and being listed as one of
the “Top 25 Young Executives in India” by Business Today. He has also
served on the boards and committees of several industry bodies
including as External Director on the board of ITDC (India Tourism
Development Corporation).

VFS GLOBAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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Jiten Vyas

Colleagues

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Appendix

11

Regional Group
Chief Operating Ofﬁcer

Head of Business Development

Chris Dix

Bapsy Dastur

Jiten Vyas is the Regional Group Chief Operating
Ofﬁcer at VFS Global. In this role, he is responsible fordriving strategy, new business development andmanaging client relationships.

Chris Dix is the Head of Business Development for VFS
Global and is responsible for identifying new business
opportunities, with a clear focus on developing newmarkets and strengthening client relationships. Chris
joined VFS Global in August 2011 as Regional Head forEurope and the Americas, following which he wasappointed COO for Europe and Americas in January
2012.

Bapsy Dastur is the General Counsel at VFS Global
and is responsible for managing the integrated
Legal, Compliance and Risk functions in theorganisation.

Having joined VFS Global in 2003, Jiten has
successfully held multiple leadership roles within thecompany across various geographies and has playeda pivotal role in developing strong relationships with
two of the company’s largest client governments. A
hospitality graduate with over two decades of industry
experience, Jiten has worked with leading hospitality
brands such as Hilton and Oberoi Hotels & Resorts
prior to VFS Global.

Prior to VFS Global, Chris spent 25 years as a career
diplomat working for the UK Foreign Service. His last
assignment was his position as Regional Director forSouth Asia (2007-2011) with UK Border Agency. Before
that, Chris was the UK Border Agency Regional Director
for Africa (2004-2007) and Director of UK Visa Services
for India (1999-2004). Prior to this, Chris worked on
Central American and South Asian affairs, and on UN
humanitarian issues.

General Counsel,
Head Corporate Risk, Compliance & Legal

Bapsy, a qualiﬁed solicitor, joined VFS Global in
April 2020, and has a rich career experience in thelegal, compliance and risk ﬁelds with diverse
industry experience across the Middle East, South
East Asia, Africa and Australia regions. Her key
practice areas include Mergers & Acquisitions,
Corporate Restructuring, Project Finance,
Operational issues, Compliance and Risk
Management.
Prior to joining VFS Global, Bapsy held senior
positions that include General Counsel and Chief
Legal ofﬁcer at Stolt-Nielsen M. S. Ltd, GeneralCounsel, Head – Legal & Integrity, IMA, ABB, andSenior Regional Counsel – MEA & India with
General Electric International Inc.
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Martin Fritsch

Environment

Communities

Governance

Financials

Appendix

12

Chief Financial Ofﬁcer

Chief Information Ofﬁcer

Dhiren Savla

Nirbhik Goel

Martin Fritsch is the Chief Financial Ofﬁcer of VFS Global andleads the Finance, Internal Audit, Merger & Acquisition and
Procurement functions. Martin holds a PhD in Business
Administration from the University of Economics, Vienna, andhas a rich career experience as a ﬁnance professional,
handling several global roles being based in Europe andCanada.

Dhiren Savla joined VFS Global in January 2004 as Chief
Technology Ofﬁcer to strengthen the company’s global
IT delivery model, before becoming the Chief
Information Ofﬁcer for Kuoni India & South Asia in
September 2005. In 2010, he joined Standard & Poor's(CRISIL) as CIO for their South Asia region withresponsibility for its KPO business IT in Europe and theAmericas.

Nirbhik Goel is responsible for the organisation’s
Human Resources function including Learning andOrganisation Development and oversees
Corporate Security, and Travel and Administration
Services functions as well.

Prior to VFS Global, Martin served as the Global Chief Financial
Ofﬁcer, and Member of the Management Board, of Forto(previously FreightHub), a Germany-based global digital
logistics technology and service company. Before that, Martin
spent 19 years with DHL, handling various ﬁnanceresponsibilities being based in Germany, Belgium and Canada– including being the Chief Financial Ofﬁcer and ComplianceOfﬁcer for DHL CSI; Chief Financial Ofﬁcer and BusinessTransformation Ofﬁcer for DHL Express in Canada; and SeniorVice President - Global Business Finance for DHL Express at
the global headquarters in Germany. Earlier in his career,
Martin also worked as the Founder and Managing Director of
the Corporate Venture Capital unit of Deutsche Post DHL.

Dhiren re-joined VFS Global as Chief Information Ofﬁcer
in 2011 with additional responsibility for emerging
markets for Kuoni’s travel businesses and was also the
CIO for Kuoni Group from 2015 to 2017. Earlier Dhiren
held various leadership positions within Merrill Lynch,
G.E. Shipping and IL&FS in India.
During his career, Dhiren has been an industry thought
leader and has won several industry awards and playedadvisory roles at many industry bodies. Dhiren
graduated from the University of Mumbai with an
Engineering degree.

Chief Human Resources Ofﬁcer

Nirbhik joined VFS Global in July 2021, bringing
close to three decades of rich career experiencecomprising 16 years of leading the HR function
globally for renowned service sector companies.
Earlier, Nirbhik served as the Executive Vice
President and CHRO at The Oberoi Group of
Hotels, Global Strategic HR Business Partner for
the CIO and Global Head of Operations at AIG in
New York; Managing Director and Head of
HR-India at Barclays; and Vice President andDivisional HR for South West Asia at Hyatt Hotels
Corporation.

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Appendix

13

Bernard Martyris

Chief Culture Ofﬁcer

Bernard Martyris has over 40 years of experience in handling humanresources and over two decades in the hospitality industry. Bernard
graduated from Xavier Labour Relations Institute in 1976 since whichtime he has held senior management positions at the Oberoi Group and
The Indian Hotels Company Ltd. (was part of the Corporate Executive
Committee in both companies), served on the board of Tata Coffee as anindependent director in 2003, was invited to be a member of the Global
HR Council of the Conference Board, USA in 1998 and was Chairman of
the HR Committee of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce between 2007
and 2009. He was part of the Corporate Executive Committee (topmanagement) of both the Oberoi Group and the Taj Group.
Bernard has been responsible for the HR function of Kuoni India and
VFS Group since 2004. Before he was appointed as Chief Culture
Ofﬁcer, he was Chief of Human Resources of VFS Global, responsible for
VFS Global’s global HR function and focusing on HR strategy, leadershipdevelopment, and talent and performance management. Concurrent to
his VFS Global role Bernard headed the HR function for the
Switzerland-based Kuoni Group. As VFS Global’s Chief Culture Ofﬁcer,
Bernard will be responsible for the further enhancement andstrengthening of the organisation’s culture and ingraining corporate
values across the organisation. He will also be responsible for coaching
and mentoring top management and be responsible for the company’s
Education Services business.
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Appendix14

1.5

Organisational
Structure

RegionalGroup
COO

Regional Heads

Head Business
Development

Passport services& E visas

CEO

Chief
Financial
OfﬁcerChief
Human
Resources
OfﬁcerCorporate
Finance

Corporate HR(Corporate Controlling,
Financial Planning& Analysis, Procurement,
Taxation and Treasury)

Total Rewards, TalentManagement andDevelopment, HRIS,
HRSSC

GeneralCounsel,Head ofCompliance,
Risk andLegal

IT Infra

Legal

Corporate
Communications

Digital Delivery

Data Privacy &Protection

Corporate
SocialResponsibility

Compliance

Quality

Information
Security

Information
Services

Project
Management

Regional
Finance

Regional HR

Strategic Accounts& GovernanceMarketing &Branding

Client AccountManagement

Mergers &Acquisitions

Learning &Organisational
Development

Business IT

Risk Management

Internal Audit

Administration
Services

Corporate IT

Company
Secretarial

Corporate
Security

IT Commercials

Customer
Services

Head - ESG

Chief
Information
OfﬁcerChief
Communication
OfﬁcerESG

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Appendix15

1.6

Financial Highlights
Pre-COVID-19

COVID-19 Impacted

Application Counts

VFS Global's business driven by
exclusive client contracts across all visa
categories. (e.g., Work, leisure, student,
business etc.,)

30.3 Million

Application Counts

Application Counts

9.9 Million

2019

2020

2021

Application Counts (Year on Year)

Application Counts (Year on Year)

Application Counts (Year on Year)

Revenue*

Revenue*

Revenue*

7.3 Million

20%
34%

Continued impact of COVID-19 seen
globally throughout 2021 which
impacted travel volume recovery to preCOVID-19 levels

-76%
-68%

36%

Revenue, cost and cashﬂow countermeasures pursued in 2020 / 21 have
had a signiﬁcant impact on VFS Global’s
ﬁnancial performance in FY21, where
despite a 36% increase in application
count revenues increased by 52%
VFS Global is well positioned tocontinue its post COVID-19 recovery as
a leaner organisation with a stronger
ﬁnancial proﬁle52%*Year on Year Revenues and other operating income

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1.7

Business
Milestones

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Appendix

16

Despite the challenges of recovering from thepandemic-induced lull, VFS Global continued to achieve
new milestones. These included key business wins anddeﬁning steps in becoming a sustainable organisationand employer of choice.

When we started VFS Global in 2001, we saw abusiness opportunity, which we knew if it
worked in India, it could work globally. We
started with a small pilot project serving one
client government in Western India and verysoon developed it into a global leader
supporting the global travel and tourism
industry. Today, two decades since, we serve 63
client governments in over 143 countries,
through over 3,500 application centers, and by
end of 2021, we had more than 7,400 dedicatedprofessionals driving the company forward.

VFS Global completes 20 years of service
excellence and trusted partnership

On 10 July 2021, VFS Global completed 20 years ofoperations. It has been an incredible journey since weregistered the company in Mumbai (India). Along thejourney, we demonstrated our entrepreneurial,
governance and innovative approach and risk-taking
abilities by continuing to do things that no one had done
before. Today we are the world's largest outsourcing andtechnology services expert, pioneering solutions andcreating industry speciﬁc visa and consular services.

Italy Passport Application services rolled-out in theMaldives

Digital veriﬁcation of Health Certiﬁcates / Vaccination
Passes launched in partnership with Accredify
Finland Seasonal Worker services rolled-out in
Belarus
Short-term visa services launched for Bulgaria in theUK
Czech Republic long-term visa services launched in
Belarus and the Philippines

Won ‘Best in Future of Digital Infrastructure-India’award at the IDC Future Enterprise Country Awards
2021
Signed contract to expand Philippines ePassport
Renewal Centre network to nine new countries
Nominated as the new Trade and Marketing Agency
for VisitPortugal in India

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Appendix

17

1.8

ESG Highlights
While developing our overall Sustainability strategy, including deﬁning measurable targets and KPIs along with our ESG (Environment, Social &Governance) roadmap and action plan supported by leadership Management by Objectives (MBOs) for 2022 have been critical achievements.
There are several other initiatives that have been kick-started and are fully aligned to the overall sustainability strategy for VFS Global.

Acquiring ofEnergyAttributed
Certiﬁcates(EACs)VFS Global iscertiﬁed byGreat Place toWork India

for the transitioning of more than 50%
of our overall electricity consumption to
renewable energy which is a ﬁrm step
towards our journey to signiﬁcantly
reducing our carbon emissions.

as a workplace with Inclusive
Practices. Demonstrating theimportance of Diversity, Equity &Inclusion (DE&I) as part of our
growth strategy.

VFS Global
joined the
Unstereotype
Alliance

VFS Global’sTree Planting
project

UAE Chapter, convened by UN
Women, that aims to eliminate
stereotypes from all media andcommercial material, and combat
unconscious biases at workplace.

was initiated in the UAE and India as
pilot locations, where we have planted
1,500+ trees leading to CO2
sequestering. We intend to plant morethan 10,000 trees in the next ﬁve years
globally.

The Women of
VFS Global Network,
which was formed in 2020,
provides support andempowerment to VFSGlobal's women
employees. This also
includes a detailed action
plan for the entire year
focusing on DE&I.

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Appendix18

1.9International Standards
Setting inspiring benchmarks
Maintaining best industry practices and service excellence isan integral part of our business operations as market
leaders. Over the years, VFS Global’s business credibility
and efﬁciency have enhanced signiﬁcantly owing to ourrecords of using legally veriﬁed products.

ISO 9001: 2015 Quality Management System
VFS Global has been certiﬁed on ISO 9001 since 2011 to ensure that standardisation andmonitoring processes are put in place to continuously improve the quality and performanceof our products and services, thereby improving customer satisfaction.
ISO 27001: 2013 Information Security Management
To ensure our customer information is safe at all times and to reinforce security within ourenvironment, we have established a comprehensive Information Security Management
System (ISMS) and ensured all our locations are certiﬁed against the international gold
standard of ISO/IEC 27001:2013; which certiﬁes a high level of assurance throughout our
information security processes.

VFS Global ofﬁces and operations across the world are
certiﬁed with ISO 9001:2015 for Quality Management
System, ISO 27001:2013 for Information Security
Management System, ISO 14001:2015 for Environmental
Management System, ISO/IEC/IEEE 23026:2015 forEngineering and management of websites for systems,
software and services information, ISO 10002:2018 for
Customer Satisfaction - Guidelines for complaints handling inorganisations, and Occupational Health and Safety
Management System (OHSMS) ISO 45001:2018.
VFS Global’s distinguished data protection standards areimperative to the company’s business model. Our
Information Security Management System (ISMS) is athree-component structure of People, Processes, andTechnology, certiﬁed to ISO/IEC 27001:2013. A dedicatedteam of data protection experts led by a Privacy & Group
Data Protection Ofﬁcer at VFS Global enable the organisation
to not just adhere to complex and evolving data protection
laws but help in increasing awareness among internal andexternal stakeholders.
The company is also appraised at Capability Maturity Model
Integration - Services certiﬁcation (CMMI) Level 3 andPeople Capability Maturity Model (PCMM) Level 5 by KPMG.
All quality systems cover a signiﬁcant part of our facilities.

ISO 14001: 2015 Environmental Management System
VFS Global has been sensitive and committed to safeguarding the business impact on theenvironment and implemented the ISO 14001 standard in 2013. Since then, VFS Global
has continuously improved its deployment and effectiveness of various measures to ensurethat the environment is safeguarded, and the organisation is legally compliant throughregular surveillance audits.
ISO 45001:2018 Health and Safety Management System
At VFS Global, the health and safety of our employees, our client governments, and ourcustomers is a top priority. From assessing VAC design to monitoring and mitigating safety
and security incidents, ISO 45001:2018 helps us build a robust process and comply withlaws in all countries where we operate and encourages a healthy work-life balance.

Exp.2020-03-10 / Appraisal # 27623

CMMI SVC 1.3 Capability improvement approach
To maintain a leadership position in our industry, we adopted a business excellence model,
CMMI framework, to benchmark our processes against industry best practices. Having
implemented the model across all our processes up to the micro-level, we see
improvements in all business areas.

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ISO 23026:2015 Systems and Software Engineering
VFS Global maintains more than 1,000 websites for customers in different languages. A standardised approach for providing transparent and timely
information is a mandatory requirement. This standard helps us improve the usability of informational websites and ease of maintenance of managed
web operations to locate relevant and timely information.
ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management System ISO 37001
This system was developed to provide a global standard to combat bribery and promote an ethical business culture. Through implementing ISO
37001, VFS Global has further enhanced its controls to mitigate the risk of bribery throughout the global organisation. The Anti-bribery Management
System ensures that these controls to prevent, detect and respond to bribery are continually monitored, evaluated and improved.
ISO 10002:2018 Complaint Handling System
Due to our customer-ﬁrst approach, customer care has become one of the most critical focus areas for VFS Global and an integral part of ourbusiness strategy. This international standard deﬁnes and implements processes to monitor and measure complaint handling in an organisation andadopts a quality management system to enhance customer satisfaction. This standard helps in handling customer complaints and helps in converting
customer complaints into an opportunity to improve the quality of the service.

Exp.2022-02-26 / Appraisal # 2376

People Capability Maturity Model
As a people-driven business, VFS Global chose PCMM as a roadmap for implementing workforce practices to improve employee capability
continuously. Each level of PCMM enables cultural transformation through powerful practices for attracting, developing, organising, motivating, andretaining employees, achieving our business objectives.
ISAE 3402 Assurance Engagements
To ensure our processes are tightly controlled, and in line with the business requirements, VFS Global had implemented ISAE 3402 back in 2013 andgone through Type-I and Type-II audits. Since then, we have complied with the standard requirements and have observed no signiﬁcant deviation in
the past seven years.
Germany IT Grundschutz Certiﬁcation
As a sound and sustainable methodology for information security management systems (ISMS), IT-Grundschutz covers technical, organisational,
infrastructural and personnel aspects in equal measure. VFS Global is amongst one of the ﬁrst to achieve this certiﬁcation by an organisation basedoutside Germany at a global level.
Spain ENS Certiﬁcation
VFS Global is Esquema Nacional de Seguridad (ENS) High certiﬁed. This certiﬁcation establishes security standards that apply to all government
agencies and public organisations in Spain, and service providers on which the public services are dependent.

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02

Sustainability

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2.1

Building a future-ready organisationthat cares for individuals, society,and the planet
At VFS Global, our purpose, vision, mission, and values
provide the building blocks of our corporate culture anddirection.

Our sustainability ambition
Sustainability at VFS Global means
operating ethically, maintaining a strong
culture of security, safety & governance,
while supporting our communities,
protecting the environment, anddeveloping our people.
Business success requires new levels of resilienceand agility, rooted in responsible practices that will
help preserve our planet for future generations. We
remain focused on integrating Environmental Socialand Governance (ESG) programme and initiatives
to enhance our operations and create value for all
our stakeholders and the environment. Our
Sustainability strategy is guided by our Business
Strategy and aligned with Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations, aswell as national governmental priorities.

We deliver high quality and secure services
while remaining agile and resilient.

We conduct our business within a socially
responsible and environmentally friendly
framework, supported by a robust governancestructure whilst increasing value for all our
stakeholders.

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Our goal is to move markets toward sustainability andmaximise our impact in the countries and other markets
where we operate. VFS Global believes it is critical tofocus its efforts and expertise on becoming the partnerof choice in high-growth, high-impact areas that willinﬂuence the future economy and market
competitiveness. Our major objective is to be rated
among the leading companies in the ﬁeld as ademonstration of our commitment to sustainability, forwhich we have developed a roadmap. The journey has
already begun, and in 2021, VFS Global committed toplace sustainability at the heart of its operations. To that
end, we have deﬁned speciﬁc goals with key
performance indicators (KPIs) to keep track of ourprogress.
VFS Global has developed a management model,
committees, and a governance structure, as well aschanging company policies, to reﬂect the basics of thissustainable change. As a result, an ESG team wasformed with the mission of facilitating this process.
In addition, the company has addressed disclosure gaps
and presents all ongoing actions, systematically. This
report, our ﬁrst consolidated ﬁnancial and sustainability
report, demonstrates this dedication.
In the coming years, we will integrate ESG factors into
our business processes, following the Global Compact
Principles. It's also necessary to start showcasing our
performance improvements as a result of the roadmap's
execution, as well as to track and report on our total
impact. Finally, we will strive to scale up successful
activities in order to become the sustainability leader andan impact-driven organisation.

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2.2

VFS Global
Sustainability
strategy framework

Contributing to
Sustainable
Economic growth

The VFS Global sustainability strategy is anchored bymeasurable business deliverables and actions. As a partof this framework rolled out in 2021, speciﬁc programmes,
initiatives and key performance indicators were identiﬁed
and mapped under the following ﬁve pillars.

Supporting our
Communities

Delivering
Good
GovernanceProtecting ourEnvironment

Nurturing our
Colleagues

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Contributing to Sustainable
Economic growth

Nurturing our
Colleagues

Gain strategic advantage, preference, and recognition as the impact-maximisingpartner of choice, and as a performance leader.

Enhance capacity building and employee development.

Capture positive impact assessment and the overall contribution of VFS Global tosociety and the UN SDGs.

Integrating cultural change and drive emphasis on women empowerment.

Provide long-term shareholder value.
Establish ﬁrst class customer satisfaction and experience (Client Governments
and applicants) including data protection, health, safety and fair practices.
Promote inclusion and accessibility focus on sustainable products and customer
messaging.

Promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Encourage talent attraction and retention.
Contribute to health, safety and wellbeing of employees.

Protecting ourEnvironment
Improve our environmental performance, minimising our environmental impact andsupporting climate change mitigation efforts.

Delivering Good
Governance
Maintain best industry practices in corporate governance and oversight.
Constantly enhance business code of conduct and compliance policies.
Be transparent on all interactions with our stakeholders and initiate integrated
reporting.
Develop robust risk assessment, risk mitigation plans and sound risk-based
decision-making.

Enhance our green procurement processes and policies.

Supporting our
Communities
Enhance the effectiveness of our communities' investment.
Support employee volunteerism.
Enhance actions on literacy and education.
Support SMEs, local suppliers and businesses owned and managed by women.

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2.3

Engaging with
Our stakeholders
A Stakeholder Map was conducted that
represents the stakeholders who are invested in
the organisation as well as those who have otherrelationships with VFS Global and can inﬂuenceor are inﬂuenced by our business decisions.
As a result, we engage with a wide range of stakeholders
on a regular basis in order to better understand theirrequirements and meet their expectations. We recognisethat achieving our sustainability goals requires strong
relationships with various organisations in the market andbeyond.
Listening to our stakeholders is also essential in identifying
the most material topics for reporting. These topics areused to design and activate mechanisms to continuously
improve operations. Consistent stakeholder dialogue has
been a growth driver of our journey at VFS Global. Thisway, we keep pace with their changing needs, maintain
trust and stay adaptable to new ideas and value creation
opportunities. It also keeps our business better equippedfor potential risks and challenges.

ClientGovernments& ApplicantsCommunication
PeopleSuppliers
Shareholders
andinvestors

Regulators
Communities

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Client governments and applicants

PeopleShareholders and investors

VFS Global's trusted relationship with its client
governments and applicants seeking ourservices for visas, passports and other consular
services has been the pillar of its success. Overthe years our services for both these key
stakeholders have evolved in line with changing
market expectations and we are committed toleveraging technology for developing innovative,
efﬁcient and secure solutions for them in future.

VFS Global's ﬁrm belief is that organisations
should bear the responsibility to protect humanrights and use their inﬂuence to drive a positivechange in society. In order to preserve ourmarket leadership and remain a strong regional
player, our people must be given theopportunity to reach their full potential andgrow. Training is still an important aspect of ourhuman resources and talent development
strategy. We make sure that all our employees
have all the necessary tools for their personal
development and for building up their career.
We have an open culture and encourage our
employees to report any unethical behaviour or
any violation of our policies.

VFS Global aims to consistently andcontinuously deliver superior shareholder
value – not only through commercial successbut also through value added to society. Ourrisk management philosophy aims to identify,
encapsulate, track, and manage the various
dimensions of risk in order to protect revenue
sources and optimise service quality so that
all our stakeholders' interests are protected,
while shareholders' returns are maximised.

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Communities

Regulators

Suppliers and Business Partners

We believe that sustainability goes further
than simply serving our customers’ needs.
The CSR pillar is important to VFS Global andworks as a reminder of how it truly aspires tomake a change - because giving back to ourcommunities is at the heart of what we do.
VFS Global undertakes initiatives on givingback to the society through fund support,
volunteering activities, literacy programmes
and supporting local economies throughemployment opportunities to nationals andsupport of local suppliers and women-owned
and run businesses.

Corporate governance is a business-criticalfuunction at VFS Global. We aim to achieve
the ﬁnest service delivery, and this is why ourculture emphasises security, privacy, andintegrity. We are developing resilient andethical standards and policies in collaboration
with regulators, government agencies,
regional and international professionalorganisations. By promoting a soundcompliance culture, we can ensure adherence
to all our policies and government
requirements.

VFS Global’s believes and invests in building
long-term value accretive, win-win
relationships with its vendors, suppliers andbusiness partners while maintaining a
streamlined value chain. We support local
procurement and aim to extend our support
especially to women-owned and run
businesses. Our procurement department is
responsible for supplier selection, tracking
and communication.

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Communicating with Our Stakeholders
We strive to be easily accessible to our stakeholders. From
owned social media platforms such as Twitter, Linkedin,
Instagram, Facebook to customer support teams andemployees across our massive global network of visa
application centres we ensure seamless stakeholders'
communication. All of our communications are anchoredby strong privacy and data processes, and we makecertain that our stakeholders have the tools they need tocontact the ﬁrm and voice any concerns via our manychannels of communication.

Colleagues

Environment

Communities

Governance

VFS Global maintains regular communications with its
client governments, through Connect, a dedicatedcorporate magazine, aiming at appraising client
governments about key operational updates.
Furthermore, we maintain a strong communication andengagement with all the regulators through various
channels including our compliance and legal
department. With our shareholders, we maintain an open
and transparent communication channel, through regularﬁnancial and sustainability reporting, as well as the BOD
meetings, where progress on all fronts is discussed once
every two months.
The organisation has deployed adequate humanresource and learning and development teams across its
global ofﬁces to maintain seamless employee
communication across hierarchies and geographies.

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Our social media channels

LinkedInVFS Global

YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/c/VFSGlobalOfﬁcial

Instagram@vfsglobalofﬁcial

Facebook@vfsglobalofﬁcial

Twitter@vfsglobal
Customer complaint form:
https://www.vfsglobalcustomerexperience.com/VOAFeed
back/GeneralFeedback/Index

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Materiality
Assessment
Analysis
We understand the importance of reporting on the topics
that matter most to our stakeholders and have the mostimpact on our future business performance. We use ourmateriality assessment to identify critical sustainability
challenges across our value chain.

Colleagues

Environment

Communities

GovernanceAs part of this annual exercise, we have identiﬁedmaterial issues - opportunities and risks, both internal aswell as external that are important to our stakeholders
and expected to be addressed by VFS Global. These
topics reﬂect VFS Global’s corporate culture and its
operational framework and were selected based on theobjectives of our client governments, customers,
employees, shareholders, and other stakeholders, theUnited Nations SDGs, ESG priorities, the GRI, and our
impacts that have the largest repercussions forshareholders and positively beneﬁt our society.

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Given that stakeholder priorities are constantly changing,our efforts are to align business operations with thesechanging expectations. Our stakeholders were invited toparticipate in the assessment conducted via ananonymous survey exercise. The stakeholders rated 15
topics basis their relevance and impact on our business.
The topics were ranked according to their signiﬁcance tothe organisation, and by extension to the society and theenvironment.
The most signiﬁcant development in the materiality
assessment of 2021 was incentivising stakeholders forobjective feedback. For instance, visa customers visiting
VFS Global visa application centers were asked to takethe VFS Global Materiality Assessment Survey 2021. For
every entry received, VFS Global planted a tree. Morethan 1700 people participated in the survey.
As an outcome, we developed a materiality matrix todeﬁne and present our understanding of the inﬂuence ofeach topic on stakeholders’ decisions and the impactson VFS Global’s business.

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HIGH

VFS Global Materiality Matrix

2
Importance to stakeholders

4
7

8
11

14

13

1

3
5

6

10
12

1

Information/ Data Privacy and Security

2

Customer Service

3

Governance: Transparency, Integrity & Accountability

4Innovation (business or process)5Compliance & Ethical Behaviour

6Enterprise Risk & Business Continuity Management7

Anti-Bribery & Corruption

8

Human Rights & Anti-Sexual Harassment at Workplace

9

Talent Development, Attraction, Engagement & Retention

10 Creation of Economic Value and Responsible Taxation

9

11 Wellness/ Wellbeing/ Health & Safety
12 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
13 Improving our Environmental Footprint

15

14 Supporting Local Communities/ CSR

LOW

15 Responsible Sourcing & Supporting Local Businesses

LOW

Signiﬁcance of Impacts

HIGH
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The analysis identiﬁed 15 topics
Pillar 2: Governance

Pillar 1: Sustainable Economic Growth1

Customer Service

2

Information / Data
Privacy & Security

Enhancing the quality of assistance, advice or
support provided to customers - people who use
our services.
Applying techniques/ procedures/ policies ofprotecting information privacy and security on
computers, networks, programmes and data fromunauthorised access or attacks that are aimed for
exploitation.

6

Governance:
Transparency,
Integrity &Accountability

Adopting best practices in corporate governance toensure transparency and integrity in engagementwith all stakeholders aimed at protecting theirinterests and ensure accountability to all
stakeholders.

7

Human Rights &Anti-Sexual
Harassment at
Workplace

Adopting policies comprising of procedures andactivities that protect Human Rights (e.g., Modern
Slavery Act)

Safeguarding important information of ouremployees, clients, customers, or business
partners from corruption, compromise, or loss.
3

Creation of
Economic Value &Responsible Taxation

Reinforcing company’s economic performance
thereby enabling local economic progress ofcommunities where we operate in.

8

Anti-Bribery &Corruption

Adopting policies comprising procedures andactivities that oppose or inhibit bribery or corrupt
practices.

9

Compliance andEthical Behaviour

Complying with legal requirements at the minimumthat come from laws passed by State or Federal
Government of the countries in which we operate.

Performing responsible taxation.
4Enterprise Risk &Business Continuity
Management

Plan-based strategy for identifying, assessing, andpreparing for risks or hazards that may interfere withbusiness operations.
Holistic management process for identifying
impacts from potential threats, and for developing
response plans.

5

Innovation(business or process)Developing new products, operational processes,
or services for improving efﬁciency, effectiveness,or competitive advantage, contributing toenhancing accessibility and inclusion.

Providing a safe, secure, and enabling environment,
to all employees irrespective of gender, andpromoting a culture of mutual respect in which all
employees can work together to complement eachother as equals leading to maximum productivity.

Enabling a culture of highest ethical behaviour andencouraging employees to whistle-blow and reportviolations.
Showcases board effectiveness.

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10

Talent development,
Attraction,
Engagement &Retention

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Pillar 4 Environment

Enabling an engaged workplace to attract andretain top talent, boost employee morale andsatisfaction, train and develop our people, andmake employees feel connected with theorganisation through activities under Learning &Development, Rewards & Recognition or Employee
Volunteering, among others.

13

Improving ourenvironmental
footprint

Addressing the challenges that climate change
poses to our business and our stakeholders throughmitigating our own impact and putting measures inplace to increase climate resilience (e.g., use ofrenewable energy, green procurement, etc.)

Pillar 5 Communities
11

12

Wellness/
Wellbeing/
Health and Safety

Strategy for improving health and safety as well as
the wellbeing of employees - both physical andmental, to improve their quality of life thereby
creating a more motivated, engaged, andhigh-performing workforce resulting in greaterorganisational success(e.g., COVID-19-related measures)

Diversity, Equity &Inclusion

Fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace, andleveraging diverse workforce to achieve acompetitive business advantage(e.g., female representation at managerial levels)

Promoting an environment in which all individuals
are treated fairly and respectfully, have equal
access to opportunities and resources, and cancontribute fully to the organisation’s success(e.g., equal payment)

14

Supporting local
communities

Establishing and maintaining mutually beneﬁcial
relationships with the communities in which we
operate by providing support through corporatesocial responsibility commitments (charitable
contributions, donation drives, disaster response
support, etc.) and/or corporate volunteering
initiatives, wherever applicable.

15

Responsible
Sourcing &Supporting Local
Businesses

Establishing processes to actively and consciously
source and procure products and services in an
ethical, sustainable, and socially conscious way.
Supporting local suppliers, Small & Medium
Enterprises, and women-owned businesses,
wherever applicable.

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2.5

Contributing to the
Sustainable
Development Agenda
16.Peace and Justice:

Promote peaceful and inclusive societies forsustainable development, provide access tojustice for all and build effective, accountable
and inclusive institutions at all levels
Target 16.5 - 16.b

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are at the core of the “2030 Agenda”, and they represent a call for all
nations to work together in a global partnership. VFS Global is dedicated in taking its responsibility, to the targets ofSDGs which are closely linked to its business conduct providing a framework for assessing the impacts andcontribution to sustainable economic growth, community investment activities, employment and gender equality
priorities, governance business models and commitments to environmental protection. We contribute to those goals,
where we may have the most inﬂuence, while also contributing to many others, both directly and indirectly.

1.No Poverty

End poverty in all its
forms everywhere
Target 1.1- 1.2

3.Good Health and Wellbeing:

15.Life on Land:

Ensure healthy lives and promote
well-being for all at all ages
Target 3.4 - 3.8 - 3d

13.Climate Action:

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality
education and promote lifelong learning
opportunities for all
Target 4.3- 4.4- 4.5

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use ofterrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests,
combat desertiﬁcation, and halt and reverse landdegradation and halt biodiversity loss
Target 15.2

Take urgent action to combat climatechange and its impacts
Target 13.2- 13.3

5.Gender Equality:

Achieve gender equality andempower all women and girls
Target 5.1- 5.2- 5.3- 5.5 - 5.b

12.Responsible consumption
and production:

Ensure sustainable consumption andproduction patterns
Target 12.5- 12.6

4.Quality Education:

10.Reduced inequality:

Reduce inequality within andamong countries
Target 10.1 - 10.4

8.Decent work and economic growth:

Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, fulland productive employment and decent work for all
Target 8.5 - 8.8
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Selected ESG KPIs

Key Performance Indicators

2019

2020

2021

2022

SDGS

Targets
Overall Customer Satisfaction

Contributing to
Sustainable
Economic growth

Delivering Good
GovernanceNurturing our
Colleagues

Protecting ourEnvironment

Supporting our
Community

a. Client Governments (Points)

71

80

80

82

b. Applicants (%)

94%

95%

84%

95%

87%

87%

>95%

Percentage of employees trained for Data Protection

Percentage of employees trained for POSH (India)

100%

100%

100%

100%

Percentage of employees trained for Ethics & Anti Corruption

95%

98%

99.2%

>98%

Percentage of Women in the Group

59%

57%

58%

>50%

Percentage of Women in Senior Management

20%

20%

23.4%

>28%

Scopes 1, 2 & 3 GHG emissions per FTE (tCO2e)

13.9

15.9

13.7

15%

52%

>70%

Share of Renewable Energy out of total electricity consumption

Avg. Hours of volunteering per FTE

0.22

0.04

0.12

0.25

Local Suppliers (%) (including SMEs and Women Owned companies)

94%

92%

98%

>90%

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03

Contributing
To Sustainable
Economic Growth

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3.1

Customer Relations
Our customer
journey
At VFS Global, we leverage our industry leadership topromote sustainable business practices, impact
assessment-based actions and create long-term
stakeholder value. For us, applicants seeking visa,
passports and other consular services, form the
backbone of our sustainability framework making optimal
customer satisfaction imperative for our business. VFSGlobal has been consistent in enhancing digital products
and services to enhance the customer journey andensured transparent and fair relations through robust
data protection practices.

customer-centric and personalised services such as
Premium Lounges, couriers, Visa at Your Doorstep(VAYD), etc. The introduction of biometrics enrolment
capabilities was the real game-changer, which led to
new-age VACs. The growing demand for DIY (do it
yourself) technologies led to the introduction of theelectronic mode of visa or e-visa services. Thus, these
optional value-added services and the look, feel, andformat of VACs have evolved to meet the demands of theself-informed and discerning customer of today.

Simplifying customer experience
Our evolution has been in sync with the demands of thediscerning global traveller. Over the past two decades,
all operational changes in the organisation revolved
around keeping pace with their changing needs forconvenience and personalisation. For example, 20 years
ago, services were offered to visa customers on aﬁrst-come, ﬁrst-served basis at our application centre.
Given the growing demand for convenience, thecompany introduced an Appointment Management
System, which gave the customer the option to visit us asper his convenience. Soon after, Visa At Your Door-step
was designed, this was well received by our customers
during the pandemic. Safe, convenient, and efﬁcient visa
application processing at your preferred location,enhanced the customer experience further.

Customer Care
Despite the challenges of restarting operations amid the
pandemic with frequent disruptions and changing healthadvisories, we maintained an overall customer
satisfaction score of 84% in 2021. While the client
government satisfaction score remained consistent at 80
pts, the company was also able to enhance its Trust Pilotscore to 4.6 out of 5 during this period.

The next stage of evolution was looking at technologies
that can provide customers better comfort, superior andefﬁcient service and collate their feedback. Driven bycustomer demand, the company moved into

Customer Satisfaction

2019

2020

2021

2022 Target

Overall Customer satisfaction (%)

94%

95%

84%

95%

Overall Customer Dissatisfaction (%)

3%

4%

12%

<=5%

Client Government Satisfaction (pts)

71

80

80

82

Trustpilot score

2.1

4.5

4.6

>=4.6

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Being an ISO 10002:2018 certiﬁed organisation for
Quality Management (Customer Satisfaction), VFS Global
has deﬁned processes to monitor and measurecomplaint handling to enhance customer satisfaction.
Our indigenous ‘voice of mission’ process that measures
the impact of the pandemic, restart of business, andinnovative solutions, recorded a satisfaction score of
93%, indicating six base point improvements in the Net
Promoter Score.
With slow and steady ease on travel restrictions andopening of international borders, we saw a surge incustomer enquiries. With revenge travel and increasing
demand, complaints in 2021 were higher compared to2020 in absolute numbers, but lower on per 10,000
applications, by 14.3%. Customers complained about
not being able to travel freely and as early as they
wished. The response rate to customer queries improved
from 95% in 2020 to 98% in 2021.

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36

VFS Global
Trustpilot Scores

4.6 / 5

ClientGovernment
Satisfaction

80
pointsRestart of critical missions in 2021 speciﬁcally forstudent visa saw a huge spike in appointments. The
volume spike had a demand v/s supply gap resulting
in higher customer complaints related toappointment unavailability, and delay in decision.
Processing timelines at Embassies due to the highapplication count did impact customer experience
resulting in more complaints.

Customer Complaints Stats

2019

2020

2021

Complaints per 10,000 applications

16

28

24

Response rate to customer queries

100%

95%

98%

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Appendix37

Performance Dashboard

Achievements
01.

02.

Overall positive sentiments for thebrand increased by 102% in 2021.

Trustpilot score continues to be at 4.6 overthe last 1.5 year, with 95% customers sharing
positive feedback.

03.

04.

Reduced complaint handle time andcomplaint interaction rate by improving
efﬁciency and by reducing duplicatesthrough process streamlining.

VFS Global continues to have a ‘Very
responsive’ badge from Facebook –3rd year in a row.

05.

06.

Customer effort assessment
completed to identify opportunities in
the customer journey.

‘Relationship management’ and‘Readiness to handle unforeseen situation’is a driver of Client Government
satisfaction, over 92%.

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Catering to discerning digital customers
Technology-led innovations to enhance the customer
experience has been an integral part of VFS Global’s
business strategy. Given this visionary advantage, thecompany was early to start its digital journey with aconsistent focus on offering new products and services
to our visa applicants. As a result, the ratio of ouronline/mobile transactions more than doubled from 9%(2019) to 20% (2020) and remained steady at 18%. We
were also able to launch new digital products in line withchanging market environment and customer
expectations. For instance, in 2021, we expanded our
PCR and other COVID-19 tests for travellers. We also
launched an innovative solution allowing travellers to
Aruba to link test results to the immigration processinstead of carrying a piece of paper. Launched
mid-December 2021, hundreds of customers havealready used our solution, giving us the conﬁdence to roll
it out in other destinations and source markets.
Another new digital product is the waitlist feature forhigh-demand corridors. Cases of bot attacks crawlingsites for appointment slots, black marketing, andcustomer concerns in markets where appointments areunable to meet demands led to this innovation. Thisfeature allows customers who don’t get an appointment
slot to enter a virtual waitlist. Whenever new appointment
slots are made available, the ﬁrst entrants of the waitlist
get the opportunity to book a slot. If they are notinterested, subsequent waitlist entrants will get the sameoffer. Among other signiﬁcant milestones in our digitaljourney was the transformation of 1600 websites,
creating a new look for all popular devices and browsers
and especially optimisation for accessibility.

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Transactions share

2019

2020

2021

2022 Target

Online share on overall revenue

9%

20%

18%

25%

New digital initiatives

New eVisa
Product suite

PCR Test
Booking Platform

PCR Test
Digitalisation

AdvancedAppointment Letter

New eVisa
Appointment
Booking Journey

Digital Document
Check (DDC)

Waitlist featurefor high
demand corridors

Mandatory
Document Upload

Digital Application
Service18%of overall revenue of
online services

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3.2

Data Protection &Information Security
Ensuring data protection and privacy at thecore of every business decision

Data privacy and protection measures and laws havechanged markedly over the last two decades. The highly
networked and interconnected world we live in today was
merely a glimmer on the horizon back then, with theinternet itself being relatively new to many.
In the 20 years that VFS Global has been partnering withgovernments to facilitate the visa application process, wehave seen many advancements in data privacy andprotection. However, the most signiﬁcant paradigm shift
has come over the last two years, with over 100 new data
privacy regulations enacted globally, many of whichbeing ﬁrst-time regulations. In 2021, for the ﬁrst time,
more than half of the world’s population has a right toaccess their data. Our Information Security Management
System (ISMS) is a three-component structure of People,
Processes, and Technology, certiﬁed to ISO/IEC
27001:2013.

PeopleA dedicated team of data protection experts led by a
Privacy & Group Data Protection Ofﬁcer at VFS Global
enable the organisation to not just adhere to complex
and evolving data protection laws but help in increasingawareness among internal and external stakeholders.
Training and Awareness campaigns for all staff ensuresthat a high level of data protection has continued
throughout the shift to home working that was required
due to the pandemic.

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GovernanceStringent background checks of prospective employees
including Facility Management Company (FMC) is an
integral part of the recruitment process at VFS Global.

Processes
Data processing at VFS Global is automated given thesigniﬁcant volumes of personal data we handle and theneed for security, speed and reliability in maintaining it.
To reduce risk, customer personal data is purged whenthe visa application process is completed.
During the lockdowns, Regular IT checks were carriedout at our Visa Application Centres (VACs) to ensurecompliance with security policies and patch compliance.
Before resuming operations after lockdown, all machines
were physically veriﬁed to ensure compliance as part of
the restart activities of each VAC.

Data Security journey at VFS Global
Step 1: Online application form is stored in asecure data centre, fully encrypted and undercontrolled access. The centre is constantly
upgraded for defence against physical intrusion.
Step 2: Applicant visits the centre with supporting
data. Physical documentation is sealed, and any
electronic data, including biometrics, is captured
and encrypted.
Step 3: Data is safely transferred to the embassy
or consulate. The exact manner is agreed on withclient governments.
Step 4: All data is purged, typically within 24
hours of the completed application cycle, unlessclient governments direct otherwise. After 30
days, no data record is available anywhere in the
VFS Global system.

Financials

Appendix

40

Data Protection and Privacy
External and internal surveys performed by VFS Global
have identiﬁed Data Protection as an area that is ‘most
important’ to our external and internal customers. Other
publicly available surveys conﬁrm these results. We wantcustomers to know that we are committed to the safety of
their data. Our robust Data Protection framework ensuresthis. We also want our customers to understand the care
we take and the steps we follow to respect their data
privacy. We address critical data-use concerns, such as
secondary use of personal information, consent andchoice, clarity of purpose, collecting only the informationthat is absolutely necessary.
An essential component of Data Protection is Information
Security, which underpins our Data Protection framework.
At VFS Global, we have established a comprehensive
Privacy Information Management System (PIMS) and acomplementary Information Security Management
System (ISMS). Our ISMS ensures all our locations are
certiﬁed against the international gold standard of
ISO/IEC 27001:2013, which certiﬁes a high level ofassurance throughout our information security
processes. During the pandemic, the effectiveness of ourcontrols and measures were conﬁrmed by our external
certiﬁcation auditors, who veriﬁed the controls andrecommended the continuation of our ISO 27001:2013
certiﬁcation.
Our privacy controls are also compliant with therequirements of the BS10012 standard. We will beapplying for accreditation of our PIMS by seeking
certiﬁcation to the ISO/IEC 27701:2019 (Privacy
Information Management Systems).

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The VFS Global PIMS was designed to meet the highstandards of the European Union General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR). We already complied withthe regulations' requirements even before it came into
force in May 2018. The ISO Standard and GDPR
Regulation are the most rigorous globally, and we apply
them in all 144 countries where we operate even if
speﬁcic countries don’t require it. This includes
multi-level safeguards, not just in physical infrastructure
but also in our virtual systems. We apply a Defence in
Depth (DID) model – layered defensive mechanisms,
using people, processes, and technology to protect
valuable data managed by our highly trained andexperienced employees.
In adhering to the foundational Data Protection principleof Data Minimisation, VFS Global doesn’t retain any
applicant data for longer than required to deliver theservice requested. Personal data is collected at VACs
and directly transmitted to the receiving client
government. Upon successful receipt, that data ispurged from our systems. Paper documents are sent tothe client’s mission by secured transportation. No copies
of applicants’ data are made or retained digitally or
physically. We comply with the data protection laws in
our countries of operation. If no data protection laws exist
in the country of operation, we adhere to the VFS Global
data protection framework.

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Appendix41

Ofﬁcer makes sure our privacy programme aligns withour business strategy ensuring that it is a businessenabler and has a positive impact on revenue.
Data protection governance is driven from our Privacy
Management Actives Framework (PMAF). The PMAF
enables the Data Protection team to record actionable
metrics that determine the effectiveness of dataprotection controls to ensure the individuals' data privacy
rights are upheld. Our ‘Defence in Depth’ model uses
measurable metrics to assess the effectiveness ofPrivacy and Data Protection controls. This means ourthird line of defence, Internal Audit, can independently
determine if the controls are performing to protect theindividual’s privacy. Through the Speak Up initiative,
employees are encouraged to report incidents related todata privacy breaches directly to the Privacy and Group
Data Protection Ofﬁcer, who then investigates theincidents in complete conﬁdence.

Data Protection Governance
Data protection is overseen by our Group Data Protection
Ofﬁcer, who ensures compliance with the requirements
laid down by data privacy and data protection laws andregulations and the requirements of our client
governments. In addition, the Group Data Protection
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Appendix42

3.3

Business Continuity
and Resilience
How agility mitigates future risks

Business resilience and continuity by restarting
operations amidst the pandemic while ensuring healthand safety of the workforce and applicants visiting VFSGlobal visa application centres has been a signiﬁcant
contribution in creating sustainable economic growth.
International borders opened and travel restrictions
began to ease in 2021. The Visa Application Centres(VAC) Restart Manual rolled out in 2020 became a
guiding document to maintain business continuity, in thisendeavour.
Even as operations resumed with intermittent disruptions
across different geographies, our teams were swift in
updating the COVID-19 Standard Operating Proceedure(SOP) and COVID-19 guidelines in the wake of newvariants. For instance, version 2.0 was updated twice -Delta outbreaks and more recently during the Omicronwave. As a result, the teams conducted 765 BusinessContinuity Management (BCM) tests and exercises, morethan the targeted number of 641 in 2021. With the bulk of
the immunisation drives taking place in 2021 leading tosimultaneous opening of international borders, our quick
response strategy to re-open VACs within 24 to 72 hours
in the event of new COVID-19 cases became a key
differentiator in enabling business continuity, Global
Business Impact Analysis was conducted for major
accounts. Overall only 7 BCM risks were identiﬁed whichwere mitigated, and closed via BCM risk register.

Automation of BCM process - Capability creation
through onboarding of following modules on RSA Archer:Business Impact Assessment (BIA)
Risk Assessment (RA)Business Continuity Plan (BCP)
Premises Emergency Management Plan (PEM)
BCM Testing and Exercising
BCM risk register and BCM training and awareness.
Tackling COVID-19

COVID-19 related activities
Daily operational update for COVID-19 – 313
Daily employee health status report – 365
Crisis Management Team calls – 135
Weekly reports to client governments throughbusiness development team – 52

Weekly COVID-19 employee health status

From the start of the pandemic regular safety awarenesstrainings were given to employees via digital mediums.
Through operations, admin and other teams, all centres
were fully equipped with the corrective PPE materials toprotect staff and customers. Security personnel on the
ground were equipped for crowd management, social
distancing and security screening as per revised
protocols. The revised, mandatory Corporate Security
module has been onboarded on the Learning
Management System (LMS) and it has all pertinent
awareness regarding the precautions that needed during
a pandemic. In addition, COVID-19 updates are being
sent routinely to executive management. Among otherkey preventive measures the implementation of ISO
45001:2018 (Occupational health and safety
management system) is in place and implemented
globally at all VAC locations.

dashboard – 34

COVID-19 Awareness sessions (as part of BCM
tabletop exercise) – 271

Corporate Security employees are trained on Emergency
Response, First Aid awareness and ﬁre safety. In
addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, awarenesswas imparted via e-Learning modules, remote trainings
or face-to-face trainings (during operations restart).
Basic Awareness training on Occupational Healthand Safety Management System (OHSMS)

Auditor training to evaluate the effectiveness of
OHSMS

Fire Fighter & First Aider trainings to selected staff
Scenario based trainings during evacuation drills
and BCP test Drills

10

Training and awarenesssessions on BusinessContinuity Management
(BCM)

788

BCP documents
reviewed (Including
100% for all contractual
requirements)

700

Number of PEM
documents reviewed(Including 100% for all
contractual requirements)
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Appendix43

3.4

Approach Towards
Tax Matters
At VFS Global, we are deeply committed to ethicalbusiness practices and to respecting local laws in the
territories where we operate, and this has a direct
bearing on our approach to taxation. We are committed
to compliance with the tax laws and practices in the
countries in which we operate and have implemented
robust governance processes to enable us to do so. Our
aim has been to conduct our tax affairs in a sustainable
manner by way of a good tax governance and paying a‘fair share’ of tax. It is our endeavour to use automatedtechnology to track tax-related compliances in various
operating jurisdictions and also modify, alter, and createtechnology used in operations for easy and accurate
implementation of tax reforms, wherever possible. Basedon pre-determined guidelines, escalation mechanisms
are in place within VFS Global with respect to key tax
matters / risks including reporting to the Chief Executive
Ofﬁcer or Chief Financial Ofﬁcer of the company or the
Audit Committee or the Board, as required. VFS Global
has always maintained a cooperative and collaborative
relationship with tax authorities and will continue to do
so. In light of the unprecedented times due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, it was imperative for VFS Global tohave evolving and ﬂexible tax policies or procedures tohelp address the impact of COVID-19 on our business.

Tax Risk Management
All tax risks are identiﬁed and considered before
concluding on any business decision. The tax decisions
are driven out of commercial considerations and tax isjust one of many factors taken into consideration when
making business decisions. The level of tax risk that we
accept is driven by our overarching values, brand andreputation We have a minimal tax-risk tolerance. We arecommitted to compliance with the tax laws and practices
across all the countries we operate in, and continuously
monitor changes to tax legislation, ensuring that we takeadvice where appropriate from professional advisers. In
cases where specialist tax knowledge is required, weroutinely seek professional advice.

Contribution to local economies
We also contribute to local economies by bringing
growth and innovation to the community in which ourbusiness is established. We help stimulate economic
growth by providing employment opportunities to local
people at the Submission Ofﬁcer level at our Visa
Application Centres, thereby creating economic activity
through generating taxes on incomes from employment.

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04

Nurturing Our
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4.1

Corporate
Culture and Ethics

Core values and Principles:
Code of conduct

Growth often multiplies the challenges and responsibilities of a business. For VFS
Global, the respect and market leadership it earned is linked to the commitment,
professionalism, and integrity of its workforce.

Workforce Overview

Integrity, Commitment, and Entrepreneurship are at the core of everything
we do. These values are a part of our Code of Conduct, and the 12
practical principles that place ethics at the centre of all our daily decisions.
Our principles include zero tolerance to bribery and corruption, speaking
up to breaches of the Code, being fair and courteous with each other, andrespecting the cultures and orientations we encounter globally.
The VFS Global Code of Conduct deﬁnes the values, principles, andbehaviours expected of every employee and is also applying to our Facility
Management Companies. The Code is designed to help our staff makeethical decisions in a culture of openness and trust. Every employee isrequired to complete the mandatory online Code of Conduct training
module as part of the on-boarding process. The code covers topics of Anti
Corruption, Ethics and Sexual Harassment prevention, and during 2021
that was more than 98%.

2019

2020

2021

Total workforce(excluding trainees, students and outsourced staff)

11,352

7,705

7,441

Full-time employees

11,111

7,569

7,269

Part-time employees

241

136

172

Senior management employees

63

53

49

Human Rights

Middle management employees

266

222

245

11,023

7,430

7,147

141

119

116

VFS Global is committed to ensuring and protecting Human Rights. To that
end, there is no human trafﬁcking, slavery, or use of child labour in ourbusiness or supply chain or in any other third parties working with us. Our
Antislavery and Human Trafﬁcking Policy reﬂects our commitment to act
ethically and with integrity in all our business relationships. To ensure this,
we work on implementing and enforcing effective systems, controls andprocesses. For example, in our operations in South Asia, one of the top
markets for VFS Global, we ensured that all human rights clauses areincluded in all signiﬁcant agreements and contracts in the region.

Non-management employees (staff)
Number of nationalities

Region-wise Locals Headcount percentage as on 31 December 2021
AfricaAmericas

APAC

Europe/CIS

MENASouth Asia

98%

63%

83%

91%

48%

100%

Security service providers across different regions ensure that 100% of our
security personnel is trained as per local security laws and requirements on
their roles, responsibilities and do’s and don’ts.

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VFS Global takes into consideration the freedom of
association and collective bargaining as per country
law. For example in South Asia, employees havefreedom of association under the various labour
legislation i.e., Trade Union Act, Industrial Disputes Act,and other similar laws/acts in other countries. In Algeria,
there is a committee representative to discuss labour
rights. Furthermore, for our female employees it isensured that their working hours do not exceed the timerequired by law.
The Employee Handbook is revised periodically tocapture relevant regulatory changes across different
regions. Similarly, regional versions of HR Labour
Standards Policy is updated regularly.

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VFS Global and its partners (FMCs) do not use childlabour, and follows strictly and diligently laws andregulations across the countries we operate. Moreover, in
Europe we have the Anti-slavery Act & Labour Relations
Policy. We also conduct training and awarenessworkshops on Human Rights, and online training as partof the Code of Conduct module, and labour relations.
Furthermore, Labour law, social security and individual
income tax training is conducted on a yearly basis.
When it comes to labour practices, VFS Global isfollowing what is mandated by local laws and regulationsin the countries we operate. To that end, we adapt ourpolicies to the minimum number of week’s notice,changes in wages, or hours of work to the local laws orcontracts of employment pertaining to each country
where we operate. Moreover, regular communication isestablished in any event of labour law change, policy
updates or any other employee related issue.

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Whistleblowing Policy: Speak Up
We understand that speaking up about an incident ofconcern takes courage. That is why we ask ourmanagers to create a culture of trust, where employees
feel that they are being genuinely encouraged to beopen and speak up without any fear of consequences.
The processes to follow under our whistleblowing policy
are listed in the Code of Conduct, and we also sensitise
all our employees about this through posters in ourofﬁces and tailored awareness training programmes.

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Appendix47

4.2

Diversity, Equity
and Inclusion
Fortifying our roots
Diversity of thought is the essence of a healthy,
progressive, and entrepreneurial organisation.
Our diverse culture is an important driver of our
success. Globally, 116 nationalities work withVFS Global, bringing the beneﬁt of a wide
variety of world views. For us, ensuring gender
diversity at the workplace has proven to havepositive effects. We have maintained ourgender balance with an overall female: maleratio of 58:42 at the end of 2021. This year
despite the pandemic, we have taken strong
commitments to improve our female: male ratioat the management level, which is currently at
23.4%. For the next year we are working
towards exceeding 28% and further increasingin the coming years.
We have also increased our diversity on the age front,
having employees covering all age groups. It is
important to mention that during 2021, our employees
aging 51+ increased by 26%.

Workforce by Age and Gender(excluding trainees, students and outsourced employees)

2019

2020

2021

Employees age 18-30

6,893

3,852

3,043

Employees age 31-50

4,159

3,564

4,033

Employees age 51+

300

289

365

Male employees

4,676

3,265

3,158

Female employees

6,676

4,440

4,283

Female employees in senior and middle management

67

56

69

Female employees in senior and middle management (%)

20

20

23.4

Addressing gender inequality
VFS Global understands the need to address genderinequality. Considering the importance of this topic, VFSGlobal has initiated many programmes and projects toenforce gender equality at the workplace. In order toachieve the target set, we have already committed to atleast 50% participation of women candidates in the hiring
process (Internal / External) across all levels, and 50%
women successors for each critical role. Furthermore,
VFS Global will ensure focused development
opportunities for women colleagues to take on futureroles across all levels, while at the same time, our DE&I
agenda/initiatives are included as part of senior
management performance goals.

Furthermore, we have been taking many initiatives on acountry by country level. For example we signed theBritish High Commission 'UK in India' Network Gender
Equality Charter in 2021.
Network Gender Equality Charter, which focuses on
promoting gender equality within our workplaces andbeyond and empowering all people to break downnorms and together build a gender-equal society.
Adapting and staying updated with international norms,
we have also updated our revised Diversity, Equity andInclusion Policy for employees in 2021.
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Promoting Diversity, Equity & Inclusion(DEI) worldwide
Imparting deeper understanding of DEI and educating
the workforce about the beneﬁts of inclusivity has been a
consistent focus at calendared events conducted by theorganisations across its global network. For instance,elementary level modules were conducted for
middle-level and above employees at the Global Support
Ofﬁce in Mumbai that caters of most of the global
workforce. Likewise, motivational talks by women leaders
nurtured within the organisation such as Jaya Amit Mitra,(Head of Operations – South India, Sri Lanka andMaldives) was organised in June 2021 to inspire South
Asia team.
We carefully chose a diverse mix of sessions addressing
key women empowerment drivers such as ﬁnancial
independence through an (Investor Awareness
Programme), leadership lessons (Emerging Women
Leaders Programme) and session on emotional
Resilience for manager and above female employees.
This is a 4-hour high impact session developed with thehelp of clinical psychologists, educated participants onemotional wellbeing, understanding their own stresstriggers, their manifestations, and coping mechanisms.

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Empower Through Learning
Dedicated learning modules for the women workforce

Emerging Women Leaders

Women in Leadership: Mastering Key Leadership Competencies

Expert Insights on Women in Leadership

Women in Leadership: Building Your Infrastructure for Leadership

Leadership Insights on Developing Women Leaders

People Management Acceleration Programme for Women
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Milestones

01.
Women Network Programme

03.
Gender ratio

Fostering an inclusive atmosphere with regards tofemale participation in the workplace.

In 2021, VFS Global increased women
workforce ratio at the management level to
23.4%

Providing a platform for expanding women’s
leadership skills, business practices, personalconnections, career developments and personal
growth opportunities.

04.
Maternity trends:

Strengthening and extending the professional
network by building mutually beneﬁcial projects
inside and outside the company.
Enhancing reputation of the company as afemale-friendly employer to be able to attract,
retain and develop female talent. Encouraging
visibility of female role models at all hierarchal
levels.
The Women Network Programme includes acentral team and regional teams.

02.
KPI mapping
Diversity and inclusion goals added as key KPIs for
management-level roles.

99% of the women employees in India havereturned after maternity leave courtesy
elementary beneﬁts such as ﬂexitime orpart-time working hours and creche.

05.
UN Unstereotype Alliance:

VFS Global became a new member of The UAE
National Chapter of the Unstereotype Alliance,
convened by UN Women. The membership falls
within the scope VFS Global Sustainability
Strategy and connects with the company’s
gender equality efforts that aims to eliminate
harmful stereotypes from all media andcommercial material and combat unconscious
biases.

06.
GPTW:

In October 2021, VFS Global, was certiﬁed byGreat Place to Work® India as a Workplace with
Inclusive Practices.

07.
Women in operations:Over 60% of the operations employees
worldwide (employees managing visa
application centres) are women.

08.
Succession Planning:
At least one female employee is identiﬁed as apotential successor for critical position as a partof the women career development programme.

09.
Zero tolerance to harassment:
VFS Global maintains zero tolerance against
harassment of its women workforce.

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4.3

Talent attraction
and retention
Building an agile
and future-readyworkforce
Our commitment to attract talent and nurture
leaders from the workforce, is a strategic
priority. Our objective is to make a meaningful
contribution in the skills development of
employees in all countries we operate in. Our
genesis stems from creating opportunities,
adapting to dynamic market needs andcapabilities to create new business models.
Inﬂuenced by this entrepreneurial philosophy,
the organisation since its inception, has stayedfocussed on consistently upgrading its strategy
to acquire talent and nurturing the workforce.
Key learnings from the pandemic prompted
VFS Global to establish its Talent Acquisition –Centre of Excellence in 2021.

We use a management framework developed at Carnegie
Mellon University, called the People Capability Maturity
Model (PCMM). PCMM has helped VFS Global in aligningvarious HR processes towards building people
capabilities for achieving business objectives throughCompetency Based HR Management Framework. The
focal point of the framework is Strategic Workforce
Planning. Workforce plans are commissioned tocontinuously improve the organisation’s readiness throughvarious people practices and activities such as learningand development, internal and external sourcing,engagement, and retention programmes for key talent; oreven through other partnerships, alliances and/or
independent contracting.
In March 2020, VFS Global completed the PCMM-5
sustenance audit across all the regions. The
recommendations were then shared with the Regional HR
Heads for taking necessary actions. Further, Process
Performance Baselines were established for key HR
metrics – Attrition, Early Attrition, Hiring Turnaround Time,and Employee Capability. During the COVID-19 crisis, theentire workforce planning and rightsizing activities were
executed on the foundation of PCMM best practices, witha strong focus on maintaining and building the critical
workforce capabilities required for the sustainablebusiness growth. It is important to mention that voluntary
attrition in managerial levels reached 10,7%, while for the
rest of the levels it reached 17,6%. This lies within thebenchmarking levels and we aim for next year tocontinue, or even improve our turnaround levels.

Furthermore, for 2021, new hires exceeded 2,200 with a
big focus on female employees at a rate of 62%. Throughour new hiring processes we focus on supporting theyoung generation, and continue to support all other age
groups as well.

New Hires
2019

2020

2021

Total New
Employee hires

6,414

2,519

2,236

Age 18-30

4,970

1,987

1,529

Age 31-50

1,383

493

647

Age 51+

61

39

60

Male

2,320

1,032

848

Female

4,094

1,487

1,388

VFS GLOBAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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Appendix51

Beneﬁts

Employee Engagement

Performance evaluation

Equal remuneration basis the role, experience andperformance is granted to employees irrespective of theirgender, race, or any other discrimination criteria. We
therefore ensure that our women to men ratio is equal to100%

To gain insight into how far our values are embraced andto better understand how to improve our engagementwith employees, we conduct a culture survey to assess
the level of employee alignment with our core values andculture. However due to COVID-19, these surveys were
not conducted during the past couple of years. We work
towards 90% participation in Employee Engagement
survey and 67% on Employee Satisfaction score for 2022
exceeding our 2019 scores (88% participation and 65%
satisfaction score) respectively. We also aim to be above
the industry average score (58% in 2019).

We conduct performance evaluation on an annual basis.
In VFS Global, we focus deeply on succession planningsince it allows us to mitigate any relevant risks. We also
provide our employees with full support and guidance on
goal settings, performance, mid-year review andcompetency assessment, as well as promotion schemes.
Over the year, we are doing a self-appraisal process forthe year that passed and goal setting for the coming
year. We also have in place several tools that help
employees track their performance annually such as
MySpace Performance Management Tool. It is important
to mention that the speciﬁc ESG targets are linked withthe performance of all management roles, and cascaded
down throughout the organisation.

Employees are compensated in compliance with local
laws and regulations. Depending on the location, beneﬁts
range from medical insurance, performance bonuses,
pension fund, retention bonus, VAS incentives, 13thmonth if it’s not a statutory requirement, employment visa,
annual leaves, or end of service beneﬁts. We make surethat there is no violation on payment of minimum wages
as prescribed by the different states and countries where
we operate. Similarly, we offer maternity and paternity
leave as per local laws and regulations.

During 2021, despite having challenges for engaging
with the employees due to COVID-19, we performed anumber of initiatives for our employee engagement andsatisfaction, such as catch-up meetings, town halls, open
houses, rewards and recognition sessions, workshops,
and birthday greetings. The organisation also conducted
an internal enabling unit survey in addition to global
commemorative days such as Women's Day, Mother's
Day and Father's Day. We have also launched activities
such as the celebration of festivals, meetings organised
for all managers and supervisors across locations, andthe Employee Appreciation Day, or appreciation cards.
We have also enhanced our employee development
programme through focus group discussions, PDC,
training, on the job training, LMS, and induction(onboarding rapidly with a buddy system). Finally, inmany countries, we have initiated regular one-on-one bymanagers (on Microsoft teams) and learn from leaders
sessions. For this year, we plan to continue with similar
initiatives accelerating among others communication,
rewards and work-life balance with a goal to reach our2022 targets.

Exp.2022-02-26 / Appraisal # 2376

Equal pay
ratio

100%

with
ESG linked
management
Goals performance
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Appendix52

4.4

Driving People
Development
VFS Global as an organisation is an Institute of
Learning for all those interested in honing theirskills. Other than the guided training
programmes conducted on a periodic basis, as
per a set calendar, VFS Global provides aplethora of opportunities to ‘Learn by doing’.
Most of our Visa Application Centres are small
incubation centres where potential talent is
identiﬁed, trained, coached and developed fortaking on higher responsibilities in theorganisation. The acceleration in technology
dependence during the pandemic has
reshaped the training format. Going forward
the focus remains on identifying new skills insync with emerging business needs andcreating tailored learning journeys.

Learning & Development during the
pandemic
The overwhelming participation in training modules
witnessed last year continued to be strong in 2021.
Around 82% of the global workforce attended at least
one training programme in the year, an increase from
70% in 2020. The organisation recorded an average of
2.9 man-days of training participation in 2021. The
decisive shift in employees to leverage in-house training
modules began during the pandemic.

82%
2.9

Nurturing future leaders
Leadership building and succession pipeline is one of
the key objectives of VFS Global’s L&D mandate. This
culture enabled many young employees who began theircareers in this organisation to evolve into demanding
leadership roles. In 2021, 280 employees were selected
for leadership programmes. In addition to imparting
strategic leadership lessons, these invitation-only
programmes infuse conﬁdence and competitiveness inthe workforce. Diversity Sensitivity, Developing Women
Leaders and Supervisor Development Programme weresome of the key programmes that were conducted
regularly during this period.

man-days

Employees selected for leadership
Workforce attending at least on
training programme in 2021: 82%
Average man-days of training
participation in 2021: 2.9 days

programmes in 2021: 280
Flagship programmes:

Diversity Sensitivity,
Developing Women Leaders
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Skilling for changing customer preferences
Customer orientation has been at the heart of everything
we do at VFS Global for over the past 20 years. Our
evolution has been in sync with the demands of thediscerning global traveller. As a result, we keep
upgrading our training modules in line with evolving
customer expectations. For instance, the New Employee
Certiﬁcation Programme and the Re-Certiﬁcation
Programme are mandatory for our workforce managing
operations through the Visa Application Centres.
Considering the visa application process could be ﬁlledwith anxiety, our L&D teams weave in tailor-madecustomer service modules to sensitise the frontline
workforce and train them in making the experience
seamless. Moreover, in 2021, a new programme
focussing on product, process and customer service
was rolled out, on a quarterly basis aiming to further
enhance our colleagues’ skills and to help them perform
to the best of their ability.

Learn From Home
The pandemic has been a catalyst in preparing ourworkforce for the future. It inspired us to reimagine our
L&D vision. The switching to a remote working model,
within 2020, allowed us to launch the VFS Global Learn
from Home training programmes which continued to run
during 2021. These instructor-led webinars andself-paced eLearning modules were conducted fourtimes a week, providing ample opportunities for
employees to attend and learn. Moreover, this year, werolled out a 3-month complimentary membership ofPercipio, a popular learning platform with over 550+
courses to the workforce. Subsequently for focussed
learning and certiﬁcations 32 chosen employees wereColleagues

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Governancegiven access to Coursera, for taking certiﬁcations in newand emerging technologies.

Perks of learning
3-month complimentary membership ofPercipio550+ courses
Coursera

32 chosen employees

certiﬁcations in emerging technologies

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53

Digital Training Platforms
Digital Training Platforms, provide another training
experience that we embrace in VFS Global. As such
we have three dedicated online platforms for employees
to learn in their leisure time.
VideoTube
VideoTube is VFS Global’s very own video platform withover 1100 short videos to watch and learn from. Thissystem is a recent addition to the training platforms at
VFS Global and in 2022, this platform will be opened for
employees to access from mobile phones.
Learning Management System (LMS)The LMS offers all compliance-driven courses for
employees and partners. This system is also used toregularly assess VFS Global employees’ skills.
Partner Learning Management System (PLMS)
All FMC and partners beneﬁt from our learning
management system. This allows for a common working
culture as both employees and partners are skilled on
the same lines.

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4.5

Ensuring Workforce
Health and Wellbeing
The safety and wellbeing of our employees areof utmost importance to us, and we take every
possible measure to create a safe and secureenvironment at our ofﬁces and Visa Application
Centres. We ensure everyone’s ergonomic
comfort with suitable chairs and work surfaces,
correct illumination, and proper climate control.
We have a health and safety management
system in place, with a committee and withyearly risk management processes, aligned
and certiﬁed by ISO 45001:2018. standard forall our premises.
During the pandemic, all employees had to undergo amandatory module on COVID-19 awareness. Employees
were being kept abreast and communicated to on a timely
basis on any update or advisory pertaining to the spread,
prevention, guidelines on COVID-19, any relevant change
in organisational structure and stafﬁng needs. We also
introduced an easy-reference employee handbook for asafe restart, with all the guidelines, information, andprotocols to help employees in transitioning back into theirworkplace in a safe, smooth, and efﬁcient manner.
Employee health and safety was monitored throughout thecrisis. Daily employee status was monitored by the
corporate security team and a report was consolidated at
the end of each day since early February which was thenshared with our executive management team. For thephysical safety of our colleagues and customers, we alsoColleagues

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Governancesecurity-check our premises constantly, at all locations, andwe make sure that all employees receive security training aspart of their HR on-boarding. Our premises are always deepcleaned and sanitised, and our security personnel are
equipped with protective gear and our employees with facemasks and gloves.
During the year, regular emergency drills and trainings wereconducted in all our premises, for more than 10.000
employees and security personnel. As part of the ISO
45001:2018 standard, video-based training and awarenesssessions on ﬁrst aid were conducted for our emergency
response team members at VACs, for 1,262 staff members
across regions, clocking a total of 2,524 training hours,
which helped increase the overall awareness of our ﬁrst aid
team. These awareness sessions did not substitute for theformal certiﬁcation of ﬁrst aid where required by law.

Health and Wellness
We conducted programmes for employees targeting theiroverall wellbeing. For us, at VFS Global, health andwellbeing continue to be a top priority. We constantly
emphasise it through our wellness programmes focussing
on physical ﬁtness, nutrition, and mental health. We
understand that the past months have been difﬁcult for
many of our colleagues, and we stand committed toextending our support to those who need it.
While health information may be widely available, we
understand sifting through it to ﬁnd reliable information may
not be possible. To help, we have curated resources to help
you implement simple steps to maintain good health andwellbeing. These research-proven recommendations andtips come from experts at our corporate health programmepartners, like Wrkit, (in the UK) a holistic solution of
wellbeing services to inspire better, healthier working

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54

environments, and Practo, India’s leading online doctor
consultation app. The organisation rolled out a series ofawareness and educational information under its‘Wellness Wednesdays’ campaign and established awellness Centre of Excellence (COE).
Mental health implications such as stress, fear, anduncertainty, especially during the current times, can bevery devastating, and we took several measures, manyof which are still ongoing, to improve the wellbeing of ouremployees. We partnered with Isha Foundation to
conduct exclusive sessions on yoga and guided
meditations by trained instructors globally to help
employees develop inner balance and stability. Thesesessions were conducted for employees across regions
like South Asia, Middle East, Africa, Europe and China.
In the Middle East region, we launched a wellbeing
hotline to manage any challenges or stress of
employees, while in Europe, we partnered withorganisations such as ‘Outreach’ to develop holistic
employee assistance programmes to provide supportand employee counselling services. We also connectedwith local counsellors in some locations to offer online
support/ counselling services to our employees.
Internally, other than promoting a sustainable working
from home culture, we issued guidelines for Head of
Department and People Managers to ensure employee
wellbeing and keep a regular check on them throughregular communication. We also encouraged employees
to stay connected with each other through virtual video
meetings. By skilling our employees and improving theirmental wellbeing, we aim to not only create a more
motivated, engaged and high performing workforce, but
ensure customer loyalty and brand goodwill as well.

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55

Employee wellbeing initiatives worldwide
Considering employees’ anxieties stemming from hybrid
work models, strategic areas were identiﬁed to maintain ahealthy work-life balance.

Health and nutrition session

Positive parenting

Cancer awareness session

COVID -19 vaccination drive conducted
for all employees in Middle East, North
Africa region and South Asia

Employees covered under insurance policies
for Life Insurance and COVID-19 related
medical treatments

Employee assistance programme on
mental healthFlexible working hours for better
work-life balance

Daily health monitoring

Tips for home-schooling children

PCR Mandates and tests to apply as per local
regulation for all non-vaccinated employees members
in Middle East & North Africa and South Asia regions.
Awareness on vaccination and drives
across Sub Sahara Africa
Voluntary Health Insurance scheme introduced for
employees and their families in India to support
during COVID-19 home quarantine
Virtual session on Yoga and management

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05

Protecting theEnvironment

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Environmental
Management
SystemAs the public becomes more aware of how we allcontribute to the long-term degradation of theenvironment through man-made pollution and carbon
emissions, governments, businesses, and consumers
are putting a greater emphasis on reducing theircontributions and increasing their efforts in tacklingclimate change. At VFS Global, we continuously work on
minimising our environmental impact, including energyuse, as well as waste management and recycling. We
work on enhancing our journey to reduce our carbon
emissions.
Businesses that prioritise green efforts for theirworkspace, employees, and products put the planet's
and environment's health ﬁrst. VFS Global recognisesthat for a company's green programme to be successful,everyone in the organisation must be on board. As aresult, in addition to company-wide efforts, weconsistently urge our employees to be green champions.
We have set up several training and awarenessprogrammes related to environmental performance.
Moreover, we have implemented an environmental
management system, to address all environmental risks
and opportunities that arise from our operations. Our
system has been certiﬁed under ISO 14001:2015
standard, covering 100% of our premises around theworld.

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5.1 Reducing our carbon footprint
We aspire to spearhead environmental initiatives
that enable individuals and communities tothrive, enrich lives, and promote long-term
progress toward a sustainable future for all. Forus, adopting principles of reduce-reuse-recycle
where applicable to mitigate the risks of climatechange, is a shared responsibility.
We have initiated our journey towards carbon
neutrality in scope 1, and 2 and 3 by continuing
our energy reduction efforts, signiﬁcantly
reducing our direct and indirect greenhouse gas
emissions from our ofﬁces, VACs, and businesstravel. We plan on reducing our carbon footprint
with concrete actions such as applying energy
efﬁciency measures, selecting renewableenergy for our VACs, and tackling travelemissions through offsetting processes,
technological enhancements, and green
procurement processes.
2021 emissions per scope

Energy consumption

2019

2020

2021

Total electricity
consumption (MWh)25,941

15,94823,845

GHG Emissions
overall (tCO2e)

155,845

120,651

100,636

GHG EmissionsScope 1 (tCO2e)

9,169

8,929

8,305

GHG EmissionsScope 2 (tCO2e)60,49058,86654,912GHG EmissionsScope 3 (tCO2e)

86,18652,85537,420Total emissions (in tCO2e)
155,845

8%

Scope 1emissions

37%

55%

120,650

100,636

Scope 2emissions
Scope 3emissions
2019

2020

2021
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Our scope 1 and scope 2 emissions for 2021 were 8,305 and 54,912 tonnes of CO2e
respectively. Our scope 2 emissions are calculated based on our electricity
consumption, as well as the energy needs for heating and cooling. Scope 3 emissions
relate to purchased goods and services, business travel, employee commuting,capital goods, waste generation, fuel and energy related activities, as well as third
party upstream transportation. The emissions cover all our premises around the world.
During 2021, we have adopted a new and more accurate method for measuring
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in accordance with the WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol
for all years since 2019. Due to the nature of VFS Global's operations, only threegreenhouse gases are released in signiﬁcant quantities for tracking; CO2, CH4, and
N2O.

48%

EuropeAsia

India, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Philippines,
Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE

AfricaSouth Africa, Egypt

52%

Source Identiﬁcation Procedure

CH4

N2O

HFCs

Scope 1
Indirect

CO 2

PFCs
SF6

Scope 3
Indirect
Scope 2
Indirect

Scope 3
Indirect
   
 
    ­      


58

Green Energy

Regions/Countries that use Renewable Energy

Most

Appendix

Non-Green Energy

We proceeded with the purchase of renewable energy for all of our premises inselected markets. We converted 52 percent of our entire electricity use, or 12,500
MWh, to renewable energy as a result of this project. In most countries in Europe andnine countries in Asia and Africa, this was accomplished through the use of energy
attributing certiﬁcates (EACs). The goal for 2022 is to switch to renewable energy formore than 70% of total electricity usage, as well as to continue with our energy
efﬁciency measures with an overall aim to reduce our carbon footprint by 15%.

Countries

Financials% of RE use for electricity consumption

Our overall carbon emissions decreased by 35% in 2021, compared to the base yearof 2019, due to the greater usage of renewable energy, the Covid-19 pandemic, andenergy efﬁciency initiatives.

RegionGovernance          
      
      
        
 



  

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We have also partnered with specialized companies andNGOs for our tree planting project, which allowed us totake part in the global reforestation efforts. This initiative
helped us to plant more than 1,500 trees in India and theUAE leading to CO2 sequestering of 9,238 kg for 2021
and beneﬁting 16 families. Trees are used for gifting our
employees on several occasions like birthdays and work
anniversaries.

Total Number ofTrees

CO2 Sequestered
to end of 2021

1,500

Trees

9.2

tCO2

CO2 Sequesteredtrees’ Lifetime

375

Families
HelpedFamilies

tCO2

16

Additionally, since 2012, our work-related ﬂights havebeen offset with the Swiss non-proﬁt organisation
myclimate to assure carbon-neutral business travel(www.myclimate.org). To that end, we have beensponsoring a bio-gas project in Kolar, India, for the past
few years. The project beneﬁts Kolar residents by
reducing kerosene and ﬁrewood use for cooking,resulting in cleaner air, reducing pressure on local forestsfor ﬁrewood harvesting (the project eliminates the needfor an estimated 4.5 tonnes of wood per household peryear), allowing us to offset a total of 734.29 tCO2 for theyear 2021.

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5.2 Waste Management / Recycling
We pledged to play our role in protecting theenvironment and conserving natural resources. Waste
management allows VFS Global to act as an eco-friendly
and responsible company. We work on reducing ourwaste, reusing and recycling whenever possible.
Being a technology-enabled company and having asigniﬁcant proportion of our waste as end-of-lifeelectronics and IT equipment, we are cognizant of thefact that materials used in their component parts canjeopardise both environmental and human health, andcontinuously take measures for proper e-waste disposal.
To that end, we take steps to responsibly manage our
e-waste where we donate to employees or charities theequipment, or we follow certiﬁed processes for theirdisposal. Over the past year, only in our ofﬁces in the UK,
India, UAE, Canada and Russia, we responsibly
managed a total of 7,942.5 kg of e-waste.

5.3 Green Procurement
As part of VFS Global efforts to support its transition to amore sustainable company, we began measuring andreporting our paper use. We have implemented adashboard reporting system, which allows the company
to track and report consumption effectively, monitoring
our environmental performance and apply efﬁcientmeasures and global initiatives.

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59

Furthermore, it is our main priority to be a responsible
consumer by promoting the use of biodegradable
chemicals, other types of green paper, paper cups, etc.

5.4 Water Management
Prior to COVID-19, we encouraged our employees to use
water stations with the aim to reduce the use of plastic
across the countries. The initiative was dropped later forprecautionary measures. The goal for 2022 is to reconduct
this project, whereby :Encourage our employees to use reﬁllable waterbottles;
Enable access to drinking water through installation
and use of water stations; andCreate a culture of conscious living by driving
awareness on plastic alternatives.
Furthermore, to reduce our water consumption in our
premises, we have taken several measures, likeintroducing dry urinals, installed water-efﬁcient ﬁxtures in
restrooms, hand-wash areas, or staffrooms, andcompulsory daily checks for water leakage, among others.

To that end, we have initiated green procurement
processes, in order to opt for products and services thatcause minimal adverse impact to our environment. By
the end of 2021, 18 percent of our locations across theworld were using certiﬁed green printing paper.
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06

Caring For Our
Communities

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Appendix61

6.1

Supporting
Our Communities
Our global presence across more than 140 countries
enables us to touch millions of lives in different parts of theworld. We have leveraged this advantage to empower
communities. A key milestone in this journey was the
restructuring of communities outreach within VFS Global’s
long-term ESG strategy in 2021. 'Supporting ourcommunities’ became one of the ﬁve sustainability pillars
for the organisation with deﬁned short-term and long-term
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Local communities'
investment, volunteering. supporting local suppliers andeducation remain our focus areas.
We strive to be a partner in progress by supporting
communities through our efforts of promoting education,
nurturing empathy, and preserving the environment. For us
at VFS Global, supporting our communities is a long-term
investment to create value for all our local stakeholders
and help in addressing community development priorities.
VFS Global has a comprehensive Global Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) Policy that guides our teams acrossthe globe on extending grants and making institutional
donations while leveraging our resources and capabilities.
All ﬁnancial grants and donations extended are in line withVFS Global Compliance procedures and legal
requirements of the country in which they are undertaken.
For example in India we provide in charities and CSR
activities, 2% of the average net proﬁt of three years. We
have a well-deﬁned due diligence process in place thathelps us address legal, ﬁnancial and reputational risks.

VFS Global Cares

The VFS Global Cares logo, represents ourcommitment to taking responsibility when
conducting business by integrating environmental,social and governance (ESG) factors in the way weoperate. It reﬂects sensitivity, responsibility and carethat VFS Global shows for its people, environment,
and society at large.
As part of our CSR initiatives and in partnership withcredible social organisations, we drive sustainable
development programmes that have a long-term
positive impact in alignment with local government
priorities.
In 2021, we have touched the lives of more than
55,000 individuals through our 60+ community
initiatives across 22 countries.

We touched the lives of

55,000+ individuals
60+ community
initiatives
22 countries
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Appendix62

Community Programmes
VFS Global is invested in Communities programmes spanning its global network.
Mentioned below are some such initiatives in South Africa, UAE, Algeria and India.

1

2

Providing Quality Education (India): Children from underprivileged
backgrounds need access to quality education. VFS Global has been
contributing to this cause since 2015, by supporting public schools in
Mumbai and Pune through our partnership with The Akanksha Foundationthat runs the programme with teachers and parents as an integral
component. Since 2020, we have been supporting the Pujya Kasturba
Gandhi English Medium School in Pune beneﬁtting over 800 students per
year, using virtual and blended learning approach via technology andonline platforms. In 2021, as schools reopened after the pandemic, we
witnessed a steady rise in attendance, which was as its peak in
November 2022 with 60% of students regularly attending their classes.
The school team also worked with parents and families of the students to
conduct COVID-19 vaccination-related sessions and connected withthem regularly covering 69% of the students as part of the routine
wellbeing check visits and calls.

Supporting communities in Algeria: VFS Global Algeria made adonation to the WinNelka Association in Algiers in support of thoseaffected by the ﬁres in the Kabylia region of Algeria. Further, ouremployees in Algiers came together to collect essentials and personally
distributed them to the affected families.

3

Fostering Curiosity & Creativity (India): VFS Global partners with
Agastya International Foundation to support their Mobile Science Labs
(MSLs) in Mumbai and New Delhi. These MSLs aims to spark curiosityand propagate a creative temper in children and teachers from publicschools through experiential hands-on science education and teacher
training. In 2021, considering the health risks posed by the pandemic,
Agastya team conducted the programmes via in-person sessions andonline platforms. The programme beneﬁtted approximately 4,000
students from class 5 – 9 and across 25 schools, and used models
covering a wide range of topics in Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

4

Donation to Emirates Post Care Society (UAE): To mark the season ofgiving, the Emirates Post Care Society joined hands with VFS Global toprovide Eid al-Fitr gifts to over 100 children of inmates of penal andreform institutions in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. The children weretaken on a shopping trip where they were able to select clothing items as
per their desire. For the safety of children and to prevent the spread of
COVID-19, the shopping and distribution drive followed all precautionary
measures approved by the Supreme Committee for Crisis, Emergency
and Disaster Management in the UAE.

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6

7

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Environment

Climate Change & Comprehensive School Safety Education (India):
VFS Global has signed up with Save The Children India, to support acomprehensive programme in the state of Tamil Nadu that aims topromote a culture of disaster risk reduction and awareness on climatechange through a school safety education programme in coordination
with the State’s Department of School Education and SCERT (StateCouncil of Educational Research and Training). The programme iscurrently being piloted across 10 select schools for testing thecurriculum, which will be embedded as an integral part of the syllabus
and curriculum for children from class 3 to 10 across 45,000+ schools inthe state.

Supporting education in South Africa: VFS Global South Africa donatedessential food items to the School of Achievement in Elsburg, Germiston.
The government remedial school assists about 80 children with learning
impairments and provides for their nutrition through daily meals –breakfast, lunch and a take-home dinner. The donation was in support of
the food drive conducted by the school in honour of the national Human
Rights Day. In December, we donated essential items, stationery materialand sweet hampers to the students to add cheer to their Christmas
celebrations.

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Supporting students with special needs: Living by our values while
we received a gift from the Prince of Qatar, QR 3,000, the total amount
was donated to Qatar Red Crescent to provide subsidies for students
with special needs to pursue their education.

9

Computers Donation (India): The Global Support Ofﬁce team in
Mumbai donated 90+ refurbished desktop sets to charitableorganisations working towards education and skilling youth from
low-income communities. Around 60 desktops have been installed at
the Future Skills Institute of our charity partner FUEL (Friends Union for
Energising Lives), which will beneﬁt over 1,500 students annually,
addressing the digital divide and contributing to the Digital India vision.
Rest of the desktops were donated to iVolunteer India who gifted them
to ﬁve local organisations that work in the space of education andempowerment of children, youth and women from low-income
communities in and around Mumbai.

10Providing Cancer Care (India): VFS Global supports St Jude India
ChildCare Centres, which provides cost-free and holistic care tochildren suffering from life threatening medical conditions and theirfamilies during the child's treatment through 30+ centres across thecountry.

Providing Access To Clean Energy (India): In partnership with Swiss
non-proﬁt organisation ‘myclimate’, VFS Global funds a biogas project inKolar (near Bengaluru), over the past few years to offset business-related
ﬂights. Biodigesters are installed in about 8,000 households that helps
produce clean energy for 40,000 people. The project helps cut the use ofkerosene and ﬁrewood for cooking, leading to cleaner air, and reduces
pressure on the local forests for ﬁrewood harvesting. The project saves anestimated 4.5 tonnes of wood per household every year and helps
farmers by giving them waste slurry from the biogas system as a soil
improver. Green gas emissions in the region have naturally come down.
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6.2Champions of
Change Employee
Volunteerism &GivingWe encourage our colleagues across the globe tocontribute their time and skills through corporate
volunteering and giving initiatives to make a meaningful
difference in the communities that we work in and be the‘Champions of Change’ in a true sense. Our employees
contribute to social initiatives across the year with an aim
to improve the quality of life of individuals fromdisadvantaged communities and groups. Our subject
matter experts have also been involved in empoweringand inspiring young people to support the next
generation via specially-curated sessions on career
readiness or life skills.

Virtual volunteering pilot
In South Asia, we launched a Virtual Volunteering Pilot topromote remote/ virtual volunteering and keeping in mind
the health risks associated with the pandemic. In 2021,
over 150 volunteers participated in ﬁve activities clocking
over 300 volunteer hours!

Empowering Communities
During Ramadan, employees supported the ‘100
Million Meals’ campaign - the biggest food drive in
UAE aiming to provide 100 million meals for
disadvantaged individuals and families in 20
countries.
Our employees in India volunteered to educate
100+ students from the Antarang Foundation(New Delhi) by talking about their favourite
destinations – its culture, geography, food,clothing, history, social aspects and tourism - aspart of their hands-on learning that complements
their academic education.
Employees in Tunisia joined hands to help orphan
and abandoned children from SOS Gammarth inpreparing for their upcoming school year bybuying school supplies and stationery items.

Our Champions in Ukraine got together to donate
blood plasma in support of children suffering fromlife threatening medical conditions in the country.
Our Champions in Indonesia conducted adonation drive in support of Graha Yatim Dhu’afa,
a home for orphan children in Jakarta. As part of
the activity, employees gifted clothes, story books
and stationery items making Eid a special one forthe 50 children who reside in the home.
Colleagues from our London ofﬁce took part in the‘Halloween Half A Marathon Hike’ (13 Miles /21
KM) and raised funds in support of 'Asha for
Education'.

Employees from our London ofﬁce joined
supporters from all around the UK to participate in
the Race Against Hunger 5K, organised by ‘The
Trussell Trust’ to raise funds to help end poverty
and destitution in the country.
In collaboration with the Feimayi Platform, an
afﬁliate of the Alibaba Group, employees in the
North China collected ~150 books and 40+ boxesof stationery items in support of a rural school Fota Primary - in Qingshanhu District of Jiangxi
Province.

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Caring for the environment
1.

2.

3.

4.

6.

Beach Clean-up (India) Close to 50 Volunteers from
our Mumbai ofﬁce and Visa Application Centres
joined in for a beach clean-up in December 2021,
clocking 150 hours of service and collecting 2
tonnes of plastic waste, which was handed over tothe authorities for proper disposal.

7.

Pre-loved Clothes Donation Drive (UK): Employees
in London teamed-up with the British Red Cross fora clothes donation drive and collected 10 bags ofclothes which were donated in support of theneedy. The drive also helped protect theenvironment by ensuring old clothes don’t end up in
landﬁlls.

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Give For GoodApple For Battery (Russia): 500 kgs of usedbatteries were collected to dispose responsibly
through our annual ‘Apple For Battery’ drive across
12 cities, which helped protect the environment by
avoiding dumping of such toxic waste into landﬁlls.

Green World (Russia): The campaign provided an
opportunity for the participants to recycle plastic
covers, electronic products, batteries, plastic andother recyclable materials and also included
lectures on the reasonable consumption, interactive
programme, master-class on creating paintingsfrom recycled garbage, painting eco-bags.

Financials

Recycle It (South Korea): Employees donated old
and worn-out items like clothing, books, bags,
kitchenware, and appliances to Beautiful Store, anon-proﬁt charity organisation. The store will repair
and re-sell the items to raise money for charity.
Bag of Hope (South Asia): More than 115
employees from Bangladesh, India and Nepal
along with their kids participated in a virtual
session to make a trendy bag from their old usedt-shirts. They were then asked to ﬁll the bag withany essentials like - Biscuits, toothpaste, grocery
items, sanitiser, etc. and gift them to the needy
ones in their communities.

Empowering The Next Generation
In partnership with ICT Academy - a government ofIndia initiative - employees from India volunteered toshare their knowledge and expertise with 600+ students
on various topics including technology, career guidanceand sustainability.
Spread over three weeks, employees from India and
Bangladesh trained 100+ youth from the Antarang
Foundation in New Delhi on Microsoft Ofﬁce
programmes to equip them with tools for building better
careers.

Our annual ‘Give For Good’ programme gives our
employees the opportunity to give back to the society incollaboration with local charities.
In 2021, 13 activities were undertaken across close to
40 locations, where employees contributed their time,
conducted donation drives or raised funds in across 14
countries. Here’s a glimpse of some of our initiatives
from across the globe:

DaDobro‘Say Yes to Good’In Russia, our employees regularly participate incommunity initiatives through DaDobro - the International
Volunteer Movement that VFS Global supports. DaDobro(joining two Russian words, ‘Da’ meaning Yes and‘Dobro’ meaning Good), acts as a bridge between thecommunity needs and corporates.
The organisation operates in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus,
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and the UK. It follows a ‘Good
Deeds Calendar’, which dedicates a month to aparticular theme, including education, environment,
compassion, sports & wellness, and animal welfare.
In 2021, in partnership with over 200 corporates,
DaDobro undertook 12 activities across 60 locations in
Russia beneﬁtting over 6,000 children and individuals.
From VFS Global, more than 200 employees participatedactively and contributed via 10 initiatives in support ofmore than 1800 beneﬁciaries. Here are glimpses of someof the marquee programmes.
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Russia: Bus of Kindness:
Collected essential things forpeople in need

Ecuador - Food donation in supportof security & housekeeping staff

United Kingdom - Christmas Jumper
Day Fundraiser

Japan - Bell Mark Collection forschool children

Russia: Times of Miracles Collected gifts for 300 children in social
rehabilitation centres, nursing homes,
hospices during Christmas

Russia - Box of Courage to support
children in public hospitals

Bahrain, Jordan, UAE - Book Share
Programme to collect old and new books

Brazil - Food & Clothes donation drive

Chile - Christmas clothes donation drive

India - School Supplies Donation
Drives in 07 cities

Ukraine - Box of Joy donation drives

China - Dam area clean-up drive

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6.3

Supplier Relations
Sourcing responsibly
We are committed to interacting with our suppliers in a fair, and ethical manner. Being part ofmutually beneﬁcial collaborations allows us to add value to the market dynamics and encourage
more sustainable long term relationships. Acting as a trustworthy partner has ensured us years of
economic success and a good reputation in the industry. We value our suppliers and we
consistently search for possibilities to increase the synergies arising from our collaboration, and aim
to mitigate risks linked with our supply chain through responsible sourcing.
Our vendor selection process integrates environmental and social considerations and puts
emphasis on SMEs, local and women owned and run businesses. During 2021, more than 85% of
our total procurement spending was on local suppliers.

Local Procurement

2021

Total number of suppliers engaged

4,452

Total number of local suppliers engaged

4,380

Percentage of local suppliers engaged

98%

Percentage of suppliers assessed against sourcing code of conduct100%

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07

Delivering
Good Governance

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7.1

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Governance
Framework

effective board oversight but also brings authority andaccountability whilst enabling effective decision making
with a system of internal approvals and delegation of
authority across the organisation.

At VFS Global, the Board of Directors is committed to
excellent corporate governance standards, which we
believe are vital to company ethics and investor
conﬁdence. All the company’s employees and directors
are encouraged to act with fairness and integrity and areheld accountable for it. We are committed to follow thelaws and regulations, of the countries in which we
operate and adopt suitable business practices andprocedures that enable the organisation to operate incompliance with applicable laws.

Our Board of Directors and our Executive Board rely on
this framework to set and monitor these processes andaccountability goals, identify potential improvements,and ensure that operations are in line with businessstrategy.

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Our objective is to ensure all our stakeholders have trustin the way we do business while also fostering corporatesocial responsibility. All our employees are governed by
the company’s Governance Framework.

Our governance framework is comprised with rules,
practices, systems and processes with which our Boardof Directors ensures accountability, fairness andtransparency in how the company operates and how it
communicates with its stakeholders.
It provides the mechanism for our Board of Directors,
Executive Board, management and those at theoperational level to have a clear understanding of eachother’s roles, objectives, performance, risk appetite andreporting requirements. It sets objectives, policies,
values, culture, accountabilities, performance and risk
management.
Our governance framework organises operational, risk
management, reporting and ﬁnancial processes toensure that our Board of Directors is fully updated. Rules,
policies and systems create the robust framework forgovernance which provides the structure that drives thecompany’s strategic plan and helps the board to makeconsidered, data-based decisions. It not only provides
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70

The Board of Directors has key objectives and responsibilities for various governance elements including:

The Board of VFS Global is composed of 7 members, allof whom are independent non-executive directors. Noneof the members of the Board of Directors has any
signiﬁcant business connection with any members of theGroup. The selection is based on several factors
including International and industry expertise, aligningwith the organisation’s strategy, whilst valuing diversity inthe selection process. The Chairman and Chief Executive
Ofﬁcer's positions are distinct and held by different
individuals.

GovernanceThe board establishes the structure andprocesses to fulﬁll its responsibilities to theshareholders, regulators, management andclients

Integrity
The board sets the ethical tone for thecompany with appropriate standards for
integrity and ethics and promotes legal andregulatory compliance programme

The Articles of Association provide that our board of
directors (Verwaltungsrat) (the "Board of Directors" or
the "Board") shall consist of a minimum of threemembers, including the chairperson of the Board (the"Chairman") who is appointed by the shareholders'meeting.

Strategy
The board advises the Executive Board in thedevelopment of strategic priorities andmonitors the management’s execution andcommunication of approved strategic plans

Risk governance and management
The board understands and monitors theorganisation’s strategic, operational, ﬁnancial
and compliance risk, collaborates with the
Executive Board in establishing theorganisation’s risk appetite, risk tolerance, risk
mitigation measures and alignment withstrategic goals

Performance
The board reviews and approves theorganisation’s strategy, operating plans andﬁnancial plans. It also monitors management’s
execution against approved budgets andalignment with the organisation’s strategic
objectives.

TalentThe board selects, evaluates andcompensates the CEO and oversees talent
programme especially for the Executive
Board and potential successors to the CEO

All members of the Board of Directors, including the
Chairman, must be elected individually, and may only beremoved, by a shareholders' resolution. The term ofofﬁce for a member of the Board of Directors is one year,
subject to the possibility of re-election.

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71

VFS Global brand identity with public perceptions andbrand image.

Board Members as at 31 December 2021

1

Financials

Board member

Position

Appointment Date

Marco Gadola

Chairman2021

Matthias Wittkowski

Member2020

Franz Julen

Member2020

Eric Elzvik

Member2018

Vagn Soerensen

Member20181

Andy Jones

Member20181

Katrin Suder

Member2021

Member of the advisory board of the Company from 2016 to 2018

Following the acquisition in May 2022 of a majority stake in VFS Global by Blackstone from EQT, the Board of VFS Global
AG effective from 18 May 2022, (constituting representatives from VFS Global’s shareholders, management andindependent directors with relevant experience) is Susir Kumar (Chairman), Eric Elzvik, Lionel Assant, Nadim El Gabbani,
Amit Dixit, Mukesh Mehta, Franz Julen, Michael Nilles and Zubin Karkaria.

Executive / Management Board
The Executive Board is headed by the CEO and provides strategic guidance to the organisation. The CEO is at the top of thesenior management structure and is ultimately responsible for the operational success of the company. The CEO works
closely with the other members of the Executive Board and the Board of Directors to set the strategy for the organisation andto ensure that the organisation is implementing its strategy effectively and is achieving its targets and a satisfactory ROI. The
CEO with the help of the Executive Board, ensure that the business remains competitive including in respect of the company’s
technological strategy, ability to adapt to new industry and technological advancements, new business initiatives, aligning the

There are 8 persons in the Executive Board, each withwell-deﬁned roles that establish and oversee various
activities in different parts of the organisation to ensurethat the goals, strategies, plans and objectives of theorganisation are effectively communicated and achieved
implementation. The Executive Board is responsible forthe operations, growth and development of business,management of resources and interactions withregulators and stakeholders. It also monitors thecompetitive landscape and oversees the implementationof improvements to stay as the leader in its businesssector.
The Executive Board ensures that various departments
and functions work together and ensure they achieve
their goals and contribute to the overall growth of thecompany.
It also reviews and approves the ESG strategy, overlooks
the implementation of global initiatives and its progress.
It drives and co-ordinates the company’s sustainability
activities with the regions, ensuring alignment across thecompany and reports globally on progress.
The Executive Board, together with the Board of
Directors, establishes the organisation’s risk appetite andtolerance, and the philosophy, framework, tools andmethods that drive the risk management approachacross every level in the organisation.
Together with the Board of Directors, it sets the “tone at
the top” and provides the structure for a strong
compliance culture and programme that promotes
ethical decision making and sound business practices.
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Executive Board Structure

Chief Executive Ofﬁcer

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Chief Human Resources Ofﬁcer

Chief Information Ofﬁcer

Chief Culture Ofﬁcer

Head of Business Development

Regional Group Chief Operating Ofﬁcer

General Counsel, Head Corporate Risk,
Compliance & Legal

Appendix72

Board Committees

External Auditors

The Board has established several sub-committees toassist the entire Board in carrying out its functions.

The external auditor is selected in compliance with theapplicable laws and regulations. Following approval of
the appointment of auditors, the Audit Committee notiﬁes
the external auditors of the scope of their work.

Audit Committee
Chief Financial Ofﬁcer

Financials

The Audit Committee is appointed by the Board of
Directors and is composed of at least two Board
Directors, both of whom have recent and relevant
ﬁnancial experience. The member of this Committee atthe end of December 2021, were Eric Elzvik who was the
Chairman and Vagn Soerensen.
Following the acquisition in May 2022 of VFS Global AG
by Blackstone, the composition of the Audit committee is
Eric Elzvik (Chairman), Nadim El Gabbani, Mukesh
Mehta.
The Audit Committee’s primary purpose is, on behalf of
the Board of Directors, to provide oversight of the
ﬁnancial reporting process, the audit process, the audit
function. the organisation’s system of internal controls,
information technology security, data privacy andprotection issues, operational matters, the complianceprogramme and compliance with laws and regulations.
The Audit Committee is responsible for recommending to
the Board of Directors and the shareholders, theappointment, compensation and oversight of external
auditors. It reviews and approves the proposed audit
approaches, the audit plan, stafﬁng and organisation of
the function and meets with the internal Head of Auditand members of the Executive Board to discuss audit
ﬁndings and other matters of concern that may arise. The
Audit Committee convenes at least 5 times per year.
Seven meetings were held during 2021.

Management Committees
Remuneration Committee (REMCOM)The REMCOM is responsible for the review and advise on
the overall compensation strategy of the organisation.
Furthermore, it approves the compensation budget, theannual promotion and compensation increases as well as
the cost impact of the annual performance bonus. The
committee, reviews and conﬁrms on the impact of bonus
for any employee due to any non-compliance with SOPs
and/or client government SLAs which actually impacts orposes a serious risk to the reputation or business of thecompany / brand, and reviews and approves any beneﬁtplans that have a cost impact to the organisation. It
consists of the CEO, CHRO and CFO of VFS Global.
POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) - India
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace(Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH
Act) was enacted as a comprehensive legislation toprovide a safe, secure and enabling environment, freefrom sexual harassment to every female colleague.
A component of this Act is the formation of the POSH
committee which consists of a minimum of four members:

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A Presiding Ofﬁcer who has to be a senior level
female employee.
Two Members from our employees - preferably
employees who are committed to the cause of
women or who have had experience in social workor have legal knowledge.
One Member from non-governmental organisations
or associations committed to the cause of women ora person familiar with the issues relating to sexual
harassment (“External Member”)
At least half of the total Members of the committee
should be women
The purpose of this committee is to ensure that every
complaint on sexual harassment is investigated in a fairneutral manner and without any bias. They will then share
their recommendations to the management to action
based on the POSH Act.
ESG Committee
The ESG committee supports the organisations’continued commitment to developing and successfully
implementing its sustainability framework while
maintaining connections with all stakeholders, including
shareholders, colleagues, customers and client
governments, the community, and suppliers. The
Committee is comprised of cross-functional teammembers who will help with setting general ESG goals,
developing, implementing, and monitoring ESG-related
policies and initiatives to meet the ESG Committee
Charter objectives.

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GovernanceAppendix73

Board and Committees Attendance
Board of Director's
Attendance

17 Feb-21

28 Apr-21

13 Jul-21

26 Oct-21

7 Dec-21

Marco Gadola(1)Matthias Wittkowski
Franz Julen
Eric Elzvik
Vagn Soerensen
Andy Jones
Katrin Suder(2)(1) Appointed on 1st May 2021, (2) Appointed on 17 June 2021

Audit committee attendance

Member19 Jan16 Feb

4 Mar

27 April

9 Aug

25 Oct3 Dec

Eric Elzvik
Vagn Soerensen

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7.2

Compliance
Code of Conduct
Our Code of Conduct reﬂects our commitment to complying
with all applicable laws and regulations and ethical businesspractices that are consistent with our organisation’sStatement of Values. The code provides practical assistanceto our employees in dealing with ethical issues or situations
they may face whilst conducting our business. Our Board of
Directors and Executive Management team are committed
to ethical business practices and compliance with allapplicable laws including our Code of Conduct in ensuring
VFS Global's long-term success. The Code of Conduct
applies to the Board of Directors, Executive Board, and all
employees of VFS Global, and we require compliance to our
Code of Conduct from all third parties whom we work with.
This Code is further strengthened and reinforced by VFS
Global's detailed internal policies, and procedures.
A dedicated Compliance Team together with ComplianceChampions across the organisation as well as strong
ownership and commitment from the business work together
to strengthen our focus on compliance.

Whistleblowing policy/ Speak up policy
Our employees have the responsibility to report any
unethical behavior, including breaches of VFS Global
policies and procedures, and violations of local andinternational laws and regulations. Employees areencouraged to report their concerns about certain activities.
All Speak Up reports are treated in strict conﬁdentiality, andthey are reported on an internal system RSA Archer thatkeeps track of the progress of incidents, ensuring timely
processing. Managers at VFS Global are held responsible

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Governancefor creating and fostering a working environment where
all employees feel conﬁdent and comfortable about
raising their concerns, and most importantly doing so
without any fear of retaliation. All Speak Up cases areassessed by the Compliance team and investigated, if
required. Conﬁrmed violations of our Code of Conduct
are subject to review by a disciplinary committee andsubject to appropriate disciplinary and remedial action(including dismissal). Our General Counsel, Head
Corporate Risk, Compliance and Legal. reports
substantiated investigations and remedial actions taken
to the VFS Global Audit Committee, ensuring good
governance.

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Appendix74

co-workers in a courteous, fair, open and respectfulmanner. Further, the Code also protects the dignity andrespect of all employees irrespective of their gender,
religion, race/ caste, colour, age, nationality, language,
ethnic origin, socio-economic status, physicalappearance, special abilities
and sexual orientation.

Conﬂict of Interest andRelated Party Transactions
By avoiding conﬂicts of interest that could inﬂuence ourbusiness decisions, we ensure integrity and impartiality
in our work. Prior to entering any business connection ortransaction, we should detect and address conﬂicts ofinterest. All our employees are required to declare any
conﬂict of interest that may arise with respect to any
business partner, a customer or competitor, or a potential
business partner or customer, and obtain prior approval
before proceeding with a transaction. Our employees arealso required to obtain approval before accepting Board
level roles in other companies or not-for-proﬁtorganisations.

The Pride Afﬁnity: LGBTQ+VFS Global supports the principles and practice of equal
opportunity and employment at workplace. The Code of
Conduct mandates that all employees interact with their

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Commitment
1. Laws and Regulations
VFS Global is committed to compliance with allapplicable laws whether local or international. Our codeof Conduct includes the nine areas of law and details ourcommitment towards regulatory compliance.

Global Anti-harassment and Bullying policy
VFS Global is dedicated to fostering a workplace that is
free from any form of harassment and bullying, in which
every employee is treated with dignity and respect.
Bullying and harassment are treated with zero tolerance,
as stated in the Global Anti-Harassment and Bullying
Policy. This policy applies to bullying and harassment ofand by VFS Global managers, employees, contractors,
agency employees, and anyone else who is employed by
VFS Global, whether directly or indirectly.

Global Anti-human Trafﬁcking and Slavery
Our Anti- Slavery and human trafﬁcking policy reﬂects ourcommitment to act ethically and with integrity in all ourbusiness relationships. We have implemented effective
systems and controls to ensure that slavery, human
trafﬁcking, or child labour is not taking place in ourbusiness or supply chain or with any third parties
involved in our operations. We urge our employees toreport any violation they have witnessed or concerns they
have. They are prohibited from supporting or dealing withany suppliers or businesses involved in a form ofColleagues

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Governanceslavery or human trafﬁcking. Furthermore, VFS Global iscommitted to the legislation framework of the countries
where it operates.

India Prevention Sexual Harassment of
Women in the Workplace
VFS Global has a zero-tolerance approach to sexual
harassment. Our Code of Conduct includes a dedicatedsection on sexual Harassment in the workplace, which isapplicable to all employees worldwide. In India, thegovernment has introduced the Sexual Harassment of
Women in the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition andRedressal) Act in 2013, under which every employer ismandated to formulate and implement an anti-sexual
harassment policy. Non-compliance may result in severe
consequences including restrictions for doing business.
The Act enables organisations to provide a safe
workplace to women employees by ensuring regularawareness programmes are conducted to sensitise
employees about the Act, familiarise them with theInternal Complaints Committee, and orient them on penal
consequences of sexual harassment. In India, we havedeveloped our own Prevention, Prohibition and Redressalof Sexual Harassment at Workplace Policy. It exceeds
the requirement of the Act, mitigating the risk of
employees of any gender being subject to sexual
harassment. The policy applies to any employment
arrangement, be it permanent, temporary, direct or
through an agent, or voluntary. VFS Global India reports
annually on progress and any relevant incidents, incompliance with the Act. During 2021, overall, more than
98% of all employees were trained on sexual harassment
prevention, while this % in India reached 100%, For 2022,
our aim is to continue improving our polices, processes
and training modules, maintaining these really highnumbers of employee training.

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75

India Corporate Social Responsibility
In 2013, India became the ﬁrst country to have statutorily
mandated corporate social responsibility through its
amendment to the Companies Act. Under this Act,
speciﬁc companies are required to spend 2% of theiraverage net proﬁts over three years on social
development initiatives. CSR proceeds may be spent on
promoting education, protecting the environment,
eradicating hunger, poverty, and gender inequality,
among others. VFS Global India has been fully compliant
with the Act since its introduction in 2014, and invests inprotecting the environment and promoting education, inalignment with its global CSR strategy.

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UK Modern Slavery Act
Persuant to the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015, our Policy
reﬂects our commitment to act ethically and with integrityin all of our business operations, and our supply chain,
as well as to implementing and enforcing effective
systems and controls to ensure that slavery and human
trafﬁcking do not exist anywhere in the countries where
we operate, and we encourages all our employees toreport any concerns or incidents via the company's
escalation matrix.

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Financials

Appendix76

143 countries, for 63 client governments, we are committed to have a robust data protection framework, which
has been strengthened by having attained ISO 27001 certiﬁcation for Information Security Management
Systems. To support our data protection framework, we also have appropriate cyber security and threat
detection tools. During 2021, more than 87% of total employees were trained on data protection topics. For
2022, our aim is to improve even more our processes, policies and training, as well as to minimize individual
data privacy risks for new services.

GDPR EU General Data Protection Regulation
We comply with the European GDPR and data protection laws in all our countries of operation. We arecommitted to safeguarding customer and employee privacy, ensuring data protection and maintaining
information security in all our processes.escalation matrix.

2. Anti-bribery and corruption
We condemn any form of bribery and corruption, andwe are committed to acting professionally, fairly and withintegrity in all our business operations. We are committed
to abide by all laws and regulations relevant to bribery
and corruption in all jurisdictions where we operate. We
conduct due diligence on our business partners,
regularly conduct bribery and corruption risk
assessments and through a recently implemented
Anti-bribery Management System based on ISO 37001
we continuously monitor, evaluate and improve ourcontrols to mitigate the risks of bribery and corruption.
During 2021, training on anti-bribery and corruption wascovered by more than 98% of our employees, and for2022 the goal is to maintain such high numbers.

Areas of law covered under VFS Global Code of Conduct
1

Data protection andconfidentiality laws

62Anti-Bribery andCorruption laws

73

Human rights andemployment equity laws

84Anti-human trafficking
and slavery laws

5

Anti-discrimination &sexual harassment laws

9

3. Data Protection
We proactively monitor data protection laws of each country
in which we operate in order to drive effective and compliant
processes. Being the world’s largest visa service provider
that handles sensitive information of millions of applicants in

Anti-money launderingand counter terrorist
financing laws

Copyright laws andsoftware licensing

Taxation and financeregulations

Insider trading andsecurities laws

VFS GLOBAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

Introduction

Sustainability

Economic growth

4. Risk Management
Enterprise Risk Management
Our integrated risk management platform RSA Archer
has been designed to strengthen our position on
enterprise-wide risk management. Eight risk criticalbusiness processes including Incident management,
Third-party risk management and Audit have been
onboarded on this uniﬁed enterprise- wide framework.
This initiative combines business processes to identify,
assess, evaluate, prioritise, manage and monitor risks
consistently across the company. RSA Archer serves as
an aggregation point for VFS Global’s operational risk
management programme, enabling the stakeholders tovisually understand, prioritise and manage known risks,
and to harness risk intelligence, to reduce the likelihoodand negative impact of unexpected) events.
Enterprise-wide risk registers (risk catalogue) for theremaining six key business processes are currently being
developed to support this framework. The overall
objective of this initiative is to provide an internal control
framework that is adequately designed and operating toensure that risk is being effectively managed.

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GovernanceOversight Structure & Information
Flow For Enterprise Risk Management

Financials

Appendix

VFS Board

VFS Global Audit Committee

SME

General Counsel,
Head Corporate Risk, Compliance & Legal

Regional
Head

Business Unit
Head

77

Internal Audit
Sachin B

Risk Committee (EB)Functional
Head
RSA Archer

Regional
Rick Owner

Business Unit
Rick Owner

Functional
Rick Owner

HOR - Head Of Risk
SME - Subject Matter Experts from departments such as
Informtaion Security, Data Privacy, Taxation, M&A etc.
Risk Information Flow

5. Internal Audit

ISAE 3402 Assurance Engagements

At VFS Global, we carry out regular internal audits, which
provide assurance on the applied risk management
process, assessing the effectiveness and appropriatenessof controls, validation of risk models, and operational
compliance. Additionally, our client governments audit our
processes and operations regularly through the central
ministries and through local consular teams from
diplomatic missions. In some cases, VFS Global
undertakes joint audits with the client government.

VFS Global implemented ISAE 3402 in 2013 and went
through Type-I and Type-II audits to guarantee allprocesses are closely managed and in line with businessneeds. We have been in compliance with the standard
since then, with no notable deviations observed in thelast seven years.

VFS GLOBAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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Sustainability

Economic growth

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Appendix

78

08

Financial
Review

VFS GLOBAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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Sustainability

Economic growth

8.1 Business model and Strategy
Visa & Passport Processing Services
The visa outsourcing business model was pioneered by
VFS Global and speciﬁcally, Founder and Chief Executive
Ofﬁcer, Zubin Karkaria, in 2001 and till today, the industry
has experienced signiﬁcant growth. VFS Global is themarket leader, driven by technological knowledge andexperience of the mission critical nature of operations forclients, which has been developed over a number ofyears. Moreover, the multi-year nature of the contracts,
high client retention rates and new business tender
success rates ensure stability and more so drives growthwith regards to ﬁnancial performance of VFS Global. Thisoutsourcing trend is expected to continue as
governments increasingly rely on outsourcing providers
to manage rising visa application numbers and as they
beneﬁt from specialists’ know-how, ﬂexibility andefﬁciency.
Whilst the pandemic undoubtedly has a signiﬁcant
impact on the travel market and a worldwide, coordinatedvaccine rollout has largely mitigated that impact and thelong-term trend remains supportive of a resilient growthtrajectory. This is coupled with favorable visa trends,
driven by a global concern regarding security threats andbackground health (including vaccination and COVID
test) checks, migration control and increased outsourcing
by governments, are expected to further strengthen
attractiveness of the visa outsourcing.
VFS Global has a full product suite offering across bothtraditional and digital visas, where the company
continues to reﬁne digital solutions with an aim to develop
and launch innovative digital focused products andsolutions. In 2021 VFS Global continued to grow its

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Governancepassport services business which provide governments
the ability to outsource the processing of passportapplications (new issues, renewals etc.) of expatriates
living in overseas locations.
Similar to the visa outsourcing market at inception, VFSGlobal believe there is a strong outsourcing opportunity
within passport services, and VFS Global is well placed
to handle the front-end services given its track record,client overlap and capability in visa services.
Furthermore, VFS Global continues to expect synergistic
beneﬁts as this passport services product is serviced
almost entirely from existing visa infrastructure. VFSGlobal is conﬁdent in maintaining its market leadershipin identifying and addressing technology and digitaladvancements in its core visa market, whilst also
addressing new product or user markets.
Despite the signiﬁcant impact of the pandemic, VFSGlobal’s resilient business model, driven by the variety ofvisa categories available to applicants (including work,
student and long-term settlement) as well as in-country
citizen services passport and other consular services
along with revenue enhancement and cost saving
measures has enabled quick recovery of business.
Key Developments During the YearThe economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
continued in 2021. Nevertheless, 2021 also witnessed ahistorically unprecedented, coordinated, rapid, andeffective global effort to ﬁght the pandemic with awidespread vaccine rollout and adoption. This has
effectively turned the travel and tourism sector towards
normalcy after two worst-affected years in global
tourism. These trends continue to directly impact VFS
Global’s business.

Financials

Appendix79

As per the United Nation World Tourism Organisation(“UNWTO”) Jan-2022 barometer, “Global tourism
experienced a 4% upturn in 2021, compared to 2020
(415 million versus 400 million). However, international
tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) were still 72% below
the pre-pandemic year of 2019, according to preliminary
estimates by UNWTO. This follows on from 2020, wheninternational arrivals decreased by 74%”.
Carrying on from the efforts undertaken in 2020, VFSGlobal has continued its focus on revenue enhancement,
cost saving and liquidity actions throughout 2021.
During ﬁrst quarter of 2021,, travel restrictions on several
key travel routes continued to ease and countries lifted
lockdowns, which led to a strong operating performance.
This was further supported by VFS Global’s lenders, as
the Group was able to secure an additional CHF 76.6
million of liquidity under existing senior facility agreement(‘SFA’) facilities. However, the emergence of the ‘Delta’variant in second quarter 2021 in major source markets,
led to border closures and increased travel restrictions.
In late November 2021, when the new variant ‘Omicron’of COVID-19 emerged, VFS Global closely monitored theimpact and did not see a material impact of Omicron on
ﬁnancial performance during November and December
2021. The impact of Omicron began waning fromJanuary 2022.

VFS GLOBAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

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Economic growth

In response to traveler’s growing demand to prioritize
safe travel amid the pandemic, VFS Global accelerated
its push towards the Visa at your Doorstep (‘VAYD’)service, as it allows customers to apply for visas from the
comfort of their homes. This initiative was well received
and there was a sharp increase in VAYD conversion. By
end of ﬁnancial year 2021, 31 out of 63 client
governments had signed up for VAYD services. VFSGlobal anticipates that the VAYD service will be a key
product going forward with evolving customer demands
and will allow VFS Global to manage its ﬁxed costs.
On October 6, 2021, (the shareholder of the Group), an
entity indirectly owned by EQT VII (No.1) LP and EQT VII(No.2) LP (funds managed by EQT Partners, a private
equity ﬁrm headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden) andthe Kuoni und Hugentobler Foundation, entered into ashare purchase agreement with Speed Bidco S.à r.l., anentity indirectly owned by funds managed by Blackstone
Capital Partners, (“Blackstone”) to sell a controlling stakein VFS Global. The transaction was completed on 18 May
2022.
VFS Global also strengthened its leadership team withkey senior level appointments across multiple key
functions such as ﬁnance, human resource, compliance,risk and ESG.

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Financials

80

As on 31 December 2021, VFS Global had

3,516
Application
Centres
2020: 3,482

63

143

ClientGovernments
2020: 64

Countries ofOperation
2020: 144

Pre-COVID-19

COVID-19 Impacted

Application Counts

30.3 Million

Application Counts

Application Counts

9.9 Million

2019

2020

2021

Application Counts (Year on Year)

Application Counts (Year on Year)

Application Counts (Year on Year)

Revenue*

Revenue*

Revenue*

7.3 Million

20%
34%

-76%
-68%

36%
52%

*Year on Year Revenues and other operating income
VFS GLOBAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

Introduction

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Economic growth

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Appendix81

Revenue share by source market

2021
Africa2020

Others11%
16%

AmericasSouth Asia

9%

22%

26%

OthersAfrica8% 1%
MENA

VFS Global continued its steadyrecovery in 2021 with revenue andother operating income. Visa
applications processed in 2021
increased to 9.9 million (2020: 7.3
million applications).

MENA
Asia Paciﬁc(APAC)

17%

25%
20%

16%

10%
CIS + Europe

1%South Asia

Asia Paciﬁc(APAC)Overall VFS Global’s revenues remain
globally diversiﬁed with signiﬁcantshare coming from emerging markets
where both the passport strength andpenetration are low and outboundtravel growth is higher. The Group’s
large presence in India, China andother emerging markets positions VFS
Global strongly to take advantage ofthe growth rates projected for thesesource markets.

18%

Americas
CIS + Europe

Source: Based on full year Management view
VFS GLOBAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

Introduction

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Economic growth

8.2 Future Developments and Outlook
VFS Global has seen recovery in applicant counts
throughout second half 2021. This has been driven by
the easing of lockdowns, resumption of air travel andrestarting of visa application acceptance and visa
categories by client governments. VFS Global has seen
strong performance from several areas including landroutes, and in-country services (passport renewal
applications).
In the ﬁnancial year 2022, the Group expects that travelrecovery will continue. This view is supported by highglobal vaccination rates, newer COVID-19 mutations
resulting in weaker strains and the gradual lifting of travelbans across key VFS Global travel routes such as the UK
met with a strong pent-up travel demand. Nevertheless,an emergence of a newer severe strains cannot be ruledout in future.
Furthermore, recent geopolitical developments has led tobusiness disruption in some source markets. This is the
key focus area for the management and adequate steps
are taken to ensure safety of employees and continuity inoperations. VFS Global anticipates a negative impact on
travel in the source and destination markets in thesecountries and will impact the recovery in travel volumes
in the short term until the situation stabilises.
Based on current expectations, VFS Global expects
recovery in applicant counts to the extent of 60% of
pre-crisis levels (2019) in 2022 and a full businessrecovery to pre-crisis levels is not expected until mid of2024. VFS Global is conﬁdent that travel is set to recover
sharply and continue its steady upward trajectory overthe long term. VFS Global believes that continuing costdiscipline, improved structure and efﬁciency measures

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Governanceput in place will enable the company to capitalisesigniﬁcantly on the sharp upswing in travel once travel
restrictions are relaxed. Furthermore, VFS Global
continues to focus towards building a leaner and digital
focused organisation.
VFS Global structural growth drivers remain intact withinternational travel volumes continuing to grow andappetite for international travel remains strong driven
primarily by economic growth, rising incomes across all
major geographical regions, the rise of the middle class,an increase in overall travel spend amid growing
urbanisation and globalisation, decreasing travel costs
and passport penetration in emerging markets (inparticular Asia-Paciﬁc (APAC) and South Asia).
VFS Global is committed to making people’s crossborder mobility simple and convenient through highly
secure, reliable, efﬁcient, and innovative technology
solutions. VFS Global strives to be a good corporate
Group through continuous focus on improving
environmental, social and governance (ESG)
performance parameters.

8.3 Principal risks and uncertainties
The principal risks and uncertainties, which are common
to the Group and Company are:Geopolitical and travel disruption
Travel facilitators such as VFS Global are exposed toinherent risk of incidents, which may impact travel
demand and patterns. Incidents can include natural
catastrophes, outbreak of disease or geopoliticalinstability. VFS Global serves 63 missions across 143
countries, enabling it to offset downturns in someFinancials

Appendix82

destinations with strong performance in others in thecase of country or region-speciﬁc disruptions.
Nevertheless, fourth or ﬁfth waves of the virus resulting
from mutations a geopolitical instability may result in
additional restrictions being initiated or reinitiated which
could severely dent recovery prospects.
Consumer demand
Whilst VFS Global clients are sovereign governments, theend consumer or visa applicant drives demand for VFS
Global services. Spending on travel is largely
discretionary and price sensitive. Countries are atdifferent stages in the economic cycle at any one time. In
the case of recession or slowdown of general economic
activity, consumers often cut back on travel spend.
Changes in consumer demand may impact the Group’s
short-term growth rates and margin expectations.
However, the current macro environment across key
regions (i.e. South Asia and MENA) is broadly positive.
Moreover, VFS Global has operations in 143 countries
enabling it to mitigate this risk to a large extent. VFSGlobal also serves applicants across a broad range ofvisa requirements (tourist, business, relocation,
employment, religious travel etc.), which also mitigatesthe consumer demand risk.
Information Security and Data Protection
The Group has a responsibility to protect the
conﬁdentiality, integrity and availability of customer dataas part of its operations. Furthermore, the global
regulatory environment is changing with many countries
enacting laws that require VFS Global to host data within
the respective country boundaries. The Group maintainhigh standards of information security by undertaking
regular IT security audits, periodic vulnerability
VFS GLOBAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

Introduction

Sustainability

Economic growthassessment and penetration testing. VFS Global strictly
adheres to a purging policy whereby information about
an applicant which is classiﬁed as personally identiﬁable(e.g. full name, date of birth, passport number, street
address, email address and phone numbers) is deleted
after an agreed upon period of time (most commonly
after the passport is returned to the applicant). VFSGlobal is compliant with relevant European legislation
relating to data protection, including Directive 95/46/EC,
GDPR and with the provisions contained within the EU
Visa Code.
VFS Global has also implemented the ‘Information
Security Management System’ (ISMS) and has beencertiﬁed for ISO 27001:2013 standard for all visa
application centres by an accredited certiﬁcation body,
TUV SUD: Germany.
Financial related risks
The Group’s principal ﬁnancial liabilities, other thanderivatives, comprise borrowings, trade and otherpayables and lease liabilities. The Group’s principal
ﬁnancial assets include trade and other receivables,
cash and cash equivalents and other ﬁnancial assetsthat derive directly from its operations. The Group also
enters into derivative transactions for foreign currency
rate ﬂuctuations. The hedge accounting policy isprepared to comply with the hedge accounting
requirement under IFRS 9 “Financial Instruments”.
The Group is exposed to market risk, credit risk andliquidity risk. The Group’s senior management oversees
the management of these risks and is supported by the
Corporate Treasury Department that advises on ﬁnancial
risks and the appropriate ﬁnancial risk governanceframework for the Group. It is the Group’s policy that no

Colleagues

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Governancetrading in derivatives for speculative purposes may beundertaken. The Board of Directors of VFS Global AG
reviews and agrees policies for managing each of theserisks, which are summarised below:

1. Market risk
Market risk is the risk that the fair value of future cash
ﬂows of a ﬁnancial instrument will ﬂuctuate because ofchanges in market prices. Financial instruments affectedby market risk include borrowings, deposits, derivative
ﬁnancial instruments.

Financials

Appendix83

2. Credit Risk
Credit risk is the risk that counterparty will not meet its
obligations under a ﬁnancial instrument or customer
contract, leading to a ﬁnancial loss. The Group is
exposed to credit risk from its ﬁnancing activities,
including deposits with banks and ﬁnancial institutions,foreign exchange transactions and other ﬁnancial
instruments. Credit risk from balances with bank ismanaged as per the Group’s policy. Investments ofsurplus funds are made only with approved
counterparties.
3. Liquidity risk

Foreign currency risk
Foreign currency risk is the risk that the fair value
or future cash ﬂows of an exposure will ﬂuctuatebecause of changes in foreign exchange rates.
The Group’s exposure to the risk of changes inforeign exchange rates relates primarily to theGroup’s operating activities (when revenue or
expense is denominated in a foreign currency)
and the Group’s net investments in foreignsubsidiaries. The major currencies giving rise tocurrency risk for the Group are the Pound sterling,
US dollar, and Euro.
Most of the Group’s operating income andexpense exposure is naturally hedged by setting
off receivables and payables. The currencies ofdebt are aligned with currencies of operational
cash ﬂows to mitigate currency risk on interest
serving.

Liquidity risk is the risk that Group may be unable tomeet its ﬁnancial obligations when these become due forpayment. The liquidity position of the Group issigniﬁcantly inﬂuenced by the service fee collected on
visa applications processed. Given the ongoing businessenvironment risk and recovery proﬁle of volumes, VFSGlobal is closely monitoring its liquidity to maintain it atadequate levels, with weekly and monthly reports toGroup Chief Financial Ofﬁcer and the use of several
simulation and cash management tools. This is done
partly by maintaining liquidity reserves to even out theusual ﬂuctuations in liquidity levels and needs.
This ﬁnancial report has been approved and signed by
the board and has been audited byPricewaterhouseCoopers, Societe Cooperative (PwC) inaccordance with the International Financial ReportingStandards (IFRSs) as adopted by European Union.

VFS GLOBAL INTEGRATED REPORT 2021

Introduction

09

Sustainability

Economic growth

AppendixColleagues

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Communities

Governance

Financials

Appendix84Introduction

Sustainability

Economic growth

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Financials

Appendix85

9.1

VFS Global Network

Europe & CIS

1

7
North Asia & China

Middle East & North Africa

32AmericasSouth Asia

54
6

AfricaAustralasia

The map showcased in the document is not to scale.
Locations and boundaries on the map are indicative and do notnecessarily indicate exact geographic and/ or political locations
and boundaries. Statistics as on 31st December 2021
Geographical map shows source markets where VFS Global
serves respective Client Governments.

63« Identity and Citizen Service Centres

Information Service

Physical Presence

ClientGovernments
Statistics as on 31 December 2021
st

143

Countries ofOperation

3516
Application
CentresOver

236

MillionApplications
Processed

Over

104

Million
Biometric
Enrolments

7400+
116
Employees

Nationalities

Introduction

Sustainability

Economic growth

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Financials

Appendix86

VFS Global Network
1

Europe & CIS
Albania
Australia
CanadaArmenia
Austria
CanadaCroatia
GreeceLithuania
Austria
CanadaAzerbaijan
CanadaCroatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ireland
LatviaLithuania
Malta
NorwayBelarusAustria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
GreeceHungary
IrelandLithuania
NorwayPolandSlovakia
ThailandUkraineBelgium
India
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Australia
CanadaSlovenia
Finland
CanadaFranceAustralia
CanadaIndia
Philippines
UkraineNorth Macedonia
CanadaGeorgia
Canada2Germany
CanadaNigeria
Saudi Arabia
USA
GreeceAustralia
CanadaIreland
Austria
CanadaDenmark
Philippines
The Netherlands
Italy
CanadaSaudi Arabia
Kazakhstan
Australia
Austria
Bulgaria
CanadaCroatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
FranceGreeceHungary
IrelandLithuania
NorwaySlovakia
Switzerland
USA
KosovoAustria
CanadaCroatia
Finland
NorwaySlovenia
SwedenKyrgyzstan
Austria
CanadaCroatia
Hungary
Luxembourg
India
Moldova
CanadaPolandCanadaRomania
CanadaRussiaAustralia
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
CanadaCroatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
FinlandFranceGreeceHungary
Iceland
IrelandJapan
Lithuania
Malta
New Zealand
NorwayPolandSingapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
SwedenThailandThe Netherlands
UkraineUSA
SerbiaCanadaDenmark
NorwaySpain
CanadaIndia
SwedenCanadaSaudi Arabia
Switzerland
India
Saudi Arabia
Tajikistan
CanadaCzech Republic
Saudi Arabia
Ukraine
The Netherlands
CanadaIndia
Saudi Arabia
UkraineUK
Austria
CanadaCroatia
CyprusCzech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
GreeceGreenland
Hungary
Iceland
India
IrelandItaly
LatviaLithuania
Malta
Malaysia
New ZealandNigeria
NorwayPhilippines
PortugalSlovenia
South Africa
SwedenThe Netherlands
UkraineUkraineAustria
Bulgaria
CanadaCroatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
GreeceLithuania
New Zealand
NorwayPolandSlovenia
SwedenThe Netherlands
Uzbekistan
Austria
Croatia
Czech Republic
GreeceIreland
LatviaLithuania
Malta

Middle East & North Africa
Afghanistan
Singapore
UAE
UkraineAlgeria
Australia
Austria
CanadaCroatia
Denmark
FinlandFranceGermany
GreeceHungary
Italy
Malta
NorwayP.R. China
Saudi Arabia
The Netherlands
UkraineBahrain
Australia
Austria
CanadaCroatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
FranceGermany
GreeceHungary
IcelandItaly
LatviaSaudi Arabia
Singapore
Switzerland
UK
Egypt
Australia
Austria
CanadaCroatia
CyprusDenmark
Finland
GreeceHungary
Italy
LatviaLithuania
Malta
NorwayP.R. China
Portugal
Singapore
Slovakia
SwedenSwitzerland
The Netherlands
UkraineIraq
Austria
Belgium
CanadaFranceGermany
Italy
PortugalSlovenia
The Netherlands
UkraineJordanAustralia
Austria
Belgium
CanadaCroatia
CyprusCzech Republic
Germany
GreeceHungary
Ireland
Italy
NorwaySaudi Arabia
SwedenThe Netherlands
UAE
Ukraine
KuwaitAustralia
Austria
Belgium
CanadaCroatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Germany
GreeceHungary
IrelandItaly
LatviaPhilippines
P.R. China
Slovakia

Switzerland
The Netherlands
UK
UkraineLebanonAustralia
Austria
Belgium
CanadaCroatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
FinlandGermany
GreeceNorwayP.R. China
SwedenSwitzerland
The Netherlands
UAE
Ukraine
Libya
Italy
Malta
MoroccoAustria
CanadaCroatia
Denmark
Finland
Portugal
SwedenThe Netherlands
UkraineOman
Australia
Austria
Bulgaria
CanadaCroatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
FranceGermany
GreeceItaly
LatviaThe Netherlands
UK
Ukraine
Qatar
Australia
Belgium
Canada3
Croatia
Czech Republic
Germany
GreeceIrelandItaly
LatviaNorwaySwitzerland
The Netherlands
TurkeyUK
UkraineSaudi Arabia
AustraliaAustria
Belgium
Bulgaria
CanadaCroatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
FinlandFranceGermany
GreeceHungary
India
IrelandItaly
LatviaMalaysia
Malta
Nigeria
NorwayPhilippines
Portugal
Singapore
Sri Lanka
SwedenSwitzerland
The Netherlands
TurkeyUK
UkraineTunisia
Austria
CanadaFinlandGermany
Greece
Malta
Switzerland
The Netherlands
UkraineTurkeyAustralia
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
CanadaCroatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
FinlandFranceGreeceIceland
IrelandItaly
LatviaLithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
New Zealand
NorwayPolandSlovakia
Slovenia
SwedenThe Netherlands
UAE
Ukraine
UAE
Australia
Austria
BelarusBelgium
Bulgaria
CanadaCroatia
CyprusCzech Republic
Denmark
FinlandFranceGermany
GreeceHungary
IrelandItaly
LatviaLithuania
Malaysia
Malta
New ZealandNigeria
NorwayPhilippines

P.R. China
Portugal
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Slovakia
South Africa
SwedenSwitzerland
The Netherlands
TurkeyUAE
UK
UkraineAmericas
Argentina
Denmark
NorwayUK
BahamasUK
Barbados
CanadaUK
BermudaUK
Bolivia
CanadaDenmark
SwedenUK
BrazilAustria
CanadaNorwayPortugal
The Netherlands
UK
CanadaDenmark
Estonia
FinlandFranceHungary
Lithuania
Nigeria
NorwaySlovenia
SwedenThe Netherlands
UK
Cayman Islands
UK
Chile
CanadaIreland
NorwaySwedenUK
Colombia
CanadaDenmark
NorwaySwedenUK
Costa Rica
CanadaDominican Republic
CanadaFranceItaly
The Netherlands
UK
USA
EcuadorCanadaDenmark
Italy
SwedenUK
El Salvador
CanadaGuatemalaCanadaUK
GuyanaCanadaUK
Haiti
CanadaThe Netherlands
USA
Honduras
CanadaJamaica
CanadaFranceThe Netherlands
UK
MexicoCanadaDenmarkUK
UkraineNicaragua
CanadaPanamaCanadaUK
Paraguay
CanadaItaly
Peru
CanadaIrelandUK
St. Lucia
CanadaUK
Suriname
The Netherlands
UK

St Vincent and the Grenadines
CanadaTrinidad & Tobago
CanadaUK
Uruguay
CanadaUSA
Austria
CanadaDenmark
Estonia
FinlandFranceGhana
India
Iceland
LatviaLithuania
Malaysia
New ZealandNigeria
NorwayPhilippines
Portugal
Singapore
Slovenia
SwedenThe Netherlands
UAE
UK
Venezuela
CanadaIreland
The Netherlands
UK

Statistics as on 31st December 2021

Introduction

4

Sustainability

Economic growth

AfricaAngolaBelgiumBrazilFranceP.R. China
Portugal
South Africa
The Netherlands
UkraineBotswana
Czech Republic
Italy
South Africa
Burkina Faso
CanadaCameroon
Austria
Belgium
CanadaItaly
Nigeria
NorwaySaudi Arabia
Chad
Nigeria
Saudi Arabia
DR Congo
CanadaP.R. China
South Africa
UkraineEthiopia
Australia
Belgium
CanadaDenmark
Finland
Iceland
Italy
NorwaySwedenThe Netherlands
UkraineGambiaNigeria
P.R. China
Ghana
Australia
Austria
CanadaCzech Republic
Denmark

FranceGhana
Ireland
Italy
Malaysia
Nigeria
NorwaySaudi Arabia
South Africa
Switzerland
The Netherlands
UAE
UkraineGuineaCanadaSaudi Arabia
Guinea-Bissau
Portugal
Ivory Coast
Belgium
CanadaFranceItaly
Ivory Coast
Nigeria
NorwaySaudi Arabia
UAE
Ukraine
Kenya
Australia
Austria
CanadaDenmark
Finland
Italy
NorwayP.R. China
South Africa
SwedenThe Netherlands
UAE
UkraineLiberia
Nigeria
LesothoLesothoMadagascar
CanadaP.R. China
Malawi
NorwayMali
CanadaNigeria
Saudi Arabia
Mauritania
Saudi Arabia
Mauritius
CanadaMozambique
Portugal
Niger
CanadaNigeria
Australia
Austria
Belgium
CanadaCroatia
Denmark
Finland
IrelandLithuania
Malaysia
NorwayP.R. China
Portugal
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
South Korea
Sweden
UAE
UkraineRwandaBelgium
CanadaSenegalBelgium
CanadaFranceIceland
Italy
Nigeria
NorwayP.R. China
Portugal
South Africa
The Netherlands
UkraineSouth Africa
Australia
Austria
CanadaCroatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
FinlandIndia
Italy
New ZealandNigeria
NorwayPortugal
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
SwedenSwitzerland
The Netherlands
UAE
UkraineTanzania
Belgium
CanadaDenmark
FinlandSwedenThe Netherlands
UkraineTogo
Nigeria
UgandaAustria
Australia
Belgium
CanadaDenmark
NorwaySouth Africa
The Netherlands
UkraineZambiaSwedenZimbabwe
Australia
CanadaSouth Africa
UkraineColleagues

5

6

Environment

Communities

Governance

Financials

South Asia
Bangladesh
Australia
Austria
CanadaDenmark
Georgia
Italy
SwedenThailandUK
UkraineUSA
BhutanAustralia
Austria
Denmark
Germany
Lebanon
NorwayUK
India
Australia
Austria
BelarusBelgium
Bulgaria
CanadaCroatia
CyprusCzech

Republic
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Estonia
FinlandFranceGeorgia
Germany
GreeceGreenland
Hungary
Iceland
India
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Laos
LatviaLebanonLithuania
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Malta
MoroccoNew ZealandNigeria
NorwayP.R. China
PolandPortugal

South Korea
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
SwedenSwitzerland
Thailand
The
Netherlands
TurkeyUAE
UK
UkraineUSA
VietnamIsraelCanadaDenmark
Estonia
Germany
Lithuania
NorwayThe
Netherlands
UkraineMaldives
Czech
Republic
Germany
Saudi Arabia
UK

Nepal
Australia
Austria
CanadaCroatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
FinlandFranceGeorgia
GreeceIrelandIsraelItaly
Japan
LebanonLithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
NorwaySwedenThe Netherlands
TurkeyUK
Palestinian
Territories
Belgium
CyprusCzech Republic
Denmark
FranceGreeceSwedenUK
USA

SwedenSwitzerland
The Netherlands
UAE
UK
UkraineMalaysia
New Zealand
Malta
Australia
New ZealandAustria
Nigeria
CanadaNorwayDenmark
PolandNorwaySaudi Arabia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Africa
South Korea
The Netherlands
SwedenUK
Switzerland
UkrainePapua New Guinea The Netherlands
UAE
Australia
UK
FranceUkraineGermanyUSA
New Zealand
Samoa
UK
Australia
Philippines
Singapore
Australia
Australia
Austria
Austria
Belgium
CanadaCanadaDenmark
Croatia
FranceCzech Republic
Germany
Denmark
IcelandFinland
New ZealandFrancePhilippines
Germany
RussiaHungary
Saudi Arabia

Italy
Malta
NorwaySlovakia
SwedenThe Netherlands
UkraineSri Lanka
Australia
Austria
CanadaFranceGeorgia
Germany
Italy
Japan
LatviaLebanonLithuania
Malaysia
New Zealand
NorwaySaudi Arabia
Switzerland
UAE
UK
UkraineAustralasia
Australia
Austria
Belgium
CanadaDenmark
Estonia
FranceIceland
India
Italy
Japan
Malaysia
New Zealand
NorwaySaudi Arabia
Singapore
Slovenia
The Netherlands
UK
UkraineBrunei
Saudi Arabia
UK

Cambodia
Australia
CanadaDenmark
Germany
Malaysia

Fiji

Australia
CanadaFranceGermany
New Zealand
NorwaySlovenia
UK

Indonesia

Australia
Austria
BelarusCanadaCroatia
Denmark
FinlandGermany
IcelandItaly
Japan
Malaysia
New Zealand
NorwaySaudi Arabia
Singapore

Laos

GermanyUK

Malaysia

Australia
Austria
CanadaDenmark
Germany
Iceland
NorwaySingapore
SwedenThe Netherlands
UK
UkraineMyanmar

Australia
CanadaGermany
NorwaySwedenThe Netherlands
UK

Switzerland
The Netherlands
UK
Solomon Islands
Australia
New ZealandThailandAustralia
Austria
Belgium
CanadaCroatia

7

Appendix

Czech Republic
Denmark
FinlandGermany
Iceland
India
Italy
Japan
Lebanon
Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway87

Singapore
SwedenSwitzerland
The Netherlands
UK
UkraineTonga
Australia
VanuatuAustralia
New ZealandVietnam
Australia
Austria
Belgium
CanadaCroatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
FinlandGermany
Greenland

UK
USA
P.R. China
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
CanadaCroatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
FinlandGermany
GreeceHungary
Iceland
IrelandItaly
LatviaLithuania
Malta
New Zealand
NorwayPolandPortugal
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
SwedenSwitzerland
ThailandUK
Ukraine
USA
South Korea
Austria
CanadaIndia

IcelandItaly
Japan
Malaysia
New Zealand
NorwaySwedenSwitzerland
The Netherlands
UK
UkraineNorth Asia & China
Hong Kong
Territory
Australia
CanadaFinland
IrelandJapanNew Zealand
NorwaySingapore
Switzerland
UK
USA
Japan
Austria
CanadaDenmark
Estonia
IrelandLithuania

New Zealand
NorwaySaudi Arabia
Singapore
The Netherlands
UK
Mongolia
Australia
Austria
CanadaCroatia
Czech Republic
Germany
Iceland
Ireland
NorwaySouth Africa
South Korea
SwedenThailand

New Zealand
NorwaySaudi Arabia
UK
Taiwan Territory
CanadaDenmark
New ZealandThailand
UAE
UK

Statistics as on 31st December 2021

Introduction

Sustainability

Economic growth

Colleagues

Environment

Communities

Client Governments andCountries of Operation
Client Government: AUSTRALIA
51 Countries of Operation
Albania
Algeria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
BosniaHerzegovina
BhutanCambodia
Egypt
Ethiopia
Fiji
FranceGhana
GreeceHong Kong

India
Indonesia
Iran
JordanKazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
KuwaitLebanon
Malaysia
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nepal
New
ZealandOman
PakistanPapua New
GuineaPhilippines
P.R. China
Qatar
RussiaSaudi
ArabiaSamoa
Singapore
SolomonIslands
South Africa

Sri Lanka
Thailand
Tonga
TurkeyUAE
UgandaVanuatu
VietnamZimbabwe

Client Government: AUSTRIA
49 Countries of Operation
Algeria
Armenia
Australia
Bahrain
Bangladesh
BelarusBrazilBhutanCameroon
Egypt
Ghana
Ireland
India

Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Japan
JordanKazakhstan
Kenya
KosovoKuwaitKyrgyzstan
Lebanon
Malaysia
Mongolia
MoroccoNepal
New
ZealandNigeria
Pakistan
Philippines
P.R. China
RussiaSaudi
ArabiaSingapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sri Lanka

ThailandTunisia
TurkeyUAE
UgandaUK
UkraineUSA
Uzbekistan
Vietnam

Client Government: BELARUS
3 Countries of Operation
India

Indonesia

UAE

Client Government: BELGIUM
19 Countries of Operation
AngolaAustralia
Cameroon
India
Iran
Ivory Coast

KuwaitNigeria
P.R. China
Pakistan
Palestinian
Territories

Philippines
Qatar
RussiaSaudi
ArabiaTanzania

Client Government: BRAZIL
1 Country of Operation
AngolaIndia
Kazakhstan
Oman

P.R. China
RussiaSaudi

ArabiaTurkeyUAE

UkraineAlbania
Algeria
Armenia
Austria
Australia
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Bolivia
Bosnia-Herzegovina
BrazilBulgaria
Burkina
Faso
Cambodia
Cameroon
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Democratic
Republic ofCongo
Dominican
Republic
EcuadorEgypt
El Salvador
Ethiopia
Fiji
FinlandFranceFYROM#
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
GreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuyanaHaiti
Honduras
India
Indonesia
Iraq
IrelandIsrael
Italy
Ivory Coast
JamaicaJapan
JordanKazakhstan
Kenya
KosovoKuwaitKyrgyzstan
LebanonMadagascar
Malaysia
Mali
Mauritius
MexicoMoldova
Mongolia
MoroccoMyanmar
Nepal
New
Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Oman
Pakistan
PanamaParaguay
Peru
Philippines
PolandP.R. China
Qatar
Romania
RussiaRwandaSaudi
ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSingapore
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
St. Lucia

St. Vincent
and theGrenadines
SwedenTaiwanTajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
The
Netherlands
Trinidad andTobagoTunisia
TurkeyUAE
UgandaUK
UkraineUruguayUSA
Venezuela
VietnamZimbabwe#FYROM: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
TurkeyUAE
Vietnam

Client Government: CROATIA
30 Countries of Operation

Algeria
BelarusCanadaEgypt
Ethiopia
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia

Egypt
India

JordanUAE

Palestinian
Territories

UK

Client Government: CZECH REPUBLIC
32 Countries of Operation

Client Government: CANADA
108 Countries of Operation

Financials

Client Government: FINLAND
29 Countries of Operation

Client Government: CYPRUS
6 Countries of Operation

Client Government: BULGARIA
9 Countries of Operation

Governance

Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Botswana
Belarus
Ghana
India
Indonesia
Iran
JordanKazakhstan
KuwaitLebanonMaldives
Mongolia
Nepal
Oman
P.R. China
Pakistan

Palestine
Territories
Philippines
Qatar
RussiaSaudi
ArabiaSouth Africa
Tajikistan
ThailandTurkeyUK
UkraineUAE
Uzbekistan
Vietnam

Ghana
India
Indonesia
Iran
IrelandIsraelJapan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
KuwaitLebanon
Malaysia
MexicoMoroccoNepal
New
ZealandNigeria
Oman
Pakistan
Palestinian
Territories
Philippines
P.R. China
RussiaSaudi
ArabiaSerbiaSingapore

P.R. China
RussiaSaudi
ArabiaSouth Africa
ThailandTunisia
Tanzania

Australia
Algeria
Angola*Bahrain*
CanadaDominican
Republic*Fiji

Ghana*
India
Iran
Iraq
Ivory Coast
JamaicaKazakhstan
Nepal

Oman
Palestinian
Territories
Papua New
GuineaPhilippines
RussiaSaudi
ArabiaIndia

South Africa
TaiwanTanzania
ThailandTurkeyUAE
UgandaUK
UkraineUSA
Vietnam

Algeria
Bahrain
BhutanCambodia
Fiji
India
Indonesia
Iraq

IsraelJordanKuwaitLaos
Lebanon
Libya#
Malaysia
Maldives

Mongolia
Myanmar
Oman
Papua New
GuineaPhilippines
P.R China
Qatar
Saudi

Armenia
Algeria
Bahrain
Belarus
Egypt
India
Iran

Client Government: ESTONIA
13 Countries of Operation
UkraineUK
USA

ArabiaSingapore
Sri Lanka
Thailand
UAE
VietnamJordanKazakhstan
KuwaitLebanon
Nepal
Oman
Palestinian

Territories
P.R. China
Qatar
RussiaSaudi
ArabiaTunisiaUK

Vietnam

Client Government: HUNGARY
17 Countries of Operation
Algeria
Bahrain
BelarusCanada
Egypt

India
Iran
JordanKazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan

KuwaitP.R. China
Philippines
RussiaSaudi

ArabiaUAE
UK

Client Government: ICELAND
10 Countries of Operation
BahrainEthiopia
India

Malaysia
Mongolia
P.R. China

RussiaSenegalUK

USA

Australia
Belgium
FranceIndia«

Luxembourg*
Saudi Arabia
South Korea

South Africa
Spain
Switzerland
Thailand

The
Netherlands
UK
USA

Client Government: IRELAND
25 Countries of Operation
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Chile
Ghana
Hong Kong
India
Japan

JordanKazakhstan
KuwaitMongolia
Nepal
Nigeria
PakistanPeru
P.R. China
Qatar
Philippines
RussiaSaudi
ArabiaTurkeyUAE
UK
Uzbekistan
Venezuela

Client Government: ISRAEL
1 Country of Operation
Nepal

USA«

India

P.R. China
RussiaTurkeySri Lanka

Client Government: GHANA
2 Countries of Operation
Ghana«

India

Client Government: INDIA
14 Countries of Operation#Operations logistically managed out of Tunisia

Client Government: GREECE
24 Countries of Operation

IsraelJapan«
Kazakhstan

SenegalSingapore
Sri Lanka
TurkeyUAE
USA

Client Government: GERMANY
29 Countries of Operation

Client Government: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
1 Country of Operation

Australia
Belarus
Algeria
Kazakhstan Philippines
UAE
CanadaArmenia
KosovoP.R. China
UK
India
Azerbaijan
KuwaitQatar
UkraineBahrain
LebanonRussiaVietnam
Belarus
Mongolia
Saudi
ArabiaEgypt
MoroccoSouth Africa
India
Nepal
ThailandIndonesia
Nigeria
TurkeyJordanOman
List of Client Governments and the countries where VFS Global serves them.

Turkey«UAE
UkraineUK
USA
Vietnam

Client Government: GEORGIA
4 Countries of Operation
Nepal

88

Client Government: GREENLAND
3 Countries of Operation

Client Government: FRANCE
27 Countries of Operation

Bangladesh

Client Government: DENMARK
53 Countries of Operation
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belarus
BhutanBolivia
Cambodia
CanadaColombia
Ecuador
Egypt
Ethiopia

Iran
Kenya
KosovoLebanonMorocco
Nepal
Nigeria*
Philippines

Appendix

Client Government: ITALY
35 Countries of Operation
TurkeyUAE
UK
UkraineUzbekistan

Algeria
Australia
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Botswana
Cameroon
Dominican
Republic
Ecuador
Ethiopia
Egypt

Ghana
India
Indonesia
Iraq
Ivory CoastJapan
JordanKenya
Kuwait
Libya

Nepal
Oman
Pakistan
Palestinian
Territories
Paraguay
P.R. China
Qutar
Saudi
ArabiaSenegalSouth Africa
Sri Lanka
ThailandTurkeyUAE
UK
Vietnam

Above is the list of countries of operation by client government. E.g.: One can apply for their Australia visa (refer Client Government: Australia) from any one of thecountries mentioned under Countries of Operation in some cities, some client governments are served through Visa Application Centres of other client governments.
Statistics as on 31st December 2021

Introduction

Sustainability

Economic growth

Colleagues

Client Government: IVORY COAST
1 Country of Operation

Client Government: MALAYSIA
14 Countries of Operation

Ivory Coast«

Australia
Cambodia
Ghana
India

Client Government: JAPAN10 Countries of Operation
Australia
Austria
Hong Kong

India
Indonesia
Nepal

RussiaSri Lanka
Thailand

Vietnam

Client Government: KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA
30 Countries of Operation
Algeria
Australia
BahrainBruneiCameroon
Chad
Egypt
Germany

Ghana
GuineaItaly
Ivory CoastJapan
JordanMali
Maldives

Mauritania
Nigeria
Pakistan
Philippines
South Korea
Singapore
South Africa
Sri Lanka

Maldives
SwedenSwitzerland
Tajikistan
The
Netherlands
UAE

India

Client Government: LATVIA
17 Countries of Operation
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Egypt
India
KuwaitOman
P.R. China
Qatar
Saudi
ArabiaSri Lanka
TurkeyThailand
Vietnam
UAE

UK
USA
Uzbekistan

Client Government: LEBANON
5 Countries of Operation
BhutanIndia

Nepal
Sri Lanka

Lesotho«Client Government: LITHUANIA
19 Countries of Operation
India
Japan
Kazakhstan
Nepal
Nigeria

P.R. China
RussiaSri Lanka
Turkey
UAE

UK*
USA*
Vietnam

Algeria
Egypt
India
Nepal

Palestinian
Territories
Philippines
P.R. China

RussiaSaudi
ArabiaTunisia

Turkey
UAE
UK

India

Client Government: NEW ZEALAND
28 Countries of Operation
Singapore
SolomonIslands
Sri Lanka
South Africa
TaiwanThailandTurkeyUAE
UkraineUK
USA
Vanuatu
Vietnam

Client Government: NIGERIA
18 Countries of Operation
Cameroon«
Canada«Chad«
GambiaGermany

Ghana«
India«
Ivory Coast«
Liberia«
Mali«

Philippines
Saudi
Arabia«Senegal*South

UK
UkraineUzbekistan
USA

Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
BhutanBrazilCameroon
CanadaChile
Columbia
Egypt
Ethiopia
Fiji
Ghana

Hong Kong
India
Iran
Indonesia
Israel
Ivory CoastJapan
JordanKazakhstan
Kenya
KosovoLebanon
Malaysia
MalawiMongolia

Myanmar
Nepal
New
ZealandNigeria
Pakistan
Palestinian
Territories
Philippines
P.R. China
Qatar
RussiaSouth Korea
Saudi
ArabiaPhilippines
P.R. China

RussiaTurkeyAngolaBrazilEgypt
GuineaBissau

India
Iran
Iraq
MoroccoMozambique

Nigeria
Pakistan
P.R. China
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
SenegalAfrica«
Togo«
UAE«
UK«
USA

SerbiaSenegalSri Lanka
South Africa
Tanzania
ThailandTurkeyUAE
UgandaUK
UkraineUSA
Vietnam

Algeria
AngolaDemocratic
Republic of
Congo

Egypt
GambiaIndia
Kenya

KuwaitLebanonMadagascar
Nigeria

Financials

AppendixSouth Africa
UAE
USA
UK

Pakistan
SenegalSingapore
UAE

Client Government: UAE
16 Countries of Operation

India

Afghanistan
Ghana
India«
Indonesia

Mongolia

Nigeria

Philippines

Bangladesh
Bolivia
Cambodia
CanadaChile
Colombia
Ecuador
Egypt

Ethiopia
India
Indonesia
JordanNigeria
Pakistan
Palestinian
Territories

Philippines
P.R. China
RussiaSaudi Arabia
South Africa
Tanzania
ThailandTurkeyUAE
UK
UkraineUSA
Vietnam
ZambiaClient Government: SWITZERLAND
22 Countries of Operation
Bahrain
Egypt
Ghana
Hong Kong*
India
Indonesia

IranKazakhstan
KuwaitLebanon
Pakistan
Philippines

P.R. China
Qatar
Saudi
ArabiaSingapore
South Africa

Sri Lanka
ThailandTunisia
UAE
Vietnam

Client Government: THAILAND
6 Countries of Operation

Client Government: SINGAPORE
13 Countries of Operation
Afghanistan
Australia
Bahrain
Egypt

Hong Kong
Indonesia
Japan

Malaysia
ThailandRussiaUAE
Saudi Arabia USA

Client Government: SLOVAKIA
10 Countries of Operation
Belarus
Egypt
India

Kazakhstan
KuwaitPalestinian

Territories
P.R. China
RussiaTurkeyUAE

Client Government: SLOVENIA
14 Countries of Operation
Australia
BosniaHerzegovina
Canada

Fiji
India
Iraq
KosovoNew
Zealand
P.R. China
RussiaTurkeyUK
UkraineUSA

BelarusBangladesh

India
Mongolia

Client Government: THE NETHERLANDS
49 Countries of Operation
Algeria
AngolaAustralia
BrazilCanadaDominican
Republic
Ethiopia
Egypt
Ghana
Haiti
India
Indonesia
Iraq
Iran

IrelandIsraelJamaicaJapan
JordanKenya
KuwaitLebanon
Malaysia
MoroccoMyanmar
Nepal
New
ZealandOman

Pakistan
Palestinian
Territories
Philippines
Qatar
RussiaSaudi
ArabiaSenegalSingapore
South Africa
Suriname
Tanzania
ThailandTunisia

Client Government: TURKEY
6 Countries of Operation

AngolaBotswana
Democratic
Republic of
Congo
Ghana

India
Iraq

ZealandPakistan
Philippines
P.R. China
Senegal
South

India

KuwaitSaudi
Singapore
USA
ArabiaUAE*Information Services only
†VFS Global is a sub-contractor to CGI Federal Inc. (the prime contractor for US Government operations)

Africa«UAE
UgandaUK
Zimbabwe

Nepal
Qatar

Saudi
ArabiaIvory Coast
JordanKenya
LebanonNigeria
Philippines
South Africa
Sri Lanka

TaiwanTurkeyUAE
USA«Managing online visa in over 180 countries

Client Government: UK
57 Countries of Operation
Argentina
Australia
BahamasBahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
BhutanBrazilBrunei
Bolivia
Cambodia
CanadaChile
Colombia
Cyman
Islands
Dominican

Republic
EcuadorFiji
GuyanaGuatemalaHong Kong
Iran
India
Indonesia
JamaicaJapan
KuwaitLaos
Malaysia
Maldives
MexicoMongolia

Myanmar
Nepal
New
Zealand*Oman
Pakistan
PanamaPapua New
GuineaPeru
Philippines
P.R. China
Qatar
Saudi
ArabiaSouth Korea
Singapore

Sri Lanka
St. Lucia
Suriname
TaiwanThailandTrinidad &TobagoUAE
UK«
USA
Venezuela
Vietnam

Client Government: UKRAINE
48 Countries of Operation

RussiaTaiwanClient Government: SOUTH AFRICA
19 Countries of Operation
India
Iran
Kenya
Mongolia
NigeriaNew

89

Client Government: SOUTH KOREA
4 Countries of Operation

Singapore

Client Government: PHILLIPINNES
5 Countries of Operation

TurkeyGovernance

Client Government: SWEDEN
36 Countries of Operation

Client Government: RUSSIA
1 Country of Operation

Client Government: LUXEMBOURG
3 Countries of Operation
Nepal

UkraineClient Government: P.R. CHINA
15 Countries of Operation

Client Government: MOROCCO
1 Country of Operation

Nauru
PakistanPapua New
GuineaPhilippines
P.R. China
South Korea
RussiaBelarus
India

Client Government: PORTUGAL
19 Countries of Operation

Client Government: NORWAY
55 Countries of Operation

Thailand

Client Government: LESOTHO
1 Country of Operation

Armenia
Azerbaijan
BelarusCanadaEgypt

Arabia*SriLanka«
SwedenUAE

Communities

Client Government: POLAND
7 Countries of Operation

Client Government: MALTA
13 Countries of Operation

Australia
Fiji
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Iran
Japan
Kiribati

Client Government: LAOS
1 Country of Operation

Indonesia
Nigeria
Philippines
Saudi

Environment

TurkeyUAE
UgandaUK
UkraineUSA
Venezuela
Vietnam

Australia
Afghanistan
Algeria
AngolaBangladesh
Belarus
Democratic
Republic of
Congo
Egypt
Ethiopia
France
Ghana
Iran
India

Indonesia
Iraq
Israel
Ivory Coast
JordanKenya
KuwaitLebanon
Malaysia
MexicoMoroccoNew
ZealandNigeria
Oman

Palestinian
Territories
Pakistan
P.R. China
Philippines
Qatar
RussiaSaudi
ArabiaSenegalSouth Africa
Sri Lanka
Tanzania
Thailand
The
Netherlands

Tajikistan
Tunisia
TurkeyUAE
UgandaUK
VietnamZimbabwe

Client Government: USA †13 Countries of Operation
Bangladesh*
Cambodia
Dominican
Republic
UAE

Germany*
Kazakistan
Haiti*
Hong Kong*

India
Mongolia*
Nigeria
Philippines*

P.R. China*
Russia*Client Government: VIETNAM
1 Country of Operation
India††VFS Global is a sub-contractor to Mawared Kuwait (the prime contractor for Kuwait Government operations)«ICS clients#FYROM: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia^Online Visast

Statistics as on 31 December 2021

Introduction

9.2

GRI
Index

Sustainability

Economic growthMaterial topics
1.

2.

3.

4.
5.
6.
7.

8.

9.

Organisational Profile 2021
GRI 102-1
GRI 102-2
GRI 102-3
GRI 102-4
GRI 102-5
GRI 102-6
GRI 102-7
GRI 102-8
Governance 2021
GRI 102-9
GRI 102-10
GRI 102-11
GRI 102-12
GRI 102-13
GRI 102-14
GRI 102-15
GRI 102-16
GRI 102-17
GRI 102-18
GRI 102-19
GRI 102-20
GRI 102-22
GRI 102-23
GRI 102-24
GRI 102-25
GRI 102-26
GRI 102-27
GRI 102-29
GRI 102-30
Material topics
GRI 103-1
GRI 103-2
Economic performance 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 201-1
GRI 201-3
Market presence 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 202-1
Indirect economic impacts 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 203-2
Procurement practices 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 204-1
Anti-corruption 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 205-1
GRI 205-2
Tax 2019
GRI 103-3
GRI 207-1
GRI 207-2
Materials 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 301-1
GRI 301-2

Colleagues

Environment

Communities

Governance

Disclosure title
Organisational details
Entities included in the organisation’s sustainability reporting
Reporting period, frequency and contact point
Restatements of information
External assurance
Activities, value chain and other business relationships
Employees
Workers who are not employees
Governance structure and composition
Nomination and selection of the highest governance body
Chair of the highest governance bodyRole of the highest governance body in overseeing the management of impacts
Delegation of responsibility for managing impacts
Role of the highest governance body in sustainability reporting
Conflicts of interest
Communication of critical concerns
Collective knowledge of the highest governance body
Evaluation of the performance of the highest governance body
Remuneration policies
Process to determine remuneration
Statement on sustainable development strategy
Policy commitments
Embedding policy commitments
Processes to remediate negative impacts
Mechanisms for seeking advice and raising concerns
Compliance with laws and regulations
Approach to stakeholder engagement
Collective bargaining agreements

Financials

Appendix

SDG linkage

Reference and page number

1, 4, 8, 10
8, 10
8, 10

IR pages 2, 7, 79-80
IR pages 2, 7, 85-89
1/01/2021-31/12/2021, Annual
IR page 58
IR pages 18-19, 40, 77, 83
IR pages 07-09, 24-27, 67, 79, 85-89
IR pages 45, 47
IR page 45

5, 16
5, 16
16
16
16
16
8, 16
16

16
16
16
16
16

Process to determine material topics
List of material topics

IR pages 69-73
IR pages 69-73
IR pages 69-73
IR pages 69-73
IR pages 69-73
IR pages 69-73
IR page 74
IR pages 27, 74
IR pages 52-53
IR pages 70-72
IR page 72
IR page 72
IR pages 05-06, 21-22
IR pages 45-47, 74-77
IR pages 45-47, 74-77
IR pages 76-77, 83
IR pages 27, 41, 46, 74
IR pages 74-76
IR pages 24-27
IR page 46
IR page 28
IR pages 29-31

Management of material topics
Direct economic value generated and distributed
Defined benefit plan obligations and other retirement plans

1, 4, 8, 10
1, 4, 8, 10

IR pages 78-83
IR pages 51, 67, 75, 80-81
IR page 51

Management of material topics
Ratios of standard entry level wage by gender compared to local minimum wage

1, 10

IR pages 29-31
IR pages 51, 72

Management of material topics
Significant indirect economic impacts

1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10

IR pages 45, 50
IR page 45, 50

Management of material topics
Proportion of spending on local suppliers

8,10

IR pages 26, 31, 59, 67
IR page 67

Management of material topics
Operations assessed for risks related to corruption
Communication and training about anti-corruption policies and procedures16
16

IR pages 30, 76
IR pages 70, 76-77
IR pages 45-46, 76-77

Management of material topics
Approach to tax
Tax governance, control, and risk management

1, 10, 17
1, 10, 17

IR pages 30,43
IR pages 43, 46, 76-77
IR pages 43, 46, 76-77

Management of material topics
Materials used by weight or volume
Recycled input materials used1212

IR pages 31, 59
IR page 59
IR page 59

90Introduction

Sustainability
10.

11.
12.

13.

14.

15.
16.

17.

18.

19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.

Economic growthMaterial topics

Colleagues

Energy 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 302-1
GRI 302-4
Water and effluents 2018
GRI 103-3
GRI 303-5
Emissions 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 305-1
GRI 305-2
GRI 305-3
GRI 305-4
GRI 305-5
Waste 2020
GRI 103-3
GRI 106-3
GRI 106-5
Employment 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 401-1
GRI 401-2
GRI 401-3
Labour/management relations 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 402-1
Occupational health and safety 2018
GRI 103-3
GRI 403-1
GRI 403-2
GRI 403-5
GRI 403-6
Training and education 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 404-1
GRI 404-2
GRI 404-3
Diversity and equal opportunity 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 405-1
GRI 405-2
Non-discrimination 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 406-1
Freedom of association and collective bargaining 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 407-1
Child labour 1016
GRI 103-3
GRI 408-1
Forced or compulsory labour 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 409-1
Security practices 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 410-1
Local communities 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 413-1
Customer privacy 2016
GRI 103-3
GRI 418-1

Environment

Communities

Governance

Financials

Appendix

Disclosure title

SDG linkage

Reference and page number

Management of material topics
Energy consumption within the organisation
Reduction of energy consumption

7, 8, 12, 13
7, 8, 12, 13

IR pages 31, 57-58
IR pages 57-58
IR pages 57-58

Management of material topics
Water consumption

6

IR page 31, 59
IR page 59

Management of material topics
Direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions
Energy indirect (Scope 2) GHG emissions
Other indirect (Scope 3) GHG emissions
GHG emissions intensity
Reduction of GHG emissions

3, 12, 13
3, 12, 13
3, 12, 13
12, 1312, 13

IR page 31, 57-58
IR pages 57-58
IR pages 57-58
IR pages 57-58
IR pages 33
IR pages 57-58

Management of material topics
Waste generated
Waste directed to disposal

1212

IR pages 29-31
IR page 59
IR page 59

Management of material topics
New employee hires and employee turnover
Benefits provided to full-time employees that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees
Parental leave

5, 8, 10
5, 8, 10
5, 8, 10

IR pages 31, 45, 47,50-51
IR pages 50-51
IR page 51
IR page 51

Management of material topics
Minimum notice periods regarding operational changes

8

IR pages 31, 45-46
IR pages 45-46

Management of material topics
Occupational health and safety management system
Hazard identification, risk assessment, and incident investigation
Worker training on occupational health and safety
Promotion of worker health

3, 8
3, 8
3, 8
3, 8

IR pages 31, 54
IR page 18, 54
IR pages 42, 54
IR pages 42, 54
IR pages 54-55

Management of material topics
Average hours of training per year per employee
Programmes for upgrading employee skills and transition assistance programmemes
Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews

4, 8, 104, 8, 104, 8, 10

IR pages 31, 52-53
IR pages 52-53
IR pages 52-53
IR pages 51-53

Management of material topics
Diversity of governance bodies and employees
Ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men

5, 8
5, 8

IR pages 31, 47-49
IR pages 47-49
IR page 51

Management of material topics
Incidents of discrimination and corrective actions taken

5, 8

IR pages 31, 51, 76
IR pages 46, 47-49, 74-77

Management of material topics
Operations and suppliers in which the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining may be at risk

16

IR pages 30, 46
IR page 46

Management of material topics
Operations and suppliers at significant risk for incidents of child labour

16

IR pages 30, 45-46, 75
IR pages 06, 45-46, 75

Management of material topics
Operations and suppliers at significant risk for incidents of forced or compulsory labour

16

IR pages 30, 45-46, 75-76
IR pages 06, 45-46, 75-76

Management of material topics
Security personnel trained in human rights policies or procedures

16

IR pages 31, 42, 45
IR pages 42, 45

Management of material topics
Operations with local community engagement, impact assessments, and development programmemes

4, 8, 10, 17

IR pages 31, 61-67
IR pages 61-67

Management of material topics
Substantiated complaints concerning breaches of customer privacy and losses of customer data

16

IR pages 30, 40-41, 76
IR pages 40-41, 76

91