The Billion-Dollar Business of Selling Access to Europe

May 28, 2026 - 04:41

A single company has quietly built a near-monopoly on the process of getting a visa to travel to most European countries. VFS Global, a firm headquartered in Dubai, handles the administrative side of visa applications for 67 governments, including 24 of the 27 European Union member states. For millions of travelers from India, China, Africa, and the Middle East, the path to a Schengen visa runs directly through VFS Global's network of over 3,400 application centers.

The company's business model is straightforward but lucrative. Governments outsource the collection of biometric data, document verification, and appointment scheduling to VFS, while retaining the final decision on whether to grant a visa. VFS then charges applicants a service fee on top of the official visa fee. In many countries, there is no alternative. If you want to apply for a French or German visa in New Delhi, you must go through VFS.

Critics argue this creates a bottleneck. During peak travel seasons, appointment slots vanish within minutes, forcing travelers to pay for premium services like "prime time" slots or courier delivery. VFS has also faced accusations of opaque pricing and poor customer service. Yet governments defend the arrangement, saying it saves taxpayer money and streamlines security checks.

For VFS, the numbers speak for themselves. The company processed over 25 million applications in 2023, generating hundreds of millions in revenue. Its parent company, Kuoni and Hogg Robinson Group, has seen steady growth as global travel demand rebounds. The real question is whether this outsourced gatekeeping will face more scrutiny as the cost and complexity of visiting Europe continue to rise.