Africa: How Visa Applications Became Big Business Across Africa

Lead

For millions of Africans seeking visas to study, work, or travel abroad, the journey often begins not at an embassy but at a VFS Global office. The Dubai-based company, majority-owned by US private equity firm Blackstone, handles visa applications on behalf of dozens of governments worldwide, with operations in 168 countries and contracts with 71 governments. But as a year-long investigation by Lighthouse Reports, in collaboration with RFI and other media partners, has documented, the experience is increasingly costly and confusing for many applicants, while the company's profits have surged.

Neither RFI nor AllAfrica dispute the fundamental facts of the VFS model, but the investigation, titled 'The Visa Empire: Borders as a Business,' paints a picture of a system that African applicants say is opaque and expensive, and where unofficial intermediaries have found a market.

Coverage Comparison

The narratives in this report are largely consistent across the two sources reviewed — AllAfrica and RFI's English-language service — which together present an investigation co-published by Lighthouse Reports. The primary focus is on VFS Global's business practices, with particular emphasis on aggressive sales tactics and the proliferation of unofficial visa agents.

The RFI and AllAfrica articles, which appear to be based on the same report, show that VFS Global's operating profits rose from €31 million to €171 million between 2017 and 2024 — a five-fold increase over a period where visa application volumes grew by only 15 percent, according to financial accounts filed in Luxembourg.

The company attributes much of its growth to optional 'value-added services' (VAS), such as SMS notifications, document courier delivery, and access to premium lounges. According to the investigation, these services now account for around 30 percent of VFS Global's worldwide revenue.

Neither outlet disputes the accounting; rather, their critical take revolves around the sales pressure former employees have described and the company's role in what some applicants call a 'visa mess' on the continent.

Key Claims

Company scale and reach — VFS Global operates in 168 countries and holds contracts with 71 governments, including those of France and China in African markets. Its market position has made it a familiar component of the visa process across the continent, according to the investigative report and the RFI/AllAfrica coverage.

Profit growth and optional services — VFS Global's operating profits rose sharply over a seven-year period, even as visa application volumes grew by only 15 percent. A substantial portion of that growth is attributed to the sale of paid value-added services, which now constitute a significant slice of the company's total revenue.

Aggressive sales culture — A central claim of the investigation is that former employees have reported being under pressure to meet sales targets and receiving performance bonuses, implying a corporate culture that prioritizes selling extra services over applicant convenience.

Rise of intermediaries and fraud — Frustration with the official process has led to the emergence of unofficial 'travel agents,' some of whom are falsely claiming to represent VFS Global. The company has publicly warned about these fraudulent entities.

Perspectives

Government and business rationale — Supporters of such outsourcing argue that it is efficient, freeing embassies from consular burden and relieving infrastructure pressures. Governments can allocate resources to broader immigration decisions while private partners handle logistics. The company itself states that its services are optional and give visa applicants more choice.

Applicant and investigative perspective — From the standpoint of African applicants like Aliou, a Senegalese graffiti artist, the system feels opaque. 'I don't really understand how the whole system works,' he told investigators, adding that the visa process in Africa is 'a complete mess' and, in his view, feels like 'a scam.' These comments are quoted in the report to illustrate the lack of transparency and ease that many applicants experienced.

Consumer-rights and fraud concern — The emergence of unofficial services that prey on those rejected is a serious secondary threat. VFS Global's own warnings about people falsely posing as its representatives underscore the safety risk to users navigating a complicated system.

Context and Analysis

The findings echo broader concerns about visa policy in Africa. Notably, Paul Hermelin, CEO of French technology company Capgemini, was quoted in a single-source context as describing France's visa policy as a 'machine for creating dissatisfaction.' That quote, which appears only in one of the reviewed sources, has not been independently corroborated in this report, but it reflects a wider unease among critics of European border policies toward the region. The report's overall frame is that a private company, accountable primarily to its shareholders, has been inserted between citizens and the government services they need — especially on a continent where visa rejection rates are high. The lack of transparency, combined with a range of optional fees, appears to perpetuate a cycle of frustration, and a market that supports both official premium services and unofficial agents who profit from the system.

While VFS Global has not made a full public response available in these articles, the investigation raises questions about the balance of efficiency and fairness in outsourced visa processing, particularly for applicants from countries that may feel excluded from global mobility.