De GOOD Foundation (Grenzeloos Onder Een Dak) and advocate of Dutch people abroad, inventories complaints about EDV (External Service Provider) such as Vfs global when applying for one Schengen Visa Short Stay.
VFS Global is a private and commercial organization, specialized in facilitating visa and passport applications for various governments worldwide. Dutch people benefit from this service because they can now arrange their travel documents closer to home and, for example, a short-stay visa for a foreign partner.
Complaints known to the National Ombudsman and to the Netherlands Worldwide
A number of complaints about VFS Global are already known to both the National Ombudsman and Netherlands Worldwide (Netherlands Worldwide is part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Discussions are taking place to address some known issues. Common complaints concern difficulties in making appointments, outdated online systems, limited telephone accessibility, inaccurate or incomplete knowledge of laws and regulations (especially Schengen visas), long processing times, and incorrectly asking for certain supporting documents.
Netherlands Worldwide tracks complaints about VFS Global and other third party service providers (EDVs) and forwards them to the relevant service provider. If a complaint is not resolved satisfactorily after handling by the EDV, Netherlands Worldwide will take further action.
The Netherlands Worldwide guidelines for EDVs, including processing times for short-stay visas, are leading. The EDVs limit themselves to receiving applications and forwarding them digitally to The Hague. During this process, the documents are scanned and delivered digitally, while the passport physically remains at the embassy in the country until the process is completed.
Visa procedure by embassies of other countries
If the Netherlands does not have a consular representation in a country, a foreign embassy will take on this task. Other procedures apply. Unfortunately, Netherlands Worldwide does not offer support in these situations, because there are specific agreements between the Netherlands and the relevant embassy. The method and processing time may vary and are entirely in the hands of the embassy that processes the application.
Netherlands Worldwide is investigating whether this information can be displayed more clearly on their website. This should clarify that when an application goes through a non-Dutch embassy, it is responsible for the entire process, including complaint handling, and that the procedure may differ.
Complaints reporting point of the GOED Foundation
The GOED Foundation would like to hear about the experiences (positive or negative) of Dutch people abroad their reporting point. Please note that they do not handle complaints themselves, but refer them back to Netherlands Worldwide and/or the National Ombudsman.
Source: GOOD Foundation
Related posts:
