New Delhi, May 22nd, 2023 – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union, and Cooperation (MAEUEC) of Spain has awarded BLS International the global contract for visa application outsourcing for the second time in a row.
The contract covers Europe, the Americas, Latin America, the CIS, Africa, the Middle East, and APAC, amongst other regions. BLS International has been serving the Spanish government since 2016 and currently operates 122 visa application centers (VACs) in 40 countries.
This is a very significant win for BLS International, which handles approximately 2 million Spanish visa applications annually and is expected to increase further. The category of national visas is also being outsourced for the first time, which will lead to a further increase in volumes and opening of offices in new geographies. As a part of the contract, BLS will also be offering various value-added services (VAS) like SMS, courier services, mobile biometrics, premium lounge, etc.
Shikhar Agarwal, Joint Managing Director, BLS International, said: “We are proud and feel privileged to be awarded the global contract yet again, as it reinstates the confidence we have strived to establish through our commitment to deliverables to the Spanish government. This contract will enable us to continue being instrumental in furthering the ongoing expansions of the VAC (visa application centers) network in the world for Spain and being a significant contributor to their growth story.”
BLS has already deployed its new technology software for appointment booking and processing applications, which is the best in class in the industry and leads to more convenience for the applicants.
With this development, BLS International finds itself amidst some major global wins in 2023, with an influx of newer missions in newer landscapes like accepting electronic visa on arrival (EVOA) applications from 17 countries worldwide for Thailand, Poland in Manila and Cebu, Thailand in South Africa, and Germany in the USA, amongst significant others.
About BLS International
BLS International Services Ltd. is a trusted global tech-enabled services partner for governments and citizens, having an impeccable reputation for setting benchmarks in the domain of visa, passport, consular, citizen, e-governance, attestation, biometric, e-visa, and retail services since 2005. The company is recognised as “India’s Most Valuable Companies” by Business Today Magazine, “Best Under a Billion” by Forbes Asia, and ranked among “Fortune India’s Next 500 Companies.”. The company works with over 46 client governments, including diplomatic missions, embassies, and consulates, and leverages technology and processes that ensure data security. The company now has an extensive network of more than 27,000 centres globally with a robust strength of over 20,000 employees and associates that provides consular, biometric, and citizen services. BLS has processed over 62 million applications to date globally. BLS International is certified with CMMI DEV V2.0 and SVC V2.0, along with ISO 9001:2015 for Quality Management Systems; ISO 27001:2013 for Information Security Management Systems; ISO 14001:2015 for Environmental Management Systems; ISO/ IEC 45001:2018 for Occupational Safety and Health; IS/I IEC 20000-1:2011 for IT Service Management; ISO 26000:2010 for Social Responsibility; ISO 23026:2015 for System Engineering and Management Requirements; ISO/IEC 28000:2017 for Supply Chain Management System; ISO/IEC 27002: 2013 for Management of Information Security; ISO 31000: 2018 for Risk Management; ISO 27001:2013 for Risk Management of Information.
