VFS Global, also known as “Visa Facilitation Services Global,” is an outsourcing and technology services company that serves governments and diplomatic missions worldwide.
Sandun Rajakaruna
Beyond the worst…
WORST EVER!!!!!!!
Dan Robinson
Worst company in the world?
This company is without a doubt the worst company I have ever encountered. Booking an appointment – which should be simple- is the one of the most time consuming, frustrating and difficult things I’ve ever done. No long term appointment slots, so you have to keep checking the website every 30 minutes and when does appear the website crashes just as you’re about to book. How this company has contracts with so many countries is truly astounding.
Avinash Gambhir
Misleading information regarding additional charges
I am extremely disappointed with the VFS Global Punjagutta Hyderabad center. They provided misleading information regarding additional charges. We booked a Switzerland visa appointment online, which included the VFS service fee of Rs. 1,850 and courier charges of Rs. 775. However, upon arriving at the VFS office at Punjagutta, the reception staff informed us that the Switzerland visa fee is Rs. 10,800 per person. When we showed them the online fee of Rs. 8,100, they claimed we would still be charged Rs. 10,800. They explained that this higher amount includes courier charges (Rs. 775), SMS charges (Rs. 390), application verification fee (Rs. 1,850), and other charges—all of which they said total upto Rs. 10,800.
Additionally, they promoted the premium lounge service, stating that for an extra Rs. 1,000, we could avoid the long waiting time of two hours or more and complete the process within an hour.
They misguided and forced us into opting for the premium lounge and pay Rs. 11,800 per person. When we asked about the online payments which we had already paid Rs. 1,850 (service fee) and Rs. 775 (courier charge) per person. They then told us we could claim a refund of Rs. 775 by emailing to their customer support. However, when we inquired about the Rs. 1,850, they had no clear answer, even though I had already paid this fee online—meaning I might be paying the service charge twice, with no explanation. Meaning for two people i paid Rs. 5,250 extra for no reason.
My appointment was at 9:15 am, while my friend arrived at 10 am for his slot. When I told him how much I paid, he argued with the staff and refused to pay extra charges. Since I was in a rush to reach the office. I left, later, my friend informed me that he only paid Rs. 8,100 as the visa fee plus Rs. 390 for other charges, and he was processed in under an hour and a half.
Since the Schengen visa process is already complex, it feels like VFS Global is intentionally misleading and intimidating applicants to extract unnecessary extra fees under the guise of a premium lounge. In reality, there is no significant difference between standard and premium services. I advise everyone planning to apply to be cautious and not fall for these tactics of VFS Global.
Abed Zaza
This company is tarnishing the image of…
This company is tarnishing the image of the Kingdom of Portugal. And what is wrong with their website?
1st they want you to create an account with them in order for you to book an appointment. The activation link they send never activates! I tried on both Mac and Windows, with 2 different email accounts and 3 different browsers, for the 12th time in a row now. I even cleared my cookies. Their activation links are simply corrupt. The same redundant msg every time:
This account is currently inactive. Please click here to resend the activation email.
Now what?
BP
Absolute shit website!!!!!!
Absolute shit website!!!!!!! Keeps crashing!!!!!!!!!
Someone needs to kick these pricks out of business
VIKTAR
VFS global is not the bottom
VFS global is not the bottom, it’s a trough…
Pritima Rai
One of the most worst company….why…
One of the most worst company….why this company still exists..It has been more than a month since I started trying to get an appointment but I haven’t got one yet.You don’t even know when you will get it, there is no waiting list shown so that you get some confirmation.
Pls shut this company.
Sreesan
Worst website ever
Worst website ever! Keeps crashing, doesn’t load and when it does, it shows random visa appointments pop up and then disappear.
Ireen Larionova
Absolutely the worst user experience…
Absolutely the worst user experience imaginable. The VFS Global website is a complete nightmare — slow, buggy, and endlessly confusing. Pages constantly crash, appointment slots mysteriously disappear, and even basic navigation is a mess. It’s shocking that a site handling such critical services is this poorly designed. Trying to book a visa appointment feels like battling a broken machine. Their customer support? Practically nonexistent. VFS Global clearly doesn’t care about user convenience — just about collecting fees. Shameful.
Benedict
Next to useless
Next to useless. Weeks to get anything done, even when it is stated to be time sensitive. Pay through the nose to get poor results. Ridiculous farce should be folded as a company.
Alla Taylor
this company is absolutely useless
this company is absolutely useless. It should be audited as it fails to do their job.
Zsuzsanna Mezei
Why isn’t there any minus rate??
Why isn’t there any minus rate??? Why is this very incompetent company still at contract with Home Offices?!?????
Mr Gunther Mulder
This is the biggest scam on a global…
This is the biggest scam on a global platform.
How they are still able to be allowed to have the monopoly of passport applications confirms their corrupt connections with multiple governments globally!
No traceability and “so-called” system errors when searching for application status. No records available of application, yet payments taken without receiving any receipt.
Does HMRC know about this scam?? Applications made within UK is under UK law, and should be under scrutiny, especially when it appears to be money laundering and fraudulent.
yijun li
Shxt-like service of VFS Global
Failed to show the options of appointment. After quite a hassle by switching Chrome to Edge and refreshing the webpage countless time to get the appointment booked. Then the payment process failed and the system crashed while showing “Your appointment is not confirmed and your payment is in progress! I am stuck at this page even if I tried logging off, clearing cookies and logging in. It is so absurd such a garbage-like company can obtain monopoly of so many countries’ visa business!!! Who knows how much God-damned backroom deal they have made?!!!
Mr J.
Absolutely terrible company
Absolutely terrible company. My partner and I were trying to visit the EU and needed a Schengen Visa for our country.
Not only was their website constantly freezing or showing an error, but the appointments were so hard to find. We have spent 4 months trying to get a visa but every time we found one it was too late, we started booking the appointment and filling out our information but by the time we were done we got a message saying the appointment has not been booked for someone else.
Their website should put appointments on hold as soon as someone selects it so others can’t take it. Just like every other booking site does.
And their help desk was no help at all. Always telling us there is nothing they can do, that they can’t investigate issues as we have to email them, but then they take weeks to get back with an response that just said there’s nothing they can do, we just have to keep refreshing the page.
We are now 30 days from departure date and still struggling to get an appointment, despite having to book hotel and flights in advance. This will cost us a lot of money and there is nothing this company is willing to do to actually help, despite a large part of the issue being their website crashing.
Rithika Ramachandran
Absolutely terrible service both online…
Absolutely terrible service both online and in-person. All their customer service emails sound the same and give completely vague answers, probably written by AI. and they somehow made the experience a million times worse by adding a nightmare log in procedure. I have been holding off changing my citizenship, but after dealing with VFS I will most certainly become a british citizen to avoid interacting with this awful company again
Peter
Awful
Awful website, fails to upload images with no reason as to why. Then while you are waiting for them to reply to an email, the website deletes all the documents you have previously uploaded, and you have to do that all over again (it’s a lot of documents), even though you have paid and are obviously going to complete the items as soon as you can upload the photo.
Some of the information on their ‘schengen checklist’ is incorrect and if you follow it, your application will be rejected.
Their support email takes 48 hours to respond, they are based offshore and don’t really care about your issues, in my experience she just read from a script and hung up the phone.
vfsglobal have a responsibility and a duty of care to ensure that the website functions correctly and is fit for purpose, is is neither.
AM
Worst company to deal with
Worst company to deal with. There are definitely better options out there that these large corporations can have dealing with there’s bookings. Shocking how bad they are. Whoever gave them the power to deal with bookings clearly deserves to be fired!
Zhai Bing
The worst website for booking an…
The worst website for booking an appointment. After registration, it takes more than 3 minutes to receive a message. And my account just locked in 5 minutes’ time, because I don’t know which one-time login passcode for which login session!
Mick C
Nightmare!
This is without question one of the worst experiences I have ever had dealing with any company in my life. It starts with booking online for a biometrics appointment in Brisbane Australia,
Forced to pay extra for wheel chair access regardless of weather you need it or not because there was no other option online through the VFS link to book an appointment.
The only documents we were required to take were her passport and a bank statement (our fault that the statement didn’t show 28 days of transactions it only showed a balance) the VFS employee took the statement and scanned it to load in to the application and incredibly, failed to mention we needed to show the 28 days of transactions which delayed the application, although it was mentioned numerous times during the interview if we paid the extra $1000 AUD the process could be sped up.
On surrendering the passport we specifically requested the we be able to personally collect it and were told this was not an option (incorrect information as this is a clear option on receipt of the successful visa) also worth noting there is an option to retain the passport at a cost which we would have undoubtably used as our travel date was fast approaching and we were concerned we would not get our passport back in time, again no mention of this from VFS
We paid the extra money for the courier to have the passport delivered to our door with sms notifications, from the time of being sent after the application we received not a single notification of where the passport was or when we would receive it through DHL
My wife myself and my daughter have exhausted every possible option to make contact with VFS to try and get a tracking update through the website unfortunately it is impossible to log in and track as the CAPTCHA letters to log in keep showing as incorrect regardless of weather we use upper or lower case and also how many times we try. The VFS website is completely and utterly useless, after days of trying we were unable to get any information on the status of the application or the location of the passport.
Unbelievably there is no contact number in Australia!
Next option was the 24/7 X twitter helpline, we first made contact on Thursday 17 of April, finally five days later on Tuesday we got a response to our problem of the missing passport, the only one singular time we were able to get any assistance on the application and we were given a tracking number for DHL, when we logged in to DHL it only showed the tracking history and not where the passport was currently. Finally we received the passport without one single notification.
Next we asked one more question on Wednesday 23/4 regarding the visa docs in hope of receiving a response through the X (twitter 24/7 helpline) four days later on Sunday the 27/4 we were messaged and directed to go to the GOV.UK website.
In my experience this is a company that has a monopoly on the business of UK visa applications in Australia and has zero care or regard for their customers once they have been paid. If they had to compete with other companies they would be wiped off the map.
Below are the analyze and conclusion of us about above reviews
Review 1 (Sandun Rajakaruna): This review is extremely brief, simply stating “WORST EVER!!!!!!!”. While the strong negative sentiment is clear, the lack of any specific details makes it difficult to assess its validity or understand the user’s experience. It’s possible the reviewer had a genuinely bad experience, but the absence of context makes the review less credible on its own.
Review 2 (Dan Robinson): This review provides more detail, focusing on the difficulty of booking appointments. The reviewer describes a frustrating cycle of checking the website, encountering crashes, and failing to secure an appointment. This level of detail adds some credibility to the review, suggesting a genuine attempt to use the service and a negative experience with the booking process. The specific complaint about website crashes and rapidly disappearing appointment slots is a recurring theme in other reviews as well.
Review 3 (Avinash Gambhir): This is a very detailed and concerning review alleging misleading information and forced upselling at a VFS Global center in Hyderabad. The reviewer describes being told about additional charges not mentioned online and being pressured into paying for a premium lounge service. The reviewer points out a discrepancy between the fees paid online and the fees demanded in person, suggesting a potential overcharging scheme. The comparison with a friend’s experience, who paid less and received faster service without the premium lounge, strengthens the claim of deceptive practices. This review raises serious concerns about the transparency and ethics of VFS Global’s operations at that location.
Review 4 (Abed Zaza): This review focuses on technical issues with the VFS Global website, specifically the inability to activate an account. The reviewer describes trying multiple browsers, email accounts, and operating systems, suggesting a persistent problem with the activation process. The repeated error message further supports the claim of a technical malfunction. This review indicates a potential problem with the website’s registration system.
Review 5 (BP): Similar to the first review, this one is extremely short and uses strong language (“Absolute shit website!!!!!!!”) to express frustration. The mention of the website “crashing” aligns with other reviews mentioning technical issues, but the lack of detail limits its overall credibility.
Review 6 (VIKTAR): This review is a very short and figurative statement, “VFS global is not the bottom, it’s a trough…”. It expresses a very negative sentiment but lacks specific details. It indicates a very low opinion of the company’s services, implying they are worse than the lowest expectation.
Review 7 (Pritima Rai): This review describes the difficulty of obtaining an appointment, stating that the reviewer has been trying for over a month without success. The lack of a waiting list and the uncertainty of when an appointment will become available contribute to the frustration. This review aligns with other reviews highlighting the issue of appointment availability.
Review 8 (Sreesan): This review reinforces the complaints about the VFS Global website, mentioning crashes, slow loading times, and disappearing appointments. The combination of these issues paints a picture of an unreliable and poorly functioning website, which corroborates the experiences described in other reviews.
Review 9 (Ireen Larionova): This review offers a comprehensive critique of the VFS Global website, describing it as “slow, buggy, and endlessly confusing.” The reviewer mentions pages constantly crashing, appointment slots disappearing, and poor navigation. The lack of customer support is also criticized. The detailed description of the website’s problems and the negative assessment of customer support contribute to the review’s credibility.
Review 10 (Benedict): This review expresses dissatisfaction with the speed and cost of VFS Global’s services. The reviewer claims it takes weeks to get anything done, even for time-sensitive matters, and that the results are poor despite the high cost. This review suggests problems with efficiency and value for money.
Review 11 (Alla Taylor): This review is short and direct, calling the company “absolutely useless” and suggesting an audit. It indicates a significant failure in performing their job, implying a lack of competence or effectiveness.
Review 12 (Zsuzsanna Mezei): This review expresses strong disapproval and questions why the company is still under contract. It implies incompetence and raises concerns about the company’s qualifications for the role.
Review 13 (Mr Gunther Mulder): This review makes very serious accusations, alleging that VFS Global is a “scam on a global platform” and suggesting corrupt connections with governments. The reviewer also mentions issues with traceability, system errors, lack of records, and payments taken without receipts. The review raises concerns about potential money laundering and fraudulent activity, urging scrutiny under UK law. These are extremely serious allegations.
Review 14 (yijun li): This review describes a frustrating experience with the website, mentioning failed payment processes and a system crash that left the reviewer in limbo. The reviewer expresses anger at the company’s monopoly and suggests unethical deals. The frustration stems from technical issues that prevented the successful booking of an appointment.
Review 15 (Mr J.): This review details a prolonged struggle to book a Schengen visa appointment, citing constant website errors, freezing, and the inability to secure appointments before they are taken by others. The lack of a holding system for appointments is criticized, as is the unhelpful customer service. The reviewer expresses concern about financial losses due to missed travel dates caused by the company’s website issues.
Review 16 (Rithika Ramachandran): This review criticizes both the online and in-person service, describing customer service emails as vague and generic. The login procedure is also described as a “nightmare.” The negative experience is so strong that it has motivated the reviewer to consider changing citizenship to avoid interacting with the company again.
Review 17 (Peter): This review focuses on technical issues with the website, such as failing to upload images and deleting previously uploaded documents. The reviewer also claims that some information on the Schengen checklist is incorrect and that the support email is slow to respond and unhelpful. The review expresses frustration with the website’s functionality and the quality of customer support.
Review 18 (AM): This review simply states that VFS Global is the “worst company to deal with” and suggests that there are better alternatives. It indicates strong dissatisfaction with the company’s services.
Review 19 (Zhai Bing): This review complains about the website’s slowness and the account locking within minutes of registration. The reviewer finds the process frustrating due to the difficulties with the login passcode.
Review 20 (Mick C): This is a very detailed and critical review outlining numerous issues, including being forced to pay for wheelchair access regardless of need, being given incorrect information by employees, pressure to pay for expedited service, lack of communication regarding passport delivery, and a dysfunctional website. The reviewer expresses frustration with the lack of a contact number in Australia and the slow response from the Twitter helpline. The review paints a picture of a company with poor customer service, misleading practices, and a dysfunctional online system.
visa.vfsglobal.com likely legit, but with significant service and functionality issues.
Note: The above statement is just my personal opinion, you should check carefully at the sources and make the right decision for yourself.