Private firm's work with visas raises concerns

[OhioChick]

Jun 16, 2008 04:30 AM


In the big business of worldwide migration, VFS Global is carving a niche in the high-tech handling of sensitive personal information.

That they've just started doing that for Canada in China alarms activists and experts here who fear the Chinese government could get its hands on the information.

Canada outsourced tasks such as taking applications and fees and booking appointments in Beijing and Shanghai two weeks ago to VFS. On June 25, VFS will take over visa tasks in Guangzhou.

Using VFS isn't mandatory, and there is an extra fee, but it is "strongly encouraged." The embassy makes it clear they will still make the decisions. In Beijing now, because of VFS, people who want a visa for Canada can apply from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, instead of the one hour a day the Chinese embassy was open for applications, and track their applications online.

"There's the accountability issue, the privacy issue and why are we outsourcing something to a for-profit entity that belongs in the security mandate?" asked Victor Wong, executive director of the Chinese Canadian National Council. "Anyone who is seeking to leave China requires an exit visa. For anyone who has been critical of China, and there are many dissidents in China, there is some risk to them."

VFS, with more than 200 offices in 39 countries handling 6 million visa applications a year, has doubled its business each year in recent years.

Biometric visas, which embed personal information and images in a chip, is their next big breakthrough field, Sanjay Bhaduri, chief operations officer, told The Economic Times of India in February.

Despite a scandal last year when the data of 50,000 Indians who applied for British visas became available online, Britain expanded its 32-country relationship with VFS to include biometric passports and security checks on immigrants.

The security breach lasted about a year before it was discovered.

Liam Clifford of globalvisas.com, a migration advice company, told The Sunday Telegraph: "Once you put this work in the hands of private companies overseas, you no longer have the same protection.''

VFS will spend $2 million on online security in the next year, Bhaduri said. The company, which has a high-tech infrastructure, is careful to note that "a vigilance and security team" monitors its employees, who are warned not to influence applications or diplomats.

VFS does business for six countries, including Canada, in 12 cities in China. Last year, VFS China handled 250,000 visa applications and expected double that this year.

In 2005, 31 million Chinese travelled abroad and the number should triple by 2020. VFS, which handles Canada's visa centres in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kenya and Nepal, did not reply to the Star's emailed questions.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/443959