VFS Global - UK Visas & Immigration

Really good service, the security guard was really helpful in guiding through the entry and the staff waa very polite and process was smooth.

So we came for submitting my cousins passport.
Her appointment time was 10: 45 and she got to go in by 11: am
There is no waiting area, no chairs.
Otherwise the Punjabi security guy was really nice.

If I can give zero stars I would. The staff here is absolutely atrocious. VFS is a total ripoff. They treat joint applications as separate applications and charge you extra money for shipping your passport back. Not sure why VFS exists in today's day and age. Rather than helping applicants they simply overcomplicate the process. The respective Consulates should do better and take their business inhouse rather than giving it to VFS. It's a scam. They have absolutely zero knowledge of any questions that are asked. Not sure what value they are adding for the 45$ they charge per applicant. All this for the French Schengen Visa. A Big L for this garbage called VFS

Pathetic and cunnig business model. Good things first, the staff were very courteous and provided all the help they could. But at the end of the day it's about money and they delay the passport delivery if you are not opting for the paid courier service. I had to apply for danish visa and I was contacted by the danish embassy the day after I dsubmityed my passport at vfs. They also returned the passport to vfs the very next day after approval which they informed me later. Even thought vfs provide you a tracking number you can never track using that. Even the customer care can't track it. I had to call multiple times and nobody could find it. It was kept at the vfs office for more than 3 weeks doing nothing. I am not sure if it is legal for them to hold a person's passport like that. On my third call with the customer care I asked them to connect to the supervisor whey they said they still can't find my passport, and immediately the passport magically appeared on their desk! I was asked to go get it the next day. It needs to be mentioned that I NEVER got an email from them to collect the passport.

From.previois reviews written by other people I see that this a regular thing for them to delay if you are not opting for courier service. I really wish we could take this to the court as a group of any law agency is willing to support us. This unethical code of business practice should be stopped.

I have been trying day and night since last 1 month to get an appointment for my business Visa to France with no luck. There is no helpline to guide you as well.

Both the staff and the scheduling process here was great.
I did not have any issues booking my appointment, and the staff I interacted with were very informative, and kind.

If you come to your appointment prepared and organized it will be a breeze. We received our marriage visas back (paid for delivery) in 2 weeks.

When I went, there was an abundance of other customers that were late to their appointment and/or not well prepared.

Show up to your appointment on time, with all your required documents printed out, and you'll have a smooth application and biometric appointment.

The security guard was friendly, the staff at the counters were knowledgable and efficient with my application.

Pathetic service! Unfortunately VFS has a monopoly for visa services so they get away with fleecing their customers financially and provide atrocious customer service with zero consequences.
I tried booking a visa appointment online thru their website in their Toronto office, was getting no slots and their website would constantly keep crashing.
Then I called them they said I could subscribe to their personal service that helps putting together the documents required for the visa application (a service I did not require) for $56.
In addition to that they could then also book an appointment for me from their end for an additional $50 at the end of this week itself - while online I was getting no appointment slots for the next 3 months!
VFS charges $50 as their fees for processing, now they have devised a way to charge an additional $106 on top of that coz one has no option as they make booking an appointment online via their website, virtually impossible.
Horrible work ethics of devising ways to fleece their customers.
This is what happens when there is a monopoly in the services provided.
There is no competition therefore zero consequences for VFS, customers needing visas have no choice but to go to them.

Not sure how this review is going to help VFS improve their customer care services. It is quite evident from the other negative reviews. Clearly, they don’t care about their services. Probably because they have a monopoly in the market. It is high time embassies should take responsibility for the incompetent agencies they hire.

Our experience trying to reach customer care was extremely frustrating. We were on hold for over 2 and a half hours and couldn't get through to anyone. They eventually responded to our email inquiry after 10 days, by which point we had already canceled our plans to travel to Europe.

I am also trying to drop an email to the embassy to share this experience.

I wish I could give 0 star! The France visa center at 4th floor is absolutely horrible! Everyone from the person who checks your appointment to the manager are all mean and rude! It took me 2 month to get an appointment and they didn’t accept my application because I was late for 20 minutes which unexpected traffic caused it! I spent over $1k on ticket and they just didn’t care! Asking me to book another appointment which basically causes me losing my ticket! The employee who reviews document was explaining to me for 10 mins that he cant help me and I’m like you could review my document instead of this! Later on I talked to the center manager and such a useless rude person! They did the same with another guy who came in 2 minutes late! It was his second time at this visa center! They have zero empathy and their behaviour is outrageous!

After paying all fees online and having 0$ balance I was asked to pay extra 50$ at the office as an additional service fee. They explained extra fee reason as " we are open until 2pm only and your appointment is at 3: 30pm so all appointments after 2pm we charge extra 50$ for extended work time".
This condition was not mentioned anywhere on the website during registration or at the info board in the office. Also their work hours were clearly saying 9-4pm.
It felt like they were trying to scam me for extra 50$. I asked to show any documents explaining the charge, they were trying to talk me away from insisting on official document showing they can charge extra 50$ if someone's appointment is scheduled after 2pm. Eventually manager came to me, apologised that they can't show any document and its their IT department fault that it's not showing on the website, so they not going to charge me.
I only paid extra 30$ for ups delivery.
Basically they attempted to scam me for 50$ but because I would pay and ask many questions they backed up. I'm shocked this kind of scenario is possible at the organization that gets to handle people private data, passports etc.

Zero visibility to tracking of application (i have chains of emails as proof). If their customer facing website is down, their backend team also does not have any idea of what is going on. They did not intimate when visa timelines got extended and my passport was stuck in the process and I could not travel out of Canada for an emergency. For a PAID service, they take zero accountability and do not offer any solution.

The person who processed my application was very professional but the overall experience and atmosphere in there is very negative. And the staff communicate in a tone which is very rude. Couldn’t wait to finish and leave.

Appointments would be available midnight, so check every night.
I did not like their service. First, everything is money there. Fast service $700 more extra fast $1500, sms service money, keep your passport money, post to your address money (they told me, you can pick up your passport but this would be slow and takes 2-3 weeks as we are busy ans can not provide pick up service to everyone ‍️.
Second, they are searching people. This is private company, but they fill like CIA agency. Previous time I had backpack and they told me go to one shop like 7/11 and that shop provide locker for $15

Shout out to Kevin and the management team helped me ensure I got my passport in time. Thank you guys

First, the security guy was so rude and annoying. Second, the staff are not knowledgeable at all. Horrible service.

Web Site is a disaster. Trying to book appointments are ridiculously complicated. They constantly say there is an error and when you try again they can't find you. Hopeless. Give yourself hours to deal with this ridiculous web site. The whole process is infuriating. Guy at the door is a jerk. I guess he doesn't like his job!

The security officer at the gate was very rude and rude, don't know why he was recruited as a security officer, the security officer was an Indian with a beard (not sure), wearing only a white shirt and the shirt was dirty, the rest of the staff were very friendly and patient to listen to you and teach you how to deal with visa issues, that missing star is for the rude security officer at the gate.

I could rate a 0 if possible.
Horrible service. They dont have enough people to take care of the applicants in a timely manner.
Their employees are working like robots and don't understand customer situations.

Their website shows incomplete information about every aspect of visa submission and also does not work. It has lots of technical glitches when trying to book appointments or submit forms.

On top of that, they charge us hundreds of dollars for an application and extra money for sending us the passport back.

This isnt fair.

The consulates need to STOP USING VFS AS THEIR SERVICE PROVIDERS.

If you’re applying for a French visa, just know that there are months of delays! I wish VFS communicated this to me.

I have to write a review because I was honestly blown away by the customer service I received.
My biometrics was originally scheduled for July 29, and since I live 19 hours away I was planning on flying to my appointment. My flight was so delayed that I ended up missing my appointment and not getting on the flight at all. I couldn’t get ahold of the office or reschedule my appointment on the portal so fast forward to a month later- I decided to fly there and try to explain my situation I hopes that they would let me walk in. When I got to the office, I explained my situation to 3 different people and they were all lovely- so helpful and understanding! They let me have my appointment and I was just blown Away by their professionalism and kindness. It’s not often you get amazing customer service from every single person you deal with. 5 stars, thank you for everything.

After submitted our application for Iceland, VFS took 5 days to have our application delivered at the embassy. In comparison, other location is able to deliver the application within 2 days. We ended up miss our trip because the visa can’t make it on time. The VISA process time is NOT 15 business days as advertised. You will need at least 40 calendar days.

Prime time booking meant I was received 30 minutes late, 45 ministers after I arrived. Furthermore the guard explained the manager has discretion to allow people with bookings for a later date to apply. Not sure why I paid for or had to make a booking. Had to pay an additional laptop fee and the cashier/attendant doesn’t know about accepting AMEX cards. This info should all be online as well.

I was really worried about visiting to submit my visa application based on all the other reviews below.

However my experience was not too bad. The biggest thing was finding parking lol. I suggest arriving 30 minutes earlier to find a place to park as well as being early for your appointment, as its often busy.

I paid the extra 111 USD for prime time appointment but im not sure how worth it it was. I only did it for the sake of getting an appointment in august as I needed my visa by the start of october - and they were heavily booked until late september. So unless its DIRE i dont suggest spending the money, as they are still behind by about 45 minutes usually.

When i went i was applying for the youth mobility scheme visa. It was during a busy time as everyone else there was applying for a student visa.

I read in the comments that people were being 'up sold' but i never had this.the only thing they asked me is if i wanted to pay for shipping my visa to my home since i didnt pay for it before.which in turn i actually changed my mind to say yes as it would save me gas money driving 2 hours to toronto and 2 hours back.i asked them about my processing time and they told me it could be up to 7 weeks.thats when panic set in.however i managed to get mine back in about 2 weeks! And approved!

in terms of the SMS purchasing.they only sent 3 notifications but it seemed reasonable.however they also send it to your email so it may not be worth paying the 5 USD.they told me it was sent to the UK center.and that i was getting my passport back via courier about 2 weeks later.thats about all the updates you get.they dont tell you if youre approved online.overall i think it was better then a lot of reviews make it out to be.goodluck

Worst experience applying for a visa to Iceland. I applied from Canada and started 2 months prior to my trip. The only appointment we could make with VFS at the time was Jul. 29. Through later calls the Embassy told me my application was received on Aug. 3, and as of Aug. 31 my application is still not processed. The 3 days delay between my application with VFS and the embassy receiving really delayed my whole trip. My trip was planned for Aug. 27 and I was literally a few days short.if VFS had submitted my application on Aug. 1, my application would be processed by the embassy on Aug. 26 and I could make my trip. This whole thing of adding an intermediary (VFS) in this process really is inefficient when there's a large volume of requests, and delayed/cancelled so many people's long desired trip.this is very very disappointing, and I still have a hard time comprehending why these countries would add VFS as a step in the process.

Zero Star, My parents flew to Toronto and they've been told because you don't have flight booking and Visa card, you have to go back and make another appointment. I could buy them ticket online right away and they could use my visa number or they can use prepaid Visa card. Why they have to go and back fo this? It is not fair to people not living in Toronto. Very disappointed.

Not sure why there are so many negative reviews for the service at this VFS centre. I was trying to book an appointment for my biometrics online, unfortunately no available date was showing up till May on their online portal. Hence I took a chance to just walk in at their office. Inspite of only entertaining people with appointments, the staff (especially Kevin Smith) was very helpful and showed me a way to book an appointment for the next day just to upload my documents, but they took me in only after waiting 20 minutes to submit my passport. I really appreciated that!

They said the Visa will take 4 weeks, but I received mine in 19 days! I was pleasantly surprised and happy with their service.

They only reason I would cut one star is that the value add services aren't really worth it. I was given a time window for when to pick up the passport and there was no flexibility regarding the same (I had to adjust that on a working day with only a few hours notice). As I was not comfortable using a courier service and paying for it, I didn't have much of a choice.

Besides that, Overall the process is pretty straightforward and the people were very helpful at the centre, and I appreciate that they took me in and spend the time to look at my submission without having an appointment.

Staff is polite and know what they are doing. It’s just that process took longer than usual for visitor visa.

I had very bad experience for uk visa. I have to wait for 1 hour to be deal although i have appointment furthermore

They are absolutely horrible. I was meant to receive my passport more than a week ago and there is no way to get in touch with them. I have my flights booked and they put you under unnecessary stress.

I have never seen such a rude and such an incompetent team of people. I was applying for a visitors visa from France, and the lady who was managing my file made my life miserable. I have never felt more uncomfortable and annoyed in my life. I had a travel insurance from my university, and it was explicitly mentioned on the policy description. The coverage amount was pretty big. However, they made me purchase a separate travel insurance because my insurance just didn’t seem legit to them. They first made me buy a redundant travel insurance then made me go have it printed in a printer office which wasn’t very close to their office. When all the files were ready, this lady suddenly said that my passport was damaged and told me that she was going to stamp damaged passport to my file. I was like what? I have never been told such a thing by any other visa offices, and I had received visas with the same passport just few months ago from other countries’ embassies. Their reasoning was that the ink found on the outer layer (cover) of the passport that was used to show my country’s name and flag was erased a bit due to overuse. This is most certainly not a reason to label it as damaged. All the pages inside were intact and no scratch existed inside the passport. I travel a lot so with friction it is inevitable and normal that outside ink gets erased. I genuinely hope one day that they get closed permanently. I literally developed ptsd from them.

I applied for the UK visa over a month ago. Still no response. No way to reach them out. I sent an email to the embassy and was told that the decision have been made, but i still haven't received my visa. The worst experience ever.

No updates since I submitted my application on December 2. At this point, just need my passport back. I have a travel plan back to home. I’m in so much mental stress and frustration for the last few weeks.

Applied for a UK Visa its over a month no way of reaching or contacting them for a status update or simply getting my passport back the phone number for the Toronto UK visa section does not work says not in service, the online tracking tool in not functional, This is beyond pathetic service i don't know how the UK government allows such a organization to work or represent them in Toronto. They have a email to contact them with a 2 days response time and it only spits out automated emails.by allowing this organisation to work for them the UK government encourages this demeaning bad behaviour.

Update: - the 15 working days to get your visa is a complete lie, it’s closer to 60 working days, 175$ to get your passport back, won’t refund courier fee, The British never did forget how to make the life’s of south asians difficult!

The service is horrible I applied for uk visa on January 20 2022 I haven’t heard anything yet and they don have any number or email to get hold of them

The worse client service ever - for the office representing France. They don't provide accurate information, they pretend they will help when you have a medical emergency but don't trust those people. If you can't get an appointement online they can't do anything for you. Maybe try to check every day on the website if they opened new slots, as you can only book for the next 3 weeks - yes, this is absolutely ridiculous. Their adress is not even up to date. The only thing they can do is waste your time and money, and treat you with disrespect. Four days before our flight and after weeks of telling me they would help us, we were told by the help desk we could come the next day at a certain time and when we got there they said we had to book online and that we had no appointement. And they were rude. This is outrageous. Also if you are in a emergency situation, you should know they have to send your file to Montreal by mail. I am ashamed of the French ambassy to let those people represent them. My emergency situation is that my mum is very sick and doesn't have much time left. I wanted my husband to get the visa to come with me and get a chance to say goodbye. We provided them a medical certificate to proove our situation, 7 weeks before our leaving date. As a spouse of a French citizen, getting a short stay visa is a very simple procedure. But it gets tricky when you are misled by careless and incompetent people.

DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR PASSPORT!

UKVI and Vfsglobal will never be contacted after you submit your passport.

I submitted my UK tourist visa application on December 3,2021. According to the UKVI website, they said you will receive decision and visa within 15 working days for non priority applications. They are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.

UKVI is issuing the visa at the right time according to your need.

My visa issue date: 20 December, 2021

I received my passport and visa after 67 days, 46 working days! All this time I was under severe stress and anxiety, there is no way u can do anything about it.

I reached out to UKVI paid inquiry service. They were really helpful and factual. After multiple requests, they escalated my case and that’s why I got the passport tbh.

And let me tell you one thing, my case was not unique. This is normal timeline if you apply from Canada. I've been in touch with several other applicants and they have been through similar fate. Some of them even waited for 2.5 months to receive a rejection!

If you're applying for UK visa, I suggest you to pay a little extra to keep your passport with you until the visa decision has been made on your application.

DO NOT pay for the SMS service, its a scam.you will never receive a single SMS from Vfsglobal.
Same goes for the courier delivery of ur passport, you can’t track anything until the email from vfs comes through.

I will blame VFS for this, looks like the visa is issuing at the right time but our passport isn’t making its way to us soon enough. It is highly delayed.

I tried to be as precise and helpful as I can be. I personally didn’t get any help from anyone while I had questions on my mind. Let’s hope you guys don’t face the same situation as me EVER!

I don't even give a star for this service. There is absolutely no way to communicate with them. They charge you $5 for an email and then send you an auto reply. How on earth you could treat people like that? I submitted my visa application on Dec 13. I have rescheduled my flight two times yet, tons of money and time and energy are wasted. For the God's sake, just take time and read some of these reviews to get a sense of the condition of your service. Never I have had such a horrible experience with any visa application in my life.

Terrible service, my wife paid twice by mistake and they are not giving her a refund. No telephone number to contact them. She paid for priority visa and they did not full fill the 5-10 business days. What kind of garbage company is this? Now she was forced to miss her flight. Deserves zero stars

Extremely poor service.they delayed my passport even though my Visa was approved. Had to cancel my flight as i did not get my passport in time due to VFS Delay

Greg helped me, he was very nice and accommodating for my situation. However, extremely disappointed that I had to fly to Toronto for maybe a 15 min appointment. I live in Atlantic Canada and there are no offices in any of the 4 provinces: (

Worst service. Their SMS/email tracking is of no use just waste of money. No contact number and don’t even respond to emails. I am told my UK VISA and immigration contact centre that the decision has been made but no response yet from VFS. The timelines are 15-20 working days and it’s been over that and no update on the application. No indication of delay was even mentioned at the time of visiting the centre. I got my visa after 30 working days and still awaiting my husbands visa, we put our application as family but still haven’t received his.

Enter the medical building on ground floor and use the elevator for 6th floor. Very simple process. Make sure you upload ur documents before 24 hrs of the appointment.

Dealing wth vfs toronto has been a pure torture. It has been more than three months that I applied with my son. And now They do not have my son's passports to return!
I have put up return requests so many times but I don't know what is happening. They keep saying they have just my passport and I should wait for my son's. How much more should I wait? This is the time to go see family and here I am waiting for vfs correspondence.
Is there any accountability or any manager to contact? Ridiculous.

These guys are horrible. There is absolutely no way to contact them. No phone number, email, even the web chat says unavailable due to covid. I was told my visa application will be progressed promptly and still have not heard back from them. If there was an option to give ZERO stars I would chose that.

Was having a stressful day and when I arrived with my daughter, a wonderful guy named Jolan could tell immediately that I was having a difficult time and he was so helpful and warm. He said "you don't have to worry at all.we will work through this". He's seriously one of the kindest humans I've ever met. Our VFS Global experience was quick, efficient, and stress-free because of Jolan!

I am trying to book appointment to submit my documents for France short stat visa. All I receive is error messages that something went wrong! Anyone face this issue?