Tens of thousands of people in the US and Canada have been forced to fork out about three times more money as service charges at the Indian missions in Canada and the United States, thanks to a visa outsourcing scandal. 

The government's decision to outsource its visa and passport application services was aimed at providing these facilities at an affordable cost to those who travel to India. But the Ministry of External Affairs' (MEA) outsourcing contract is now in the eye of a storm, reported India Today.

The current visa processing contract is held by VFS Global, which claims it is the world’s largest outsourcing and technology services specialist for diplomatic missions and governments worldwide.

In Canada, they have been charging an average of $20 per visa application at centres in Vancouver, Brampton, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Surrey, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg.

The company lost its contract last June when a committee headed by the deputy chief of Indian mission in the US, Arun Singh, awarded the visa outsourcing contract to an Indian firm, BLS International Services Ltd. 

BLS International Services Ltd. already provides visa, passport and consular services to Indian missions in ten countries.

According to the documents made available to Mail Today in India, the contract was signed by the Indian embassy in Washington on June 22, 2012. BLS International Services Ltd. was to charge $7.30 (Rs 380) from each applicant for visa as overseas citizen of India card services fee.

In Canada, a similar contract was awarded to BLS International by the Indian High Commission in Ottawa on June 21 at Canadian $7.40 per applicant.

The amount quoted by the firm was about a third charged by the current service provider in Canada.

However, BLS International Services Ltd was told on July 6 to put the contracts on hold pending review of the process and procedures.

Diplomatic sources in the Indian mission in Washington told Mail Today that Singh, who is known for his integrity, was the head of the 12-member committee set up to ensure fairness in awarding the contract for visa services, and that due diligence was shown before initiating the process.

A foreign firm that was disqualified during the tendering process had exerted pressure on the ministry to put on hold the contract awarded to BLS International, sources said, according to Mail Today.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has meanwhile set up an internal committee headed by its special secretary Pinak Chakravarty to rule that fresh contracts be awarded after re-tendering. While the re-tendering has been ordered by the MEA, BLS International has taken the ministry to the Delhi High Court for the "arbitrary decision".

Meanwhile, visa seekers for India in Canada and the U.S. are being forced to pay more money to the existing provider, VFS Global, as its contract has been extended till December.

Over 500,000 visa and passport related applications are processed every year in the US and over 200,000 in Canada.

VFS Global company manages visa and passport issuance-related administrative and non-judgemental tasks for its client governments. With 734 Visa Application Centres (VACs) and operations in 83 countries across five continents, VFS Global serves the interests of the diplomatic missions of 39 sovereign governments. The company has successfully processed 50 million applications since its inception in 2001.

BLS International Services has operations in Kuwait , Spain, Sudan, Austria, Poland, Lithuania, UAE, Oman, South Korea, Philippines and Singapore.