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Visa-outsourcing fiasco: Audit report says Govt. earned no revenue
View(s):A special audit report on the online visa issuance programme, where the work of the Department of Immigration and Emigration was outsourced to a private company last year, did not bring any revenue to the government, while tourists who qualified under the visa-fee waiver category ended up paying processing fees, thus not benefiting from the free service.
The report compiled by the Auditor General’s Department said that during its short period of operations handling the issuance of visas, GBS Technology Services & IVS Global ± FZCO and VFS VF Worldwide Holdings Ltd could have earned at least USD 1,820,418 for the number of visa applications issued online between April 17, 2024, and August 2, 2024, due to the issuance of visas without charging visa fees for 98,401 visa applications for visa-fee waiver countries, the report said.
The government did not receive any visa fee income, the report noted.
The AG said that the Department of Immigration and Emigration should conduct a cost-effectiveness study on the services to be outsourced and follow proper tender procedures and select institutions with conditions that are profitable for the government and beneficial to the country before undertaking such programmes.
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