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VFS Global’s ownership has layers – global private equity firms, sovereign investors, and a company that began in Mumbai.
VFS Global was founded in 2001 by Indian entrepreneur Zubin Karkaria while he was associated with the Swiss travel group Kuoni. (Representative image)
As scrutiny grows over visa outsourcing giant VFS Global in Europe and India over issues ranging from data privacy to appointment irregularities, attention is also turning to a key question: who actually owns the company that handles millions of visa applications every year?
The answer is layered, involving global private equity firms, sovereign investors, and a company that began in Mumbai before becoming one of the world’s most powerful travel-services intermediaries.
Read More: Is Your Visa Application Data Safe? Why VFS Global Is Facing Scrutiny In Europe
For millions of Indians applying for Schengen, UK, Canadian or other foreign visas, VFS Global is the face of the visa system. Applicants submit biometric data, passports, financial documents and personal details at its centres. But despite the public-facing role it plays in international mobility, VFS Global itself is a privately owned corporate entity, controlled not by governments, but by global investment firms.
From Mumbai Startup To Global Visa Powerhouse
VFS Global was founded in 2001 by Indian entrepreneur Zubin Karkaria while he was associated with the Swiss travel group Kuoni. The idea stemmed out of the fact that embassies and consulates were overwhelmed with administrative visa work, forcing applicants to wait in long queues. VFS proposed handling the non-judgmental administrative side of the process – collecting applications, biometrics and documents – while governments retained final decision-making powers. The model expanded rapidly.
Over the next two decades, VFS became the world’s largest visa outsourcing company, operating thousands of visa application centres across more than 140 countries. It now works with dozens of governments, including the UK, Canada, Australia and multiple European nations. Though founded in India, the company today is headquartered in Zurich and Dubai.
Who Owns VFS Global Today?
The largest stakeholder in VFS Global is the American investment giant, Blackstone. Blackstone acquired a majority stake in VFS Global in 2021 from Swedish private equity firm EQT. The deal marked another major ownership transition for the company, which had already evolved from its origins inside the Kuoni travel group into a standalone global outsourcing business.
Under the deal structure announced at the time, Blackstone became the majority shareholder while EQT retained a minority stake. The Swiss-based Kuoni and Hugentobler Foundation also continued as an investor.
In 2024, another major investor entered the picture when Singapore’s sovereign investment firm Temasek Holdings agreed to acquire an 18 per cent stake in VFS Global. Reports at the time valued the company at roughly $5 billion in equity value.
Various reports and financial disclosures over the years have also pointed to investments linked to pension funds and global institutional investors through private equity structures.
VFS Global’s ownership journey reflects how visa processing gradually transformed from a government-administered function into a profitable private business.
In 2016, EQT acquired Kuoni Group, which then included VFS Global among its businesses. EQT later separated VFS from Kuoni’s tourism divisions and focused on scaling it as an independent technology and outsourcing company. During that period, VFS expanded aggressively, winning more government contracts, increasing digital services and growing its global footprint. By the time Blackstone entered, the company had become a dominant player in the visa outsourcing ecosystem.
Recent reports had suggested Blackstone has explored options including a partial or full sale of its stake, amid rising investor interest in the business.
Why The Ownership Structure Matters
The controversy around VFS Global is not simply about visa appointments or outsourcing delays. Critics in Europe and elsewhere argue that a private company handling highly sensitive personal data – including passports, biometric details, travel histories and financial records – raises larger questions about accountability and oversight.
The concern becomes sharper because VFS is not state-owned. It is ultimately controlled by financial investors whose core objective is commercial growth and returns.
VFS maintains that it only handles administrative and “non-judgmental” tasks, while governments retain authority over visa approvals and rejections. The company also says it operates under strict data protection and contractual requirements set by client governments.
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