Visas: Biometrics
(asked on 9th March 2020) - View Source
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of staff working at visa application centres, processing biometric data for applicants for UK visas, they directly employ.
Answered by
Baroness Williams of Trafford
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This question was answered on 23rd March 2020
- UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) runs different types of visas application centres in the UK and overseas. Over four 4 million visa and immigration applications each year (visit, work, study, family, other)
are processed in these centres.
- The majority of application centres overseas are run by commercial suppliers (VFS Global and TLS Contact) who employ their
own personnel. In the UK, Sopra Steria Ltd run application service points, again with their own employees. Biometric data of customers is taken by supplier staff.
- There are several locations in the UK - UKVI Service and Support Centres (SSCs) - in which biometrics are taken and which are staffed by UKVI directly-employed personnel.