Starting April 18, TLS Contact will be in charge of handling visa applications of applicants from the US applying for France visas, with the company substituting VFS Global.
The new visa outsourcing company will have ten centres across the US cities for applicants to submit their applications, ensuring a smooth and efficient process, Schengen.News reports.
These ten centres are located in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Washington, New York, Boston, and Miami.
VFS Global Issues Warning for People With Ongoing Applications
Those who have submitted their applications to VFS Global and have booked appointments before April 17, will have the chance to keep their appointment or cancel and book a new one with TLS Contact.
As The Local reports, those waiting for their passports and have chosen to pick it up in person, will have to withdraw their passport at another location after April 18.
If you requested your passport to be shipped back to you by express mail, no action is required from your side. If you choose to retrieve your passport at a VFS center, please note that you will have to retrieve it at a different location after April 18.
According to statistics published by SchengenVisaInfoFrance is the number one destination for applicants from the US. American passport holders are not required to apply for a Schengen visa when travelling to the Schengen Areawith France also being a Member State.
However, foreign nationals from other countries that do not have a visa liberalisation agreement with the bloc, must file applications for Schengen visas.
In 2023, applicants from the US filed 174,258 visa applications, and 50,054 or 28.7 per cent of all applications were filed for French visas.
TLS Contact ‘Promises’ to Reduce Processing Times
The new company that will handle visa applications for applicants from the US, TLS Contact, has highlighted that their new facilities are created to make the visa application process easier, reducing appointment times and also improving the customer experience.
The duration of this contract with TLS Contact is valid for a total of five years but there is a possibility for its duration to be extended, as Insurte reports.
While VFS Global will no longer process France visas in the US, this isn’t the end of its operations. It will continue to operate for its existing partners, such as Austria, Portugal, and the UK.