BLS International Services Ltd has signed an exclusive global visa outsourcing contract for Slovakia, in a total of 18 countries, with over 54 offices.
According to the announcement from the outsourcing service provider for government and diplomatic missions worldwide, the new contract means that the company will not only be offering tourist and business visa services but also national visa services.
The decision comes as part of efforts to facilitate travel and immigration procedures.
Joint Managing Director of BLS International Services Ltd., Shikhar Aggarwal, appreciated the decision of Slovakia’s government to choose this company as Slovakia’s visa outsourcing partner.
“Aligned with the core Schengen principles, we are eager to enhance the visa application experience for all, setting new industry benchmarks through innovation and customer-centric solutions. As Slovakia emerges as an enticing and fascinating new tourism destination, significantly contributing to the growth of the travel industry, we are keen to play our part.” Shikhar Aggarwal
He said that this endeavour harmonises with the company’s core values of efficiency, excellence and security.
BLS International Services Ltd said that in 2021, a total of 2.64 million travellers visited Slovakia, while the numbers are expected to increase in line with travel trends.
The figures from the European Office for Statistics, Eurostat, revealed that the tourism sector in EU countries last year significantly improved in a large number of countries within the bloc, but in the case of Slovakia, it didn’t completely recover from COVID-related restrictions.
Last year, Slovakia welcomed a total of 12.3 million visitors, but still below 2019 statistics, during which period the country registered 17.2 million tourists (-28.3 per cent). However, this year is expected to attract more tourists and help the country’s sector to recover from the damages caused by the spread of COVID-19 and the restrictions imposed to contain its further spread.
Slovakia is not the only Schengen Zone country with which the company collaborates. The company currently has agreements with the following countries: Portugal, Hungary, Poland, Spain, Italy, and Germany, thus offering several visa and consular services.
Earlier this year, Spain extended collaboration with BLS International Ltd. The contract signed between Spain and the company in December 2016 expired at the beginning of this year, and to continue processing visa requests, the Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation has approved a resolution to award BLS with another contract for visa processing.
