Top visa picks for Indians: Spain, Thailand, Morocco, Europe, says BLS Intl

In an interview with Business Standard, Shikhar Aggarwal of BLS International discusses where Indians are travelling and why inbound business travel to India is rising

BLS International, a visa outsourcing and technology services provider, recently opened three new Indian Consular Application Centres in Madrid, Barcelona and Tenerife, Spain. Known for managing visa, passport, consular, and citizen services for governments and diplomatic missions worldwide, BLS operates in over 70 nations.

 

In an interview with Business Standard's Surbhi Gloria Singh, Shikhar Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director at BLS International, said, “The opening of our new Indian consular application centres in Madrid, Barcelona and Tenerife reflects our commitment to transforming the consular service experience for every applicant. By bringing essential services closer to where people live, we reaffirm our promise to make global mobility a seamless reality.”

 

 

He further discusses where Indians are travelling, how AI is being used to streamline visa processes, and why inbound business travel to India is rising.

 

Edited excerpts from a video conferencing interview:

 

Which countries are Indians applying to most for visas?

 

Spain is seeing a surge in visa applications. It’s the India-Spain friendship year, and there’s been high-level engagement, including a visit by the Spanish Prime Minister. We now accept Spanish visa applications in over 12 Indian cities.

 

We also process visas for countries like Slovakia, Thailand and Morocco. Europe and North America remain top choices, and Indians are now exploring new destinations like Slovakia and Vietnam more than before.

 

What is BLS International’s global footprint?

 

We’re the second-largest visa outsourcing company in the world and operate in more than 70 countries and work with over 40 governments. For instance, 30–40 per cent of Germany’s visa processing worldwide is handled by us. We also work with Italy, Slovakia, Portugal, Poland, and the Czech Republic.

 

We also manage Indian consular and passport services abroad. So when foreigners apply to come to India, many of them go through our centres.

 

How many applications do you process each year?  

 

Roughly 4 million annually. In the last quarter alone, we saw a 15–20 per cent rise in visa volumes compared to the same period last year. This includes both organic growth and volumes from acquisitions.

 

Which markets are largest for you?

 

India and China are among our biggest revenue generators. Other large markets include the UK, Canada, Africa, and Latin America. We now facilitate travel from almost every continent, whether it's someone in Mexico applying to visit Europe or someone in the UK travelling to India.

 

Is inbound travel to India rising?  

 

Yes, there’s been a noticeable increase. India’s global image has changed—there’s better infrastructure, improved hotel capacity, and more connectivity. Massive aircraft orders are being placed by Indian airlines, which shows expectations of rising travel volumes.

 

Indian companies are also viewed differently now, and that has helped us gain global contracts as an Indian firm.

 

When is peak visa season?  

 

The first two quarters of the financial year—especially around school summer holidays—are traditionally the busiest. That said, post-Covid travel patterns have changed. People are now travelling more evenly across the year.

 

Has visa outsourcing increased?  

 

Yes, dramatically. Governments face bandwidth challenges. We handle 99 per cent of the non-judgemental tasks—collecting applications, biometrics, data transfers. Governments just decide whether to approve the visa.

 

We open centres at prime locations, bear the cost, train staff and help manage the load. This has made it easier for governments to process high volumes.

 

How are you using technology to support this?  

 

Technology is central to our operations. We’ve introduced AI chatbots and facial biometrics. For instance, in some locations, travel agents were blocking appointments, preventing real applicants from applying. We’ve implemented facial biometric systems so only the genuine applicant can book an appointment.

 

We were one of the first movers globally to introduce this across high-demand centres.

 

Has AI improved your efficiency?  

 

Absolutely. Our costs are lower, and our processing bandwidth has gone up. We can handle more queries with fewer staff. This has improved application turnaround and overall efficiency.

 

Have you come across fraudulent applications?  

 

We don’t process approvals—we only collect and prepare applications as per government checklists. But internally, we have strict audit systems and operate under clear service level agreements. The final decision lies with the embassy or consulate.

 

Do you have insight into visa rejection rates?  

 

No. Due to data protection rules, we don’t open passports or know outcomes. But broadly, the governments we work with don’t tend to have very high rejection rates—provided the applicant is genuine.

 

Are there fewer US or Canada visa applications now due to policy uncertainty?

 

Not fewer applications—Indians are still applying in large numbers. There might be temporary pauses in approvals or changes in student visa rules, especially in Canada, but the interest hasn’t dropped.

 

We don’t handle US visas in India, but we work with the US government in Latin America and are now expanding into Africa. From what we see, demand remains strong.

 

What’s your financial outlook for the company?  

 

Our EBITDA margins have gone from 21 to over 30 per cent in the last quarter—around 33 per cent now. We’ve made acquisitions worth more than ₹1,000 crore recently. That includes iData in Turkey, which handles visas for Europe, and Citizenship Invest in Dubai, which provides residency and passport services.

 

We also listed BLS e-Services, our arm that handles e-governance and banking correspondent services in India. That’s growing steadily too. Our focus is to maintain or exceed current margin levels in the coming quarters.