Doha – The Embassy of Portugal in Morocco has signed a contract with BLS International Services for visa outsourcing services in Rabat and Casablanca, with plans to expand to additional centers in the coming months, the company announced on Thursday.
“Over the last few years, we have been actively collaborating with the Portuguese government, this is our second major win, following our initial contract with Portugal in Russia. This exclusive agreement marks a milestone in enhancing the visa application process for travelers to Portugal from Morocco,” BLS International said in a statement as reported by NDTV.
Under the agreement, BLS International will provide critical services at their Visa Application Center (VAC) locations, including accepting visa applications, passports, visa fees, and supporting documents.
The company will also introduce an innovative appointment system featuring facial recognition technology, aiming to streamline the visa application process for an estimated 20,000 applicants annually.
Shikhar Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director of BLS International Ltd., emphasized the significance of the partnership.
“This ground-breaking collaboration with the Embassy of Portugal heralds a new era for visa services in Morocco. With state-of-the-art technology at our core and an unwavering pursuit of excellence, we are not merely improving the visa application process–we are transforming it,” he said.
In addition to accepting applications, BLS International will distribute visa application forms at service counters and through a dedicated website, assisting applicants in completing the forms and providing information about various visa categories and the application process.
This comes after the Embassy of Portugal in Rabat announced that it would “shortly be working with a new partner” to improve “its services for those wishing to apply for a visa to Portugal.” Starting May 1, 2024, the announcement noted, VFS Global would no longer be responsible for screening visa applications for Portugal.
BLS International Services Ltd. has been a global tech-enabled services partner for governments and citizens since 2005, known for setting benchmarks in visa, passport, consular, citizen, e-governance, attestation, biometric, e-visa, and retail services.
Read also: Morocco, Portugal Agree to Elevate Bilateral Cooperation
