Visa vie

Submitting a visa application can be nerve-wracking at the best of times. In the worst of times, it's like a Monty Python argument, but you'd rather get smashed on the head

Aug 20, 2023

Crisis? What crisis? Ça va bien aller from now on.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can be a wonderful thing, saving us from tedious tasks so we can pursue all those creative things we’ve been meaning to do if it weren’t so busy writing our own CVs and flying the plane.

It can also be the thing that drives us insane as it behaves like the kind of spouse who answers questions we didn’t ask and doesn’t answer the ones we did.

That’s the direction that so-called customer service has been taking in recent years, with long lists of Frequently Asked Questions and online bots that try to match your question with answers from its programmed database. While both can be useful — certainly more useful than waiting on hold for two hours — they often seem designed principally to keep you from ever talking to anyone who must be paid for their work and can respond with natural intelligence and, hopefully, a little empathy.

In some cases, companies don’t want you to know that a machine is answering your queries because it kind of clashes with the message of their “constant efforts to enhance the customer satisfaction level.” If they value our business, tho, why won’t they talk to us??

This past month, my frustrated and repeated efforts to reach a NI human at the VFS agency treating my French visa application nearly cost me thousands of dollars and a missed flight to Europe. I had to fix the problem I had been warning about for weeks by driving 6 hours from Ottawa to Montréal and back yesterday, all because 10 days of repeatedly asking VFS to change my mailing address had fallen on deaf silicone chips.

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NOTE (Aug. 30/23): This column is about four times longer than my usual dispatches, but you can skip the email chain at the end, so it’s really only twice as long!

Canadians are fortunate that we don’t need visas to visit large parts of the world. In 185 countries, we’re welcome for anywhere from 30 days to a year without the need for a pre-approved permit for a visit. The rules are different if you’re planning on working, however, or if you plan on staying beyond the pre-set limit. In the case of the European “Schengen” area (covering 27 countries), the current limit is 90 days within a 180-day period, meaning I needed a visa if I wanted to stay in Europe longer than three months.

I won’t go into all the details about the various rules and types of visas, there are blogs out there that do a pretty good job of that. I’ll include a few links I found useful below, but keep in mind that the rules can change quickly. For now, for example, you don’t need any type of visa for a stay of less than 90 days, but the Schengen region is introducing the European Travel and Authorization System (ETAIS) in 2024, which you WILL need to obtain in advance to enter even for short-term stays or holidays.

So, no more impetuous flights to Paris for brunch, my friends. If you don’t have your ETAIS, you may have to settle for Café Cherrier. Or Tim Horton’s.

For the long-term visa in Europe, you start by going through the visa portal of the country where you’ll be spending the majority of your time. So, France, in my case. I have no experience with the processes for other countries, but I am going to assume they are similar. The portal is pretty straightforward and it allows you to save your file and return to it later if you need to add information or make changes. Once you’re done, you are sent a checklist of the documentation you’ll need to provide when you set up an appointment with an external Visa Application Centre. The VAC is an agency that the country in question has hired to vet your application, interview you, and gather your biometrics before turning over your package, which includes your passport and documentation, to the consulate. It’s the consulate that approves or rejects the visa application, then returns your passport to the VAC, which then couriers it back to you for a signature-only delivery.

Keep in mind that you aren’t allowed to apply for a visa earlier than 3 months before you plan to leave, so the clock is ticking from Day One.

The VFS Ottawa office is surprisingly sparse.

You can’t choose your VAC: it has an exclusive contract signed with the host country. For Canada-France, the VAC is VFS Global, which has offices in Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver. VFS Canada also handles 20 other countries, including Estonia, the U.K. and Iceland, for example.

The first sign of a problem was getting an appointment in Montréal, where I live. With the clock ticking on my Aug. 30 flight, I kept checking the online appointment calendar, but there were no open slots. After two weeks of this, I finally reached a live VFS helpline operator (on my first attempt, I waited three hours while a recorded message repeated every 30 seconds that that someone would be with me in a moment). He explained that the current priority was dealing with a flood of student visas (this was late June, and Montreal has four major universities and a host of other post-secondary schools), so I should try another VFS office.

So I checked Ottawa, found an appointment for July 17, and arranged to drive there on the designated day. I was expecting a suite in a modern government office tower, but the Ottawa VFS office was located in an isolated, run-down building in an older part of the city, far from the bureaucrat bustle of much of the Canadian capital.

A security guard buzzed me in and verified I had an appointment. You can’t just saunter in and ask questions, you can’t bring anyone with you, and you can’t bring a gun. Okay, as a Canadian, that last bit surprised me, I’ll admit. But after what VFS put me through these last weeks, it’s making more sense to me now.

The first thing they make you do inside the narrow hall — where about 10 other people are waiting on plastic chairs for agents for France, Estonia or Azerbaijan — is type in your name and address into a cheap PC attached to the wall. They don’t really explain why you’re doing this, but they then print out a pair of UPS labels and tell you to pass them on to your agent when you are called into the inner offices.

Inside, the agent checks your paperwork, asks questions (very few, in my case), then takes your photo and fingerprints. I ask mine about the label, explaining that I was relocating to Ottawa on Aug. 14 and was worried that I may no longer be at my Montreal address when the passport was returned. He says he’s confident it wouldn’t be a problem, the applications are generally processed within 15 to 30 days. In my head, I say, “that means a month at most. Today’s the 17th. It’s cutting it close, but I should be okay.” There is no discussion of a plan B.

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By August 8, with just a week to my move, I was starting to get antsy. When I checked the VFS online tracking service, it said my file didn’t exist. Panic. So I wrote my first message, asking for a follow-up. Shortly after, I sent a second message detailing my delivery, deadline, departure dilemma. The next day their email response repeated my concerns back to me, a perfect example of active listening; so it was either written by a human or a really good AI. Then they dropped a little bomb shell: it wasn’t 15 to 30 days to process but 30 business days, and only 18 had gone by.

When someone says “15 to 30 days,” a normal human interprets that as about two to four weeks. Now they were telling me the actual range was four to six weeks, but implied six was more likely.

That left no margin for error if there was a delivery problem. So I politely asked “Is there any way to notify the courier of an address change if it is delivered after the 14th? Or if the package is returned to your Ottawa office by the Consulate, can I pick it up there? I don’t want to have to travel from Ottawa to Montreal and back just to sign for the package and I don’t want to risk it sitting in a UPS depot in the wrong city.”

Ignoring my question, they responded with an explanation of how to CANCEL my visa request.

I would get to know the highway between Montréal and Ottawa far too well.

The full chain of my Kafkaesque exchange with the VFS customer disservice bots is at the bottom of this column, but suffice to say that I got so fed up at one point that I wrote: “I realize that much of these responses are written by bots or come from boilerplate replies, but please listen to what I asked in my earlier email.” I then repeated the above question, and added, “AFTER my package is returned to VFS Global from the Consulate, you can verify the appropriate delivery address with me before sending it to UPS for delivery? That is surely within your power to do, I am simply asking if you are willing to do it. Please give me a Yes or No answer.”

They responded that my application had already been processed by the embassy (hurray) and that I’d get it in 5 to 7 business days. Once more, they ignored my question about changing the delivery address, but promised I’d be contacted shortly by phone or text.

Silence radio. They ignored my follow-up emails until six days later, after I had moved to Ottawa. I had called their help line Aug. 15 and finally got to speak to a human at some U.S. call centre. That new email asked me to repeat much of the information I had repeatedly given them.

And, once more, they ignored my question. But this time they said my application still HADN’T been processed by the consulate and it could take up to 45 business days!

Panic set in. But as I would find out shortly after, UPS had already knocked on my Montreal door with the passport/visa that supposedly hadn’t yet been processed.

Here is my final response to the clowns at VFS, with the full email chain included for your amusement:

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PLEASE FORWARD TO A SENIOR SUPERVISOR!

From: Peter Wheeland

Sent: 18-Aug-2023 16:46:52

To: France in Canada

My experience with VFS has been nothing short of horrendous. If you read the email chain below, you will see that my repeated requests for an address redirect for the return of my passport were repeatedly ignored.

On August 9, I asked: "Is there any way to notify the courier of an address change if it is delivered after the 14th? Or if the package is returned to your Ottawa office by the Consulate, can I pick it up there? I don’t want to have to travel from Ottawa to Montreal and back just to sign for the package and I don’t want to risk it sitting in a UPS depot in the wrong city."

Yet this is exactly what happened. When the new tenant in my Montreal apartment informed me yesterday that UPS had tried to deliver my package from VFS, I was forced to:

a) Contact UPS and request they not attempt a delivery in the morning because

b) I had to borrow a car in Ottawa and drive 2.5 hours to Montreal so that the follow-up UPS delivery attempt would not fail.

UPS informed me that the package could not be redirected except by the client (VFS) and, further, that in the event the delivery failed, the package would be held for 5 business days and then returned to the client.

That would have ensured that I would not have my passport back in time for my flight to Toulouse on Aug. 30.

I am fortunate that I was able to get back to Montreal in time to collect the package. Someone who didn’t have access to a car, who couldn’t take time off work, or who lived farther away would not have been able to do it.

Throughout this nightmare experience, it has been impossible to reach a human employee at VFS except for an Aug. 15 phone call with an extremely courteous and sympathetic call centre employee who took down all my information and double-checked with his superiors to ensure it would reach the right people at VFS Ottawa. Yet all of the promises made to me in the various emails since Aug. 7 were broken and no attempt was ever made to contact me about my (very justified) concerns. Not to mention the lies and contradictions, such as

09-Aug-2023 09:16:22 "Consulate will not provide update while in processing, once process completed they will notify you that they have completed the process and return documents back to VFS for delivery.”

and

09-Aug-2023 16:39:29 "Let me inform you that your documents have already been dispatched by the consulate, and they will send them to the VFS center, then to the courier, and finally to your home address.”

and

16-Aug-2023 11:54:46 "We are escalating this case to see if we can have address change for you. Or to see if you can pick up documents at Ottawa.”

and

16-Aug-2023 16:23:23 "Please be informed your request has been sent to the visa application center, and they will reach out to you once there is a resolution.”

17-Aug-2023 17:59 "Please be informed, regarding the processing time to get the visa, your application is under process with the French Consulate yet. You will be notified once the process is complete.”

I wasn’t even notified that the package had already been transferred to UPS for delivery, so I had to scramble to get back to Montreal in time today. If I missed the Friday delivery attempt, I would have had to return to Montreal again on Monday for the third attempt! And I am fortunate that the tenant in my former apartment allowed me to wait there for the delivery!

This has resulted in tremendous stress and significant costs to me both in terms of money and time.

Your system of automated bot responses does not allow for any intelligent conversation, and the impossibility of reaching anyone who could actually do anything about my concerns is, I’m sure, not an isolated incident.

To add insult to injury, when I followed the VFS link (below) for complaints and filled in the online form, the “submit” button on webpage would not work.

The fact that VFS has an exclusive contract for these visa application services allows you to get away with a callous and arbitrary approach to your captive clients. Nevertheless, I will do everything in my power to bring these issues to the attention of people who CAN initiate change, starting with the French Ambassador to Canada, Michel MIRAILLET, and the ambassadors of your other client countries.

In addition, I would like a full refund of the VFS portion of my application fees and $1,000 in damages for aggravation and lost time.

Oh, and in case you’re interested, I successfully recuperated my passport at 12:39 today and my visa was granted.

Peter Wheeland

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If Kafka wrote emails: here’s how it all started

From: Peter Wheeland

Sent: 08-Aug-2023 14:10:49

To: France in Canada

Hello, I had an appointment in your Ottawa offices on July 17 and am still waiting to hear back about my French visa application. When I tried to use the online tracking service (ref: CANXXXXXXXXX), it said there was no such application. Obviously, that is very worrying, especially since you guys have my passport. Could you please follow this up for me? I am leaving for France in less than three weeks so need to straighten this out. Thank you for your time. Peter Wheeland 514-XXX-XXXX

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From: Peter Wheeland

Sent: 08-Aug-2023 14:48:52

To: France in Canada

I paid for the courier service, but that is part of the problem. I will not be at my Montreal address from Aug. 14 to 24, I will be in Ottawa, so can’t sign for the package. Without my passport, I can’t get on the plane Aug. 30.

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From: France in Canada <Info.FranceCanada@vfsglobal.com>

Sent: 09-Aug-2023 09:16:22

To: Peter Wheeland

Dear Peter,

Thank you for contacting the VFS France in Canada Visa help desk.

We understand that you are worry about the fact that you cannot track your application. Furthermore you might not be in Montreal address from Aug.14 to 24th. You will be in Ottawa. We are happy to assist you by providing you with the following information. Once your application was submitted at Ottawa center it enter the processing process. It will be in processing for 30 business days while Consulate take into consideration documents. At this point your application has been in processing for 18 business days to date. Consulate will not provide update while in processing, once process completed they will notify you that they have completed the process and return documents back to VFS for delivery. We apologized for inconvenience created by tracker not working. Please be advised that this issue is under advisement by IT team

If you have any more questions or concerns please feel free to contact us. Thank you.

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From: Peter Wheeland

Sent: 09-Aug-2023 10:07:38

To: France in Canada

Attachments: ---------

Thank you for your prompt reply,

When I was told the process could take up to 30 days, I understood calendar days, not “jours ouvrables.” The Consulate website doesn’t say jours ouvrables either (see attachment). When I mentioned to your agent that I was worried about the return address for the courier because I’d be absent from the 14th, he was confident it would not be a problem because it was almost a full month after the application.

Is there any way to notify the courier of an address change if it is delivered after the 14th? Or if the package is returned to your Ottawa office by the Consulate, can I pick it up there? I don’t want to have to travel from Ottawa to Montreal and back just to sign for the package and I don’t want to risk it sitting in a UPS depot in the wrong city.

Regardless of the determination my Visa, I absolutely must have my passport back by Aug. 30 at the latest, otherwise I can’t get on the plane and will have wasted the airfare. (Even if the visa is refused, I still intend to go to France for 90 days)

Any further assistance you can provide would be much appreciated.

Thanks for your kind consideration.

Peter Wheeland

514-XXX-XXXX

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From: France in Canada <Info.FranceCanada@vfsglobal.com>

Sent: 09-Aug-2023 12:10:18

To: Peter Wheeland

Attachments: Formulaireannulation_2.pdf

Dear Peter,

Thank you for contacting the France in the USA VFS Global Visa Helpline Desk.

Let me inform you that if you want to withdraw your application, you have to send us a letter signed by you explaining the reason for the cancellation, and the letter must also be addressed to the consulate.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have further questions.

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From: Peter Wheeland

Sent: 09-Aug-2023 12:29:54

To: France in Canada

I am not asking to cancel the application but to find a way to ensure that I have my passport back before my Aug. 30 flight. To that end, I have asked if VFS Global can ensure that when the Consulate returns my documents to VFS, I will be contacted before the courier is sent out, allowing me to confirm or modify the delivery address. Is that possible?

Thank you.

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From: France in Canada <Info.FranceCanada@vfsglobal.com>

Sent: 09-Aug-2023 12:35:53

To: Peter Wheeland

Dear Peter,

Thank you for contacting the France in the USA VFS Global Visa Helpline Desk.

We understand you want to get the application as soon as possible, please be informed as VFS we are not able to expedite the application process, since we do not have any power over the Embassy.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have further questions.

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From: Peter Wheeland

Sent: 09-Aug-2023 13:42:33

To: France in Canada

I realize that much of these responses are written by bots or come from boilerplate replies, but please listen to what I asked in my earlier email: "Is there any way to notify the courier of an address change if it is delivered after the 14th? Or if the package is returned to your Ottawa office by the Consulate, can I pick it up there? I don’t want to have to travel from Ottawa to Montreal and back just to sign for the package and I don’t want to risk it sitting in a UPS depot in the wrong city."

I understand that VHS has no control over the application process. I have merely asked you whether AFTER my package is returned to VFS Global from the Consulate, you can verify the appropriate delivery address with me before sending it to UPS for delivery. That is surely within your power to do, I am simply asking if you are willing to do it. Please give me a Yes or No answer.

Thank you.

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From: France in Canada <Info.FranceCanada@vfsglobal.com>

Sent: 09-Aug-2023 16:39:29

To: Peter Wheeland

Dear Peter,

Thank you for contacting the France VFS Global Visa helpdesk.

Let me inform you that your documents have already been dispatched by the consulate, and they will send them to the VFS center, then to the courier, and finally to your home address. This may take 5 to 7 business days, so please check your email or cell phone as soon as possible because they will contact you.

Please do not hesitate to contact us back if you have any further questions.

We thank you again.

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From: Peter Wheeland

Sent: 11-Aug-2023 11:55:42

To: France in Canada

Hello:

I have still not been contacted by email or cellphone by the VFS Centre and, as I have explained, I will be moving from Montreal to Ottawa on Monday. How can I get my package securely if the Centre hasn’t reached me?

Thank you

Peter Wheeland

514-XXX-XXXX

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From: Peter Wheeland

Sent: 14-Aug-2023 14:04:03

To: France in Canada

I am still waiting for a reply and information about the status of my package.

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From: France in Canada <Info.FranceCanada@vfsglobal.com>

Sent: 14-Aug-2023 18:28:29

To: Peter Wheeland

Dear Peter,

Thank you for contacting the VFS Global France Visa Helpline Desk.

We understand your case and apologize for the inconvenience this is causing you, but would it be possible for you to share the following information with us so that we can forward it to the appropriate department so that they can help us with your case?

* Name of Applicant.
* Email ID.
* Contact Number.
* Visa Type.
* Reference Number.
* Visa Application Center.
* Remarks (Detailed information).

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions.

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From: Peter Wheeland

Sent: 15-Aug-2023 00:20:45

To: France in Canada

Hi, I see that all of that information you are requesting is contained in this email chain already (see above, which starts with my initial inquiry on Aug 8 and includes a statement on Aug. 9 that my application has been processed by the consulate). I keep asking: can I just go pick it up from the Ottawa office? I am living in Ottawa for the next 10 days and so sending it to me in Montreal at my former address is pointless.

And I URGENTLY need my passport returned before my flight on Aug. 30!

Thank you for your assistance.

Peter Wheeland

ref: CANXXXXXXXXX

Ottawa VFS office

France visa for Canadian citizen

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From: France in Canada <Info.FranceCanada@vfsglobal.com>

Sent: 16-Aug-2023 11:54:46

To: Peter Wheeland

Dear Peter,

Thank you for contacting the VFS France visa help desk.

We understand that you are having issues with having the address where you were having your documents courier to change to a different location. We are happy to assist you with this situation. In order for us to escalate this case to the proper department we need the following information: Passport Number. We are escalating this case to see if we can have address change for you. Or to see if you can pick up documents at Ottawa. Please provide information as soon as possible, in that case we can move forward to escalate to proper department.

If you have any more questions or concerns please feel free to contact us. Thank you.

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From: France in Canada <Info.FranceCanada@vfsglobal.com>

Sent: 16-Aug-2023 16:23:23

To: Peter Wheeland

Dear Peter,

Thank you for contacting the VFS France visa help desk.

Please be informed your request has been sent to the visa application center, and they will reach out to you once there is a resolution.

If you have any more questions or concerns please feel free to contact us.

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From: Peter Wheeland

Sent: 16-Aug-2023 13:22:48

To: France in Canada

My passport is AA11223344

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From: Peter Wheeland

Sent: 17-Aug-2023 10:50:30

To: France in Canada

Thank you. I have tried to track my application, but the webpage said there was no record of my file. Can you verify that it is really in the system and provide me with an application-tracking link that works properly? Thank you.

My reference number is CANXXXXXXXXX

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From: France in Canada

Sent: 17-Aug-2023 10:55:28

To: Peter Wheeland

Dear Peter,

Thank you for contacting the France VFS Global Visa Helpline Desk.

We are more than glad to assist you

To be able to track your application, can you please tell us the reference number (ABCD/000000/0000/00) and the customer's last name

Please do not hesitate to contact us back if you have any further questions.

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From: Peter Wheeland

Sent: 17-Aug-2023 11:01:24

To: France in Canada

I provided my reference number (above), but here it is again:

My reference number is CANXXXXXXXXX or CANXXXXXXXXX/1

My name is Peter Wheeland

passport XXXXXXXXX

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From: Peter Wheeland

Sent: 17-Aug-2023 13:17:26

To: France in Canada

Attachments: XXXXXXXXX

The reference number on my receipt is different. Do you need that instead?

FRA/XXXXXXXXX

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On Aug 17, 2023, at 5:59 PM, Info for France Visa in Canada <Info.FranceCanada@vfsglobal.com> wrote:

Thank you for writing to the France Visa Application Center helpline in Canada.

Dear Peter,

Thank you for Contacting the VFS Global France in Canada Visa Helpline desk.

We sincerely appreciate the information you share with us.

Please be informed, regarding the processing time to get the visa, your application is under process with the French Consulate yet. You will be notified once the process is complete.

Just a reminder the processing time is an average between 15 business days up to 30 business days, in certain or extreme cases up to 45 days.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have further questions.

In our constant efforts to enhance the customer satisfaction level we request you to send us your valuable feedback on the response provided.
For any complaints, suggestions or feedback, please click here

Thanks and Regards,

France Visa Application Center