Home Office Visa Services

I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s)

I.2)Type of the contracting authority

I.3)Main activity

I.4)Contract award on behalf of other contracting authorities

II.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority:

II.2)Type of contract and place of delivery or of performance

II.3)Information on framework agreement

II.4)Short description of nature and quantity or value of supplies or services:

II.5)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)

II.6)Scheduled date for start of award procedures

II.7)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

II.8)Additional information:

III.1)Conditions relating to the contract

III.1.1)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:

III.2)Conditions for participation

III.2.1)Information about reserved contracts

The contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no

The International Group is the overseas arm of the United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) which delivers visa operations in 130 countries. In 2010 the global visa operation issued c. 2 800 000 visas to qualifying businessmen, tourists, students and skilled workers to the UK.
The International Group is seeking commercial partners to provide a range of services related to the provision and management of visa application and associated services globally. These services include (but are not limited to): biometric services; courier services; and document handling services.
The scope of the contract will enable the provision of visa application services globally.
The visa application process broadly comprises three primary activities, as follows:
— Part 1 – application process.
Performed in a Visa Application Centre (VAC).
—— Biometric enrolment,
—— Document registration,
—— Courier service – document dispatch to Document Management Centre,
—— Assessment.
— Part 2 – document handling process.
Performed in a Document Handling Centre (DHC).
—— Examination and authentication,
—— Document scanning,
—— Document storage,
—— Vignette / refusal notice printing,
—— Courier service – document dispatch to Visa Application Centre / applicant.
— Part 3 – decision making process.
Performed in a Decision Making Centre (DMC).
—— UKBA evaluation and decision making.
The focus of the procurement will be solely on parts 1 and 2 of the visa process as decision making will always be retained by the UKBA.
The services to be procured will include the capture of applicants’ biometric information and the receipt, registration and verification of visa application documents. These front-end services will support the UK Border Agency’s visa approval process and interface with the appropriate in-house technology systems. The global nature of the document and information flows will require a degree of courier, document handling and storage, scanning and printing facilities.
The scope of services and contract duration is being determined but may take the following form. It is expected that the following services will commence as early as 2014 and some may be introduced gradually until 2016. There may also be country and regional variants for some of these services. The contract duration is expected to be between 5 to 7 years.
Services Scope and description:
1. Biometric enrolment and document registration: capture of applicant’s biometric details and registration of application;
2. Courier services: dispatch of application documents to document handling centres and return of these documents (including return directly to applicants);
3. Document handling services: DHC performing document tracking, storage, scanning and printing services for global or in-region/country applications. The DHC may comprise a large/central facility and several smaller DHCs in global locations.
Supplier Open-Day(s):
Suppliers are invited to express an interest in obtaining further information about the project and attending a Supplier Open Day currently targeted for April 2012. There is the possibility that a further Supplier Open Day may be scheduled after that day to provide further information to prospective suppliers.