MFA Finland

Visa process improvement programs NETVIS & ELVIS

Katja-Marika Puittinen & Ari Uusikartano

NETVIS kicked-off in late 2009 because: • Finland Schengen visa applications in Russia had more than doubled since 2005

– in 2009 735 926 applications submitted in Finland Missions in Russia (worldwide total 795 936 applications)

– visa application count was still constantly increasing • no capacity nor resources in Missions to handle the increasing amount of visa

applications – residential and office space converted into visa processing areas

• processing cannot be handled in normal office hours – continuous 2-shift work in Saint Petersburg, overtime charges in all the Missions

• long queues in front of the Missions for customers to submit their visa applications • visa applications were filled in improperly

– lot of manual work when processing the applications • importance for Finnish tourism, trade, business and industry

– in 2008 more than 2,3 million Russian spent 595 million Euros in Finland • biometrics data collection (finger prints) will increase the demand for even more

capacity and resources

Benefits

Online VAF

more effective application processing

less manual work, more

emphasis on actual decision making process

improved customer service, no queuing, shorter waiting times

no queues in front of the

Missions

Procurement was conducted at no cost by MFA Finland. No local contracts.

Outsourcing • appointment scheduling for both to the Missions and to the VACs • visa application submission and review, incl. annexes • application data check and enter into online VAF if in paper form • online VAF data quality check • call center • visa application online tracking, sms, email • document delivery to and from the Missions • pass-back • courier service (extra charge)

Finland VAC in Saint Petersburg • world’s largest visa application center • approx. 3000m2 • approx. 300 employees • separate areas for individual applicants and travel agents

Average waiting time is less than 1 minute.

Queuing…

… is history!

Key milestones in NETVIS • Appointment scheduling and online VAF implementation in Moscow, Russia 15.5.2010 • VAC opening in Moscow, Russia 18.6.2010 • Online VAF implementation in Kyiv, Ukraine 15.9.2010 • Online VAF implementation in Saint Petersburg, Russia 22.9.2010 • Appointment scheduling implementation in Kyiv, Ukraine 1.10.2010 • Online VAF implementation in Petrozavodsk, Russia 8.10.2010 • VAC opening in Kyiv 15.10.2010 • Appointment scheduling implementation and VAC opening in Saint Petersburg 11.2.2011 • Satellite VAC opening in Kazan, Russia 17.6.2011 • Satellite VAC opening in Lviv, Ukraine 20.2.2012 • Remote visa processing centre setup in Kouvola , Finland 6.8.2012 • Satellite VAC openings in Donetsk, Odessa and Harkova, Ukraine 14.9.2012 • Ten more satellite VAC openings in Russia during 2013

More than 95% of all Finland Schengen visas are submitted in VACs.

ELVIS kicked-off in early 2012 because:

• Finland Missions processed 1 258 999 visa applications worldwide in 2011 – application count increased by 23% from previous year

• almost 95% of the visa applications were submitted in Finland Missions in Russia

• St. Petersburg processed 936 620 visa applications – application count increased by 26% from previous year

• no capacity nor resources in Missions to handle the increasing amount of visa applications

ELVIS • the increase in visa applications from Russia has accentuated the

need for developing electronic visa services and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is reforming the electronic processing of visa applications (LIVP = Location Independent Visa Processing)

• the Ministry has decided to set up a visa service centre in Kouvola • by implementing this reform, the Ministry wants to ensure the

provision of high-quality visa services in Russia until the objective of visa-free travel shared by the EU and Russia is realized

• electronic visa processing will in future level out the peaks in the demand for visa services occurring in Finnish Missions in Russia

ELVIS • during the initial stage, some of the visa applications submitted at the

diplomatic mission in St. Petersburg will be processed in Finland • the service centre concept will also enable utilization of the entire

visa service capacity should any unexpected country-specific changes occur in visa activities

• the pilot project was launched in early April 2012 and the Kouvola Visa Service Centre (RVPC = Remote Visa Processing Centre) was opened in August 2012

• during the pilot stage, the Centre employed 60 visa officers • piloting lasted until summer 2013, after which the Ministry made

decision about continuing and expansion of Kouvola Centre

Key milestones in ELVIS • First group of visa officers start 2.7.2012 • Second group of visa officers start 16.7.2012 • First visa application processed in RVPC 8.8.2012 • Third group of visa officers start 3.9.2012 • >1000 applications from St. Petersburg per day processed in RVPC 17.9.2012 • Decision by the Ministry to continue and expand the Kouvola Centre summer

2013 • Currently Kouvola site serves missions in St. Petersburg, Murmansk, Moscow

and Petrozavodsk (Kiev in process) • Over 70 visa officers currently employed by Kouvola Centre • About half of the overall applications from Russia are processed in Kouvola • The processes are harmonized in the Missions using Elvis and in Kouvola

By going from this…

… to this…

… we have created history!

Photo: Kouvolan Sanomat

Photo: Kouvolan Sanomat

21.5.2014 K-MP/AJU 18

…and scanning is revealing…

Normal light…

and UV…