Immigration consultancy Five Star International has confirmed that the Home Office will switch commercial partners for Visa Application Centres (VACs) inside the UK, ending Sopra Steria’s contract in favour of TLScontact from autumn 2024. For overseas applicants, several regional contracts will move from TLScontact to VFS Global between September 2024 and January 2025. Although the operational hand-over is more than a year away, today’s announcement matters for mobility managers because it coincides with the final push towards fully digital eVisas. TLScontact already provides biometric-enrolment and document-scanning for multiple European governments and is expected to roll out additional self-service kiosks and mobile-app scheduling features.
![TLScontact to take over UK Visa & Citizenship Application Services from Sopra Steria]()
VisaHQ’s dedicated UK platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) can help employers and relocating staff stay ahead of these changes by offering real-time appointment tracking, automated document checks and tailored alerts whenever VAC locations or fees shift. Using VisaHQ as a single dashboard makes it easier to pivot between providers while maintaining compliance and avoiding last-minute surprises.
The Home Office insists that processing times and decision-making will remain unchanged, but practitioners recall the teething problems that followed Sopra Steria’s 2019 launch—ranging from appointment shortages to sudden centre closures. Employers should therefore track service-level updates, particularly for priority and super-priority submissions, and consider front-loading applications during the transition window. For global teams, the external-to-UK changes are equally significant: VFS Global will inherit VAC operations across parts of Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. That will alter document-collection logistics and may affect courier fees and biometrics appointment availability for assignees. Practical next steps include updating intranet guidance, re-briefing relocation suppliers on new document-handling rules, and budgeting for possible fee changes once the new contracts commence.
VisaHQ’s dedicated UK platform (https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/) can help employers and relocating staff stay ahead of these changes by offering real-time appointment tracking, automated document checks and tailored alerts whenever VAC locations or fees shift. Using VisaHQ as a single dashboard makes it easier to pivot between providers while maintaining compliance and avoiding last-minute surprises.
The Home Office insists that processing times and decision-making will remain unchanged, but practitioners recall the teething problems that followed Sopra Steria’s 2019 launch—ranging from appointment shortages to sudden centre closures. Employers should therefore track service-level updates, particularly for priority and super-priority submissions, and consider front-loading applications during the transition window. For global teams, the external-to-UK changes are equally significant: VFS Global will inherit VAC operations across parts of Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. That will alter document-collection logistics and may affect courier fees and biometrics appointment availability for assignees. Practical next steps include updating intranet guidance, re-briefing relocation suppliers on new document-handling rules, and budgeting for possible fee changes once the new contracts commence.
