Six federal contracts for Canada’s overseas visa application centres, awarded in February 2018 with original values totalling $29.8 million, now carry a combined value of $661,123,689, and the amendments disclosed for April to June 2026 alone add up to $62.4 million.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) proactive disclosure lists amendments to all six contracts, numbered 20150140-1 to 20150140-6, each with a delivery date of October 31, 2027. Five are with VF Worldwide Holdings Limited, country of vendor United Arab Emirates, and one with TT Visa Services Ltd of the United Kingdom. The largest, 20150140-2, went from $8,881,211 to $224,689,518, with a $29,492,374.84 amendment disclosed this quarter; 20150140-1 went from $5,416,816 to $159,767,642. The records give no amendment dates and classify the procedure as competitive open bidding. The values are contract ceilings, not payments.
IRCC’s February 23, 2018 release said VF Worldwide Holdings Ltd. won the contract through “a fair, open and transparent process” and that “the initial value of this contract is estimated at $26 M.” VFS Global, headquartered in Dubai and Zurich, is the operating company; its Wikipedia entry puts Blackstone’s stake at about 75 per cent after a 2021 sale by EQT. A 2021 IRCC note for the Committee of the Whole said of TT Services: “They have subcontracted all VAC services to VFS Global.” VAC stands for visa application centre. Applicants pay the centres service fees; the disclosure does not explain how the contract values relate to those fees.
The Globe and Mail reported in 2021 that the Beijing centre was operated for VFS Global by a subcontractor owned through entities of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau. In May 2026, CBC News reported that internal IRCC records showed officials had flagged third-party fraud and security risks at some centres, that VF Worldwide had been awarded more than $725 million in contracts from 2012 to March 2026, and that both contracts expire in October 2027, with a one-year extension option, as a replacement procurement was under way.
The 2018 contracts were awarded under Ahmed Hussen, minister from January 2017 to November 2019. The minister now is Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship since May 13, 2025; a search for a political donation record in her name found none. The records name no approving official.
Contracts that began at $29.8 million are now worth $661 million, and the latest quarter added $62 million more.
