In Pakistan, securing a visa appointment for genuine travel has become one of the most frustrating and exhausting:

challenges for applicants. As explained in our official knowledge hub at Visit Visa Abroad Consultancy https://www.visitabroad.online,this issue affects tourists, students, professionals, and families alike. Every day, I receive calls and messages from people who have been trying for months—sometimes even years—to get visa appointments for Europe, the USA, and other countries. Sadly, many of them are not seeking shortcuts; they are genuine travelers, students, professionals, and families who simply want to follow the legal process.

The Appointment Crisis:

The reality is harsh: visa appointments are extremely hard to obtain through official channels. Meanwhile, appointments are openly being sold in the market at different prices, depending on the country and urgency. This raises a very serious and uncomfortable question:

If appointments are unavailable for genuine applicants, how are some people selling them so easily?

As a professional visa consultant, I have always maintained a clear stance: I do not provide appointment-selling services. This practice is unethical and damaging to genuine applicants. However, the continuous existence of this black market forces one to question the system itself.

The Role of Third-Party Service Providers:

For readers unfamiliar with official procedures, we recommend reviewing the UK visit visa process in Pakistan (https://www.gov.uk), which demonstrates how a transparent and efficient system should function.

Most embassies and consulates in Pakistan have outsourced their visa processing and appointment systems to third-party companies such as VFS Global, BLS International, and AEG Travel. In several cases, these operators function through separately registered or affiliated entities that provide visa consultancy, premium facilitation, or auxiliary services alongside official appointment handling. For example, AEG Travel manages consultancy and visa-related operations for France in Pakistan, while VFS handles visa application services for many other countries.

This outsourcing structure has created what appears to be a conflict of interest, as these entities generate revenue from Pakistani applicants through service charges, premium services, and additional add-ons, while embassies and consulates continue to operate with limited appointment capacity.

A System That Encourages Exploitation:

Some embassies and consulates have appointment backlogs exceeding one year. From my observation, one major reason is the lack of manpower. Diplomatic missions are not increasing staff to meet the growing demand, despite the high volume of applicants.

This shortage creates an artificial scarcity—an environment where:

• Genuine applicants suffer

• Middlemen thrive

• Appointments become a commodity

The absence of strict action against appointment sellers only strengthens the perception that third parties or insiders may be involved, or at the very least, that the system is turning a blind eye to malpractice.

The UK System A Model That Works :

We have already discussed this efficiency in detail in our blog Why the UK Visa Appointment System Works Better (https://www.gov.uk), which many applicants in Pakistan find reliable and predictable.The UK government’s visa system stands out as a model of efficiency and transparency. In Pakistan—and worldwide—you can submit your UK visa application online and usually secure a biometric appointment within two working days. After biometrics, the standard UK visit visa processing time is 20 working days, and applications are generally processed within this timeframe without appointment-related delays.

Importantly, for UK visa applications, VFS Global does not charge mandatory service fees beyond the official visa fee. Core services, including biometric enrollment, are already included in the visa fee. In contrast, for several other countries, VFS Global applies separate service charges, which in some cases exceed the actual diplomatic mission’s visa fee, despite the fact that VFS primarily provides administrative and courier-related services. This disparity raises serious concerns about transparency and accountability, particularly given the absence of effective regulatory action or oversight regarding these additional charges.

If the UK can manage this system effectively, why can’t other diplomatic missions follow the same model?

The UK system proves that delays and appointment shortages are not inevitable—they are a result of policy and management choices.

Who Pays the Price?

Applicants facing these problems often contact us after reading our awareness article Why Appointment Selling Is Illegal and Risky where we clearly discourage unethical practices.Ultimately, it is the Pakistani public that suffers:

• Genuine travelers miss important events

• Students lose academic opportunities

• Families are separated

• Costs increase due to illegal appointment selling

Visa processing should be a service, not a business opportunity built on exploitation and desperation.

A Call for Transparency and Reform

• Increase manpower

• Improve transparency in appointment systems

• Take strict action against the appointment-selling mafia

• Reassess their relationships with third-party service providers

• Follow uk model

Until meaningful reforms are introduced, the visa appointment crisis will continue to damage trust, encourage corruption, and punish genuine applicants.

As consultants and professionals, our responsibility is to speak the truth—even when it is uncomfortable. Silence only allows the problem to grow.