[Kabar-indonesia] AFR: Jakarta embassy outsources visa work

[Joyo at aol.com]

Australian Financial Review
Monday, November 13, 2006

Jakarta embassy outsources visa work

Morgan Mellish, Jakarta

Security concerns have prompted the Australian embassy in
Jakarta to outsource its visa application and processing
services to a company headquartered in India.

The company, VFS, will open a visa processing centre in a
shopping plaza in Jakarta's main thoroughfare about 15
minutes' drive from the embassy.

This will allow people to apply for visas without actually
going into the embassy, which was bombed in 2004.

Jim O'Callaghan, the Department of Foreign Affairs' regional
director for immigration for much of South-East Asia, said
no jobs would be lost and no other functions would be
outsourced. All visa decisions would still be made inside
the embassy.

"One of the things that's been a major concern to us since
the embassy bombing in September 2004 is we have been
closed, virtually, to the public," Mr O'Callaghan said.
"It's like Fort Knox trying to get into the embassy.

"What we're actually doing is outsourcing the shopfront.
There's going to be a shopfront called the Australian visa
application centre which will be the public face, in a
sense, for the Australian immigration office in Indonesia."

Australia already uses VFS, which specialises in visa
processing, in Thailand, South Africa and the Gulf states.
The US and Britain outsource some visa processing to VFS,
which stands for visa facilitation services.

"This isn't a new concept," said Mr O'Callaghan. "Australia
has used this process in a number of other markets. It's a
tried and tested product.

"This has nothing to do with costs. This is an initiative of
client service improvement.

"We will now be able to offer a service that's more
accessible."

The 2004 bombing, which killed 10 Indonesians and wounded
more than 100 others, was part of a spate of terror attacks
against Western targets in Indonesia by Islamic extremist
groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah.

After the attack, the embassy, one of Australia's biggest,
was heavily fortified and no one is allowed in without an
appointment. It is now protected by several very thick walls
and visitors must pass through several cages before they
gain entry.

Mr O'Callaghan said the new visa centre, which will be co-
located with a similar service from the British embassy,
will also have tight security. It will be opened by the
ambassador, Bill Farmer, next week.

About 60,000 visas are processed a year, making Australia
the biggest Western destination for Indonesian tourists,
students and business people.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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