The Last Dance: Resigning and Rushing for Visas in Today’s World

On social media platforms, applying for a visa before resigning has become the mantra of our times, a modern set of commandments.

This isn’t because resigning leads to leisurely free time, but rather a race against time to seize the opportunity while still holding the status of an employed individual – a crucial window for visa applications.

Interruptions in salary slips, changes in social security status, and employment verification all significantly impact visa approval rates. In this increasingly unpredictable job market, every Chinese citizen may have an expiration date on their visa eligibility.

And speaking of visas, one cannot avoid VFS Global:

It’s the embassy’s efficient secretary, and in people’s minds, a shrewd profiteer. From Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) to Reddit, more and more people are criticizing this company.

In the 1990s, with the rise of the IT industry, the flow of outsourcing, and the weaving of a new global network by multinational corporations,

this changed things for individuals. Going abroad was no longer just a path for a few in developing East Asian countries, but became an option for an entire middle class, intellectuals, and skilled workers.

This was even more spectacular in populous countries like China and India. As more and more people moved along this network, seeking a better life, visa issues became a major problem.

In India at the time, the lines outside the US embassy were immense, sometimes requiring people to queue for two days in advance. Inside, visa personnel were overwhelmed, and errors were commonplace.

This situation brought the US embassy under public scrutiny. People questioned its efficiency, fairness, and even raised the issue to a matter of national dignity.

In 2001, Zubin Karkaria, an Indian man working for Kuoni India travel company, recognized this business opportunity and founded VFS Global. He began collecting applications for the US embassy and providing document delivery services.

In 1992, Indians lined up to apply for US visas.

Today, VFS Global has become the world’s largest outsourcing provider for government and diplomatic missions’ visa and passport services, serving 71 countries and operating over 4000 visa application centers in 167 countries. It has processed over 537 million applications since 2001.

The brilliance of this model lies in making money on both ends: earning revenue by providing visa system services to various countries, and breaking down the standardized application process into a series of chargeable expedited services.

However, where there’s money to be made on both sides, complaints will come from all directions.

In a sense, in an America where even vending machines are starting to ask for tips, VFS Global is more like an old-fashioned capitalist paradise. It’s straightforward: if you’re willing to pay, you can instantly experience the power of money opening doors.

It’s called a paradise for a reason. The coffee shop prices are aligned with European standards, the staff’s efficiency is “Western-style” – it’s hard to say whether they’re diligent or lazy, but regardless of the queue length, the wait is always at least an hour.

But if you opt for VIP service, it’s a completely different experience. You’re immediately upgraded to premium service, with a Chandigarh-style sofa prepared for you, and a selection of complimentary drinks and snacks laid out on a small table. If you arrive hungry, the spread is substantial enough to serve as a light meal.

“For those who arrive late, VIP is a lifeline. Once I was half an hour late, and they told me to rebook or upgrade to VIP today… Once inside, you expect to wait, hoping to eat something and get your money’s worth, but the staff quickly processes your application and fingerprints. In the end, I just took a bottle of soda to show my resentment.”

“Later I realized, the reason they process your application so quickly after you enter VIP is to get you to leave quickly, so you don’t linger and snack on the free food and drinks.”

VFS Global isn’t the only company in the visa outsourcing race. TLS for French visas and BLS for Spanish visas are also commonly used by Chinese applicants.

Although their business models are the same – outsourcing visa services and selling expedited appointment slots and document processing – and their online booking systems are notoriously difficult to use, designed to thwart bots,

all similar institutions must acknowledge VFS Global, the Indian pioneer, when it comes to selling value-added services.

On the surface, VFS Global’s sales chain for value-added services isn’t complex: it’s about triggering a sense of urgency and inducing a purchase. But a key step in achieving this emotional manipulation lies in the design of the queue.

Through the use of retractable barriers creating a one-way flow, and a limited number of seats, waiting is reconstructed into a high-density consumption field. Time slows down here, and patience is chipped away inch by inch.

Eventually, waiting is no longer just about enduring, but evolves into a battle of willpower. And paying a fee at this stage is no longer a “stupidity tax,” but a desperate soldier’s honorable bullet.

“The more people, the better. Fewer people mean fewer windows. Even if you’re tough enough to complete the process, you won’t want to queue again. So you won’t choose to pick up your passport for free; you’ll definitely pay over 200 yuan for express delivery. No one can leave the visa center unscathed; you just have to grit your teeth and bear it.”

Compared to foreigners, Chinese tourists’ complaints are still relatively mild. After all, we mostly complain about the cumbersome process, while they are beginning to question the rationality of the entire system.

On the international “Black Cat Complaints” platform, Trustpilot, over 1300 messages detailing website crashes, appointment difficulties, unresponsive customer service, and chaotic processes have earned VFS Global a score of 1.3/5 – a shockingly low number.

“If I could give negative stars, I’d give them a million! The website is frustrating enough, but what happened when someone snatched my appointment while I was paying? — Australian user”

“This is the worst website I’ve seen in 35 years in the IT industry, let alone the spelling errors. I can’t understand why the government would choose them to handle visas or passport renewals. — British user”

“This is a prime example of the British government’s incompetence, outsourcing a vital public service to people who have no idea what they’re doing… Another waste of taxpayer money on incompetent outsourcing companies. I’ve already written to the Home Office to complain. — British user”

“The visa center is a pile of crap. — Indian user”

But ultimately, being criticized is part of the job for outsourcing companies like VFS Global.

So-called more convenient and personalized visa services are essentially just a layer of packaging for ordinary people. Its true importance lies in creating a curtain between power and the individual, building a firewall.

On the surface, it helps embassies manage crowds, reduce congestion and security risks, and takes over a large amount of routine work and operating costs, allowing visa officers to focus on the final decision.

But at the deepest level, it also absorbs the emotions: the anxiety of queuing, the chaos of the system, the dissatisfaction with the outcome. These complaints that would have been directed at the embassy are now concentrated and released within this outsourced system.

Today, if you pay attention to social media, you’ll see young people showing off their passports and visas. For those who have come from the golden age of global travel, this display is somewhat absurd. Many people struggle to understand why people would be proud of a piece of paper that grants permission to travel.

This situation is intertwined with the trend of applying for visas before resigning. Stockpiling visas is a fear of being deprived of the right to move by the turbulence of the times; displaying visas is a confirmation that one is still in the queue, not eliminated.

And in the face of anxiety, people will always learn to cope with it.

In the West, people have even romanticized the annoying travel document photo into an aesthetic trend. On TikTok, how to take the perfect passport photo has become a traffic code, with Georgia Barratt’s tutorial receiving 1.8 million likes, using a series of techniques such as light foundation and soft eyebrows to create the most bureaucratic aesthetic trend of the 21st century.

People’s displays are not surprising. When free movement is not the norm, it degrades into a scarce resource that can be showcased.

Visas and passports are a modern system born in war and preserved in security anxieties, but one writer recalled a different world:

…

Previously, people had only one body and one soul. Today, they also need a passport, otherwise people won’t treat them as human beings.

In fact, since the First World War, perhaps the greatest regression in world consciousness has been the restriction of human freedom of movement and the reduction of human rights.

Before 1914, the Earth belonged to all of humanity.

Everyone could go wherever they wanted, stay as long as they wanted. No permits or visas were required.

When I tell young people today about my travels to India and the United States before 1914, I always enjoy watching their repeated expressions of astonishment. Back then, there was no need for a passport, or even the concept of a passport.

People got on and off vehicles without asking anyone, and no one asked them. Today, you have to fill out over a hundred forms, but back then, none were required.

There were no permits, no visas, and no harassment. Those borders were merely symbolic, and people could cross them as freely as crossing the Prime Meridian.

— Zweig, *The World of Yesterday*