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General Conditions
Summary
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Purpose ................................................................................................................................................... 1
Definitions ............................................................................................................................................... 1
Communicating visa-related information and collected data .................................................................. 2
Submitting applications without going through the Approved Intermediary ........................................... 2
Visa application centre and visa applicant reception .............................................................................. 2
Processing fees for the Consular Authority ............................................................................................ 2
Cost of the Approved Intermediary’s services ........................................................................................ 3
Data collection process ........................................................................................................................... 3
Data collection conditions ....................................................................................................................... 3
Electronic transmission of collected data to the Consular Authority ....................................................... 4
Sending hard copy applications to the Consular Authority ..................................................................... 4
Making appointments to meet with consular staff ................................................................................... 4
Returning passports and documents ...................................................................................................... 4
Personal data security and protection .................................................................................................... 4
Disputes between the Approved Intermediary or the local service provider and visa applicants .......... 6
Monitoring by the Consular Authority of the Approved Intermediary ...................................................... 6
The Approved Intermediary’s use of services of a local service provider .............................................. 6
Improvements and changes of the procedures ...................................................................................... 7
Contract integrity ..................................................................................................................................... 7
1. Purpose
These General Conditions set out the conditions to be complied with to obtain and retain Approval from the Consular
Authority to serve as an intermediary between visa applicants and the Consular Authority in charge of issuing visas.
2. Definitions
2.1) “Consular Authority” means the head of the consular post of the state authorized to receive visa applications for
France and the Schengen area and to issue the corresponding visas.
2.2) “Approved Intermediary” means the company authorized to carry out a service, defined in the act of approval, in
the country where the Consular Authority is located.
2.3) “Local service provider” means the company or body with which the external service provider must enter into a
contract if it is to fulfil the obligations set forth in these General Conditions and to meet the requirements of local
regulations, or as part of the objective to ensure better quality service to visa applicants.
2.4) “Visa application centre” or “centre” means the office where visa applicants are received.
2.5) “Visa applicant” means the person who submits a short- or long-stay application to the Consular Authority.
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3. Communicating visa-related information and collected data
3.1) The Approved Intermediary shall communicate the visa-related information it receives from the Consular Authority
to visa applicants through appropriate means (call centres, Web sites, postings, etc.).
3.2) The Approved Intermediary shall inform visa applicants in writing of the purposes of processing personal data they
collect, the identity of the person in charge of processing the data, the categories of recipients, the length of time
personal data are kept and the fact that applicants have a right to access and to rectify the data concerning them.
4. Submitting applications without going through the Approved Intermediary
4.1) The Approved Intermediary must inform visa applicants that they do not have to use their services. They may opt
to submit their application directly to the Consular Authority under the conditions set out by the Consular Authority.
4.2) The Consular Authority may also decide to meet directly with visa applicants or certain categories of visa
applicants without going through the Approved Intermediary.
5. Visa application centre and visa applicant reception
5.1) The Approved Intermediary shall receive visa applicants in appropriate offices to help them complete their
applications and to check whether they meet the Consular Authority’s requirements.
5.2) The centre’s offices are used for meeting with visa applicants. The services that do not have a direct connection to
the mission entrusted to the Approved Intermediary, notably the insurance, travel agency, bank and translation services,
may not be located in the same offices. Solely the Approved Intermediary may provide supplementary and voluntary
services to visa applicants. All the services proposed must be submitted for prior approval of the embassy or consulate.
The Approved Intermediary must clearly inform visa applicants that all additional services are voluntary and are not
carried out by the embassy or consulate.
5.3) The Approved Intermediary may make all necessary arrangements in terms of offices, staff and organization, so
that visa applicants may submit their applications without a waiting period and be received with courtesy in conditions
respecting their dignity and integrity. The Approved Intermediary shall ensure that there is no discrimination with
regard to visa applicants due to their sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or beliefs, disability, age or sexual orientation.
5.4) Visa application centre
The Approved Intermediary shall make arrangements regarding offices, staff and procedures to provide services to
other countries in the Schengen area that wish to benefit from them, after consultation with the Consular Authority.
6. Processing fees for the Consular Authority
6.1) The Approved Intermediary shall give the visa applicant a receipt including the sums collected on behalf of the
Consular Authority for administrative application fees. The Consular Authority shall provide the list of visa fees which
vary according to the type of visa requested and the visa applicant’s nationality.
6.2) The Approved Intermediary shall transmit, with the passports and visa applications, the amount of administrative
fees collected from each applicant on behalf of the Consular Authority. The receipt shall clearly distinguish the
administrative fees the Approved Intermediary collects on behalf of the Consular Authority from the service fees it
receives. The receipt shall also mention the information set out in Article 3.2.
6.3) The Consular Authority shall produce an individual receipt for the application and transmit it to the visa applicant
via the Approved Intermediary after the latter deposits payment of such into the bank account of the Consular Authority
accounting services.
6.4) When fees are paid in a currency other than the euro, the amount paid in that currency shall be pegged to the
prevailing chancery rates.
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7. Cost of the Approved Intermediary’s services
7.1) Service fees for visa application processing
7.1.1) The Approved Intermediary shall set the fees for the services referred to in Article 6.2 it offers to visa applicants
after receiving prior approval from the Consular Authority. The amount set by mutual agreement is set out in point 7.1.3
and its equivalent in [local currency] shall be pegged to the prevailing chancery rates. The Approved Intermediary alone
shall collect payment. Any changes in the abovementioned fees by the Approved Intermediary shall be made with the
prior approval from the Consular Authority, in accordance with local regulations. Given European legislation, the
service fees must be proportional to the costs incurred by the Approved Intermediary to carry out his services and
adapted to the local situation.
7.1.2) The Approved Intermediary shall accept to exempt the service fees, referred to in 7.1.1 of this Article, for the
applicants on a Consular Authority’s categorical list and those individually designated by this Authority on the basis of
a written notification signed and dated within x% of the total number of applicants. The percentage of those exempt
from paying fees may be revised upon agreement of the two Parties.
7.1.3) The service fees for visa application processing shall be set at XXX euro without co-location and without
biometrics.
7.2) Supplementary and voluntary service fees
The additional and voluntary service fees proposed by the Approved Intermediary under the conditions set out in
paragraph 2 of Article 5.2 shall be collected directly from the visa applicants. The amounts of these fees shall be
submitted for prior approval of the consulate or embassy.
8. Data collection process
8.1) Digital capture of photography:
At the request of the Consular Authority and in keeping with its instructions, the Approved Intermediary shall digitize
via the VISANET application an identity photograph provided by the applicant and meeting requirements for identity
photographs which the Consular Authority shall transmit.
8.2) Capture of alphanumeric data:
At the request of the Consular Authority, the Approved Intermediary shall capture the alphanumeric data via the
Visanet application which shall be provided by the Consular Authority.
8.3) Collecting biometric data:
At the request of the Consular Authority and in keeping with its instructions 1, the Approved Intermediary shall collect
biometric data of the visa applicant (digital prints and face photograph) at the appropriate time. It shall use the
electronic application/computer software and equipment provided by the Consular Authority as well as the equipment
whose features comply with these Consular Authority’s specifications.
The Approved Intermediary shall strictly comply with these General Conditions and the following requirements:
a) Biometric data collection shall be conducted under the supervision of a consulate officer;
b) Staff of the Approved Intermediary called upon to collect the biometric data must be individually and specially
authorized to do so by the Consular Authority;
c) No biometric data regarding visa applicants of any nature shall be retained on any type of electronic support of
the Approved Intermediary and of its local service providers. .
9. Data collection conditions
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A specific annex on biometrics is attached to these General Conditions.
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9.1) The data captured by the Approved Intermediary shall be the exclusive property of the French State. They shall not
under any circumstances be retained, copied, modified or deleted without authorization by the Approved Intermediary
or local service provider.
9.2) The collected data in hard copy or in an electronic format must not be communicated to non-authorized third
parties by the Consular Authority. They shall be deleted after their transmission, except for the name of the applicant,
his or her address and passport number to be able to follow up on the appointment and return the travel document after
the application is processed. Such data must be deleted within one month after a travel document is returned to its
holder, the visa having been granted or refused or, where necessary, the day after the appointment if the applicant did
not attend.
10. Electronic transmission of collected data to the Consular Authority
The Approved Intermediary shall instantaneously transmit digital, alphanumeric, biometric data collected from
computer programs provided by the Consular Authority according to the security procedures and requirements of the
Consular Authority.
11. Sending hard copy applications to the Consular Authority
The Approved Intermediary shall send hard copy visa applications submitted to the visa application centre to the
Consular Authority on a daily basis according to the Consular Authority’s security requirements.
12. Making appointments to meet with consular staff
When the Consular Authority considers that it should meet with the visa applicant, the Approved Intermediary shall set
appointments according to the Consular Authority’s instructions.
13. Returning passports and documents
The Consular Authority shall return the visa applicant’s passport and documents to the visa application centre, which in
turn must return them to the applicant according to the Consular Authority’s security requirements. The Approved
Intermediary shall return the documents to the visa applicant with optimal confidentiality.
14. Personal data security and protection
The Approved Intermediary shall take all technical and organizational security measures required to protect personal
data against risk of accidental or illegal destruction, accidental loss, alteration, non-authorized dissemination or access,
and against all form of illegal processing of personal data. It shall apply the same data protection standards found in
Directive 95/46/EC and shall commit to obtain/ maintain ISO 27001 certification.
14.1) Staff
The Approved Intermediary shall:
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choose its staff according to skill and integrity criteria (clean criminal record required) and have the Consular
Authority give them security clearance. To this end, the Approved Intermediary shall constantly update a list
of employed and working staff. The Consular Authority may withdraw this individual security clearance of
staff at any time.
- appropriately train its staff;
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undertake to require recruited staff to respect the confidentiality of personal data including in the event of
termination of the employee’s work contract with the Approved Intermediary or the local service provider, or
this Approval, as well as the expiry of these contracts.
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take all necessary measures to directly monitor and effectively manage its staff, especially by adopting and
implementing work regulations set out, where applicable, in a service contract drawn up with the local
provider;
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take all appropriate measures to combat corruption by means of provisions on staff remuneration, traceability
of operations, the rotation of agents and the presence of two supervisory agents at all times.
14.2) Offices
14.2.1) The Approved Intermediary shall:
- receive visa applicants in appropriate, secure offices to ensure proper confidentiality; it shall finance, install and
ensure the upkeep of:
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a video surveillance system to secure the offices where visa applicants will be received;
a monitoring system of access by agents to different areas of the centre by means of a name badge enabling
traceability of all movements of staff inside the centre;
a motion detection system making it possible to immediately alert the Consulate about any intrusion into the
centre outside office hours and into areas prohibited to security officers (computer server room, strongroom,
Application Processing Area).
The Approved Intermediary shall be responsible for devising ways of making all the information recorded by the above
surveillance systems accessible to the Consulate. Recordings are to be kept for seven calendar days.
14.2.2) The offices of the Approved Intermediary must be equipped with emergency electrical power supply and two
separate computer connections or a maintenance contract ensuring the re-establishment of normal working conditions in
less than an hour.
14.3) Computer systems and equipment
14.3.1) The Approved Intermediary shall:
- use a computerized system for setting appointments 2 and tracking visa applications, accessible to the Consular
Authority remotely, so as to be able to determine at any time where an application is and inform the visa applicant of
such;
- authorize the Consular Authority to use all monitoring methods available, including electronic (webcams) and
physical (test applicant).
14.3.2) Computer equipment provided by the Approved Intermediary which is used in its work must ensure optimal
security for all collected data, especially when it is transmitted to the Consular Authority. To this end, the Approved
Intermediary undertakes to:
- set up a permanent monitoring system of computer workstations and ensure traceability of all operations;
- make it impossible for non-supervisory staff members to download data to their workstations by means of mobile
peripheral devices such as floppy disks, USBs, CD-ROMs, DVDs and telephone lines, or through an Internet
connection;
- provide every agent with a personal identifier and password allowing access to workstations, the network and the
Visanet application;
- set up a monitoring system for changing passwords used to log into the network, so as to ensure that passwords expire
after one month and must be renewed to authorize access.
14.3.3) The Approved Intermediary must also present the Consular Authority with the measures taken to protect
material against risks of major disasters (fires, water damage, destruction of material) and to prevent climate-related and
earthquake damage. If the visa application centre is exposed to risks of disruption due to electromagnetic or thermal
rays or electromagnetic pulses, the Approved Intermediary must likewise take measures to protect the material and data
against them.
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Where applicable, at the Consular Authority’s request.
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14.3.4) The external service provider shall, if necessary, make all the arrangements to allow the Consular Authority to
organize an audit on the security of its information systems by a company mandated by the entity, in terms of physical
and logical security.
The audits, to be carried out unannounced, shall be of a technical nature (configuration audit, code audit or architecture
audit). An audit to test the vulnerability of the Web applications, along with penetration tests, could also be one of the
objectives to control the level of security of the external service provider’s information systems.
The external service provider undertakes to help the Consular Authority to conduct an audit of its servers (http servers,
application servers, data management and directory servers), which will have been planned in advance.
To conduct its mission, the auditor may need access to a wide range of specific information (sometimes not written but
applied). He shall therefore need to carry out interviews or consult documents such as organizational charts, maps (e.g.
of the network), methodologies, etc. He must be able to access all necessary information in order to gain a full
understanding of the problem (duty to advise). The communication of information, meanwhile, must be reliable (in
good faith). The notion of reliability particularly implies communicating information in a timely fashion. The Consular
Authority therefore shall expect active collaboration from the external service provider.
15. Disputes between the Approved Intermediary or the local service provider and visa
applicants
The Consular Authority shall assume no responsibility in the event of litigation between the Approved Intermediary or
the local service provider and a visa applicant. The Approved Intermediary undertakes to inform the Consular Authority
immediately of any breach of security or complaint of abusive use of data or non-authorized access and coordinate its
action with the Consular Authority to provide a swift explicative response to the applicant lodging a complaint.
16. Monitoring by the Consular Authority of the Approved Intermediary
The Consular Authority and all representatives mandated by the French authorities shall have a permanent office in the
Approved Intermediary’s offices. They shall access at any time all Approved Intermediary offices freely and without
prior notice and carry out all controls they deem necessary, regarding the:
- security of the offices, particularly via access to the recordings of the video surveillance system referred to in point
14.2.1;
- services provided to visa applicants,
- the computer system used to set appointments and track visa applications referred to in point 14.3.1,
- the circulation of applications,
- staff recruitment conditions,
- compliance with confidentiality and security conditions for data collection,
- conditions for use of computer equipment regardless of whether it is provided by the Consular Authority,
- compliance with the condition of refraining from communicating collected data in hard copy or electronic to nonauthorized third parties
17. The Approved Intermediary’s use of services of a local service provider
17.1) The Approved Intermediary may choose to use the services of a local service provider in its relations with local
authorities (obtaining administrative authorizations, achieving compliance with the requirements of local regulations,
managing the call centres, etc.).
Security within premises shall be the sole responsibility of the Approved Intermediary. This service may be outsourced
by the Approved Intermediary to a company which cannot, however, be the same as the local service provider. A copy
of all contracts binding the Approved Intermediary to a local service provider shall have to be sent to the Consulate.
17.2) The initial choice of local service provider(s) and their possible replacement over the course of this contract must
be subject to the Consular Authority’s prior consent.
17.3) As regards the Consular Authority, the Approved Intermediary alone shall be tasked with monitoring the local
service provider’s compliance with these General Conditions and quality of service.
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18. Improvements and changes of the procedures
The Consular Authority and Approved Intermediary shall hold a coordination meeting at least once a …(to be added) in
order to review the procedures and improve them.
19. Contract integrity
Any changes to this contract and its annexes must be the subject of a written amendment signed by the two parties.
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