MEA’s Shocking 2-Year Ban on BLS International – Visa Outsourcer’s Future in Doubt
Late on Oct 9 the Indian government quietly issued the order debaring BLS International from new MEA contractsts2.tech. The company disclosed this in an Oct 11 exchange filing. The MEA order cites “complaints and legal proceedings” by visa applicants but gives no specificsts2.techbusinesstoday.in. BLS is banned from bidding on any fresh tenders from the External Affairs Ministry or Indian missions abroad until late 2027businesstoday.inndtvprofit.com. In practice, all existing visa/passport processing centers run by BLS will keep operating normally – they remain governed by their original contractsts2.techbusinesstoday.in. Industry watchers note BLS competes with global outsourcing firms like VFS Global, TeamLease Services and Quess Corp in the visa-consular services spacereuters.com. This MEA ban is unprecedented for the company, which has grown rapidly as the only Indian-listed player in this nicheeconomictimes.indiatimes.com.
