Visa acquisition service company, ROSE (Republic of Service Excellence) will terminate its Schengen visa meet and assist services from April 1.
Jan Schavemaker, md, says the request for information on the Schengen visa process is currently taking up most of the company’s resources and time but is not bringing in any revenue, as only the visa submission centres reap the rewards. “It’s like a traveller asking the travel agent for all the information about a complicated round-the-world trip and then going home and booking the whole thing online.”
Another reason for cancelling the service is that visa companies are no longer receiving regular updates from embassies, ROSE said in a statement. “Visa submission centres often give incorrect advice. If ROSE relays this to the traveller, we will be held liable.”
Other issues include staff at visa submission centres advising clients to not use the services of visa companies, clients arriving late for appointments and blaming ROSE, and clients complaining that the services offered are not value for money.
