Italy’s 165 overseas visa offices play a key role in ensuring the security and economic growth of the country. They have three main goals: combining solidarity and security, streamlining legitimate visa applications and conveying a sense of professionalism and consideration.
Overseas visa offices represent a crucial area which involves many risks which are magnified by the high level of pressure on these offices. In fact in 10 years the number of visas issued has more than doubled, reaching two million visas in 2016.
The risk map included in the Farnesina’s 2017-19 Programme for Transparency and Integrity, assigns a high level of risk of corruption to the granting of visa while its level of mismanagement is average. In line with this, the Directorate General for Italians Abroad and Immigration Policies (DGIT) has adopted a risk management document, with appropriate prevention measures. Today the Farnesina hosts a meeting to illustrate the results of Risk Prevention Week in overseas visa offices. It is the first structured programme of this type in the sector in Europe, and aims to spread a risk prevention culture in the sector. From 27 November to 2 December 2017, 56 consulates, which outsource visa services, have made “surprise” inspections to the offices of contractors to make sure they comply with the rules set by the European Code on Visas and the provisions in contracts between the Consulates and contractors on risk prevention, mismanagement and corruption. A case-by-case report will be drafted by the Farnesina’s Visa Centre. It will be distributed to the overseas visa offices and submitted to the European Commission.