Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement applies to content published on the VFS Global UKVI Mission sites on https://www.vfsglobal.com/united-kingdom/index.html

This website is run by VF Services (UK) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of VF Worldwide Holdings Ltd., referred to as “VFS Global”. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. Some of the general features include:

The use of clear, simple language which is easy to understand.
The use of common web conventions.
Avoiding the use of blinking or flickering elements.
The use of validated HTML and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
Standards Compliance

Some operating systems also have built-in accessibility features that can read text aloud, or magnify parts of the screen. If you have your own screen reading software you should find it works well on https://www.vfsglobal.com/united-kingdom/index.html. We suggest if your software has a 'forms mode', that you do not turn it on. Our website should be compatible with recent versions of the following screen readers:

Jaws
ZoomText
NVDA
VoiceOver
Window Eyes

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website is not fully accessible and we are working towards correcting those areas. You can see a full list of any issues we currently know about in the Non-accessible content section of this statement.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format or you would like one of our team to provide assistance, please get in touch by using the ‘Contact us’ link at the bottom of this page. Please ensure to include the following information on the contact form or within your email:

The web address (URL) of the content
Your name and email address
The format you need - for example, plain text, large print or whether you would like phone assistance
Please put ‘UKVI Websites Accessibility Help’ as your subject line

We endeavour to reply to enquiries within two business days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please get in touch by using the ‘Contact us’ link at the bottom of this page. Please ensure to include the following information on the contact form or within your email:

The web address (URL) of the content that you are concerned about
A description of the issue that you have encountered
Please put ‘UKVI Websites Accessibility Issue’ as your subject line

We endeavour to reply to enquiries within five business days.

Read tips on contacting organisations about inaccessible websites.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

If you are in Northern Ireland and are not happy with how we respond to your complaint you can contact the Equalities Commission for Northern Ireland who are responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’) in Northern Ireland.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

VFS Global is committed to making its UKVI website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

UK Mission sites on https://www.vfsglobal.com/united-kingdom/index.html

In the appointment booking module, the state "selected" for date and times in the calendar is not defined programmatically. As a result, some screen readers may not be aware of the action. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value), and is on the roadmap to be addressed in 2022.
Keyboard support is missing for the tooltip content that becomes available when users hover on the "i" interactive element in several content areas. This makes it difficult for users with mobility and visual impairments to access the tooltip content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard) and 1.1.1 (Non-text Content), and is on the roadmap to be addressed in 2021.
Missing list mark-up on the Document Upload Summary page. This means that a customer using a screen reader may not be able to identify the number of list items, or identify the beginning and end of a list. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), and is on the roadmap to be addressed in 2021.

If you find an issue that we have yet to identify, please contact us using one of the routes described in the ‘Reporting accessibility problems with these websites’ section of this statement.

Disproportionate burden

At this time, we have not made any disproportionate burden claims.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs

Some of our PDFs are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with maps showing the locations of our China Visa Application Centres. These are an additional help to customers, but as the full address is provided in text form, customers will be able to find the location using an online map tool of their choice in their country of application.

Other PDFs meet accessibility standards.

Video content

Some existing pre-recorded video content that was published before 23 September 2020 is without captions. This content is exempt from the regulations. All later video content includes captions.

Online Maps

Our service includes the use of online maps to show certain geographical information. These are not used for navigational purposes and are exempt under the regulations. If you require the information presented in an online map in a different format, please contact us to discuss reasonable adjustments.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 27 October 2020. It was last reviewed on 14 June 2021.