Service concession contracts – Receipt of applications for visa and residence permits and other preliminary tasks and services in two global regions on behalf of Norwegian foreign missions

Description

The Contracting Authority intends to sign two new agreements for an operational period of three years starting 01.01.2024, with the possibility to extend the contracts for three more years. The service provider will receive no payment from the Contracting Authority. The number of applications received by Norway will vary with location and from year to year. Based on the average service fee from previous years and an average number of applications to Norway per year at 220 000 (which was the approximate number of applications received in 2019, the last normal year before the pandemic) the total value of the procurement (lot 1 and 2) is estimated at NOK 480,000,000 (four hundred million) including VAT and courier fee. The estimated value for lot 1 is NOK 180,000,000 and for lot 2 NOK 300,000,000 including VAT and courier fee. These estimates are only approximate figures and in no way binding for the Contracting Authority. For further information, we refer to Annex 1. Lot 1: Lot 1: Service Concession Contract The Contracting Authority decided already in 2009 and 2010 to procure services from private service providers to receive visa and residence permit applications in certain locations for capacity and security reasons. Based on positive experiences with outsourcing, the Contracting Authority decided in 2013 to increase the use of outsourcing in order to make the foreign service better able to handle future volume increases. The use of external service providers is intended to provide a wider global coverage and efficient services for the applicants when submitting their applications. The service provider and application centers do not have any role in the further handling and decision making on the applications. This is still the responsibility of the foreign service missions and the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI). Applications are today received in 130 application centers in a total of 56 countries. The organizational structure of the Foreign Service needs to be flexible. The number of application centers and responsibilities of the foreign service missions are therefore subject to change. The Contracting Authority intends to sign two new agreements (Lot 1 and 2) in September this year for an operational period of three years starting 01.01.2024, with the possibility to extend the contracts for three more years (3 + 3 years, in total 6 years). The service provider will receive no payment from the Contracting Authority. The value of the procurement relies on the service fees that the service provider will charge from the applicants. The number of applications received by Norway will vary with location and from year to year. Based on the average service fee from previous years and an average number of applications to Norway per year at 220 000 (which was the approximate number of applications received in 2019, the last normal year before the pandemic) the total value of the procurement (lot 1 and 2) is estimated at NOK 480,000,000 (four hundred million) including VAT and courier fee. The estimated value for lot 1 is NOK 180,000,000 and for lot 2 NOK 300,000,000 including VAT and courier fee. These estimates are only approximate figures and in no way binding for the Contracting Authority. For further information on the scope and content of the procurement, we refer to Annex 1, which also contains a list of optional services that the service provider shall provide if requested by the Contracting Authority. Lot 2: Lot 2: Service Concession Contract The Contracting Authority decided already in 2009 and 2010 to procure services from private service providers to receive visa and residence permit applications in certain locations for capacity and security reasons. Based on positive experiences with outsourcing, the Contracting Authority decided in 2013 to increase the use of outsourcing in order to make the foreign service better able to handle future volume increases. The use of external service providers is intended to provide a wider global coverage and efficient services for the applicants when submitting their applications. The service provider and application centers do not have any role in the further handling and decision making on the applications. This is still the responsibility of the foreign service missions and the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI). Applications are today received in 130 application centers in a total of 56 countries. The organizational structure of the Foreign Service needs to be flexible. The number of application centers and responsibilities of the foreign service missions are therefore subject to change. The Contracting Authority intends to sign two new agreements (Lot 1 and 2) in September this year for an operational period of three years starting 01.01.2024, with the possibility to extend the contracts for three more years (3 + 3 years, in total 6 years). The service provider will receive no payment from the Contracting Authority. The value of the procurement relies on the service fees that the service provider will charge from the applicants. The number of applications received by Norway will vary with location and from year to year. Based on the average service fee from previous years and an average number of applications to Norway per year at 220 000 (which was the approximate number of applications received in 2019, the last normal year before the pandemic) the total value of the procurement (lot 1 and 2) is estimated at NOK 480,000,000 (four hundred million) including VAT and courier fee. The estimated value for lot 1 is NOK 180,000,000 and for lot 2 NOK 300,000,000 including VAT and courier fee. These estimates are only approximate figures and in no way binding for the Contracting Authority. For further information on the scope and content of the procurement, we refer to Annex 1, which also contains a list of optional services that the service provider shall provide if requested by the Contracting Authority.