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Business as usual? Mapping outsourcing practices in Schengen visa processing

ABSTRACT The silent spread of outsourcing in the processing of visa applications is a much under-researched phenomenon. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data throughout the 2011–2015 period, this research offers empirical evidence of the oligopolistic structure of the Schengen visa processing market, exposing that European Union Member States rely extensively on non-EU transnational corporations. External service providers do not intervene in the qualitative assessment of the applicant, yet they dominate all the remaining stages of the visa process, thus affecting temporary migration. This study overcomes the facilitators-gatekeepers divide and contributes to a better understanding of the complex role visa processing companies play in the transnational network governance of migration.