In an era defined by rapid global mobility and growing digital expectations, visa processing systems remain among the most outdated and burdensome areas of public administration. Many governments today continue to rely on External Service Providers (ESPs) that operate centralised Visa Application Centres (VACs), staffed with large workforces and reliant on manual workflows. These legacy systems are not only costly and operationally inefficient—they often create unclear, stressful, and coercive experiences for applicants.
Long queues, confusing instructions and inconsistent service delivery have become normalised. This undermines trust, while degrading the user experience. For governments, this reliance on legacy vendors also imposes hidden costs: stretched consular staff managing repetitive tasks, limited visibility into processing metrics and increased exposure to fraud due to the absence of real-time risk analysis or document verification capabilities.
Vishal Jairath, co-founder and COO of Skylane, put it succinctly: “After nearly two decades in senior roles at the world’s largest visa outsourcing firm, I saw first-hand how deeply flawed the traditional model had become. Despite its scale, it remained resistant to innovation, mired in manual inefficiencies, and disconnected from the realities of modern travel and digital governance.”
Skylane is a fully owned subsidiary of Silicon Valley-based Atlas Visa Inc. and is supported by globally esteemed investors including: Andreessen Horowitz, Peak XV Partners and Elevation Capital, with a combined portfolio value exceeding US $15 billion.
The company was designed from the ground up as a technology-first solution for governments aiming to modernise their consular services without compromising on security or applicant experience.
The platform brings together core capabilities in a modular, adaptable system that supports everything from visa application to biometric enrolment to post-decision intelligence. Governments can deploy it as a comprehensive turnkey service or select specific modules based on jurisdictional needs.
As Jairath explains, “We’re building systems that uphold dignity, ensure transparency, and protect data integrity at every step. That’s how trust is earned: both from governments and applicants.”
For Governments
Instant Risk Assessment Engine: Uses AI, metadata analysis, bank verification, and image forensics to flag high-risk applications and streamline low-risk ones automatically.
Biometric Self-Serve Kiosks: Placed across cities and regions, these touchpoints allow applicants to complete submissions securely in under five minutes.
AI-Guided Interview Module: Conducts secure, automated interviews with embassy-calibrated scoring to enhance transparency and minimise subjectivity in adjudication.
Government Dashboards: Provide real-time visibility into VACs and case flows through audit-ready logs and automated, multi-role consular workflows.
For Applicants
AI-Powered Customer Care: Operates 24×7 in 30+ languages via voice, chat, and email, resolving most queries in under 30 seconds.
Intelligent Digital Platform: Offers a guided mobile and web experience with OCR, ICAO-compliant photo checks and dynamic checklists to improve application quality and reduce errors.
Smart Gates: Enable real-time identity verification and system sync; reducing manual processing and strengthening border security and compliance.
Every layer of Skylane’s infrastructure is built to the highest standards of Data protection. The platform is fully compliant with GDPR, ISO 27001, and national Data privacy laws. All data interactions are end-to-end encrypted, monitored in real-time for compliance and subject to frequent external audits.
Skylane Centres are designed to be accessible, consistent, and fast: reducing the average time spent at a VAC from 60 minutes to just five. These improvements aren’t just user-friendly; they help governments process more applications, more accurately, with fewer errors and risks.
Already, Skylane has been adopted by consular authorities from countries such as the UAE, Brazil, South Korea, and Morocco, with operational hubs across India, the U.S., Europe and the Middle East.
In a world that expects clarity, speed, and security from every digital interaction, Skylane is helping governments redefine how they engage with travellers and manage migration. The platform goes beyond modernising infrastructure: it aligns with a broader vision of digital sovereignty, fraud-resistant processing, and trust-centric public service.
To illustrate what’s possible, Skylane has built the Skylane Experience Centre: a full-scale demonstration site that showcases the visa journey of the future. Mobile onboarding, instant eligibility scoring, biometric self-enrolment, secure cloud data handling, and real-time government dashboards.
Governments looking to reduce risk, improve service, and restore confidence in the visa process now have a clear path forward: with Skylane as their partner in progress.