The International Air Transport Association (IATA) will add OneVasco’s visa application service to its Timatic travel document platform, IATA said on October 22.
The tie-up lets travellers move from checking entry rules in Timatic straight to applying for a visa. Airlines use Timatic to confirm document compliance for more than 1.3bn passengers a year.
Visa friction is putting people off flying. IATA’s 2025 Global Passenger Survey found 33% of passengers had been deterred from travel by visa and immigration complexity, up 3 percentage points from 2024.
Passengers from Africa and the Middle East were the most discouraged, and 53% of those put off blamed process complexity. Governments are responding with digital fixes, from Egypt’s new e-visa system to industry calls for voluntary biometric journeys in Europe.
“Understanding what travel documents and visas are required for a journey is complicated,” said Frederic Leger, IATA’s senior vice-president for products and services. “Together, we will help travelers understand the requirements and how to fulfil them.”
Airlines will be offered the visa service as an optional add-on to Timatic, including through Timatic Web and the Timatic Widget. Timatic travel information will also feed into OneVasco’s own visa platform.
OneVasco handles e-visas and sticker visas, covering eligibility checks, document verification, application help, payments and status tracking, chief operating officer Mahesh Anchan said.
OneVasco has provided visa concierge services to travellers since 2012, combining visa expertise with digital tools across multiple markets.
