VisaWire

VisaWire is a London-based B2B immigration technology company founded in 2023 by Preet Patel (CEO) and Shahzaib Ahmed (CTO). The idea originated while Patel was working as a consultant at CIBT Visas, the world's largest visa consultancy, where he observed that the vast majority of his work was manual — copying, printing and collating documents — while clients were charged hundreds of pounds for it. Watching a mother of two pay £450 in consulting fees for her children's visa applications crystallised the problem: the process was expensive, slow and error-prone, yet almost entirely automatable.

VisaWire's AI-powered platform targets corporate travel managers, immigration consultants and employer-sponsored visa programmes, streamlining the end-to-end visa application process. The platform reduces the time spent on document preparation, checking and filing, cutting errors and accelerating turnaround for visa consultants' clients. Rather than replacing human judgement entirely, VisaWire integrates AI into existing consultant workflows — handling the manual, repetitive elements while leaving complex decision-making to qualified professionals. This blended approach gives it a practical edge in a heavily regulated market where compliance and accuracy are paramount.

Patel founded VisaWire in his third year at UCL, juggling economics studies and two part-time jobs. The company has been recognised by Spring Studios, Kickstart Emerge and the UCL VC Fund, placing in the top three of the Spring Studios launchpad competition. It has also been backed by angel investors with significant capabilities in AI voice agents and conversational AI, giving VisaWire an edge over larger, legacy competitors who cannot move as quickly. VisaWire is now growing its team and expanding its platform as it builds towards a Series A.