From Passports to Visas: Inside the HelloGov and iVisa Merger Reshaping Government Documentation

Operating as HelloGov and led by co-CEOs Adam Boalt and David Perez, the company expects to process more than 1.5 million applications annually.

The merger comes as travel documentation becomes increasingly digital. The UK now requires an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for many visa-exempt visitors, while Europe’s Entry/Exit System has introduced biometric border checks, and ETIAS will introduce advance authorisation for travellers from 59 visa-exempt countries and territories.

Travel is also increasing; UK residents made a record 94.6 million trips overseas in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics, meaning more travellers are encountering advanced documentation requirements.

Together, HelloGov and iVisa bring complementary expertise to either side of that journey. iVisa, founded in 2013, maintains a continuously updated database of visa and travel documentation requirements covering more than 100 destinations, helping travelers with visa, travel authorisation, and arrival card needs around the world. 

HelloGov has focused on AI-assisted US passport applications, specialist application review and access to a marketplace of couriers registered with the US Department of State. According to the companies, they have helped more than three million travelers get their documentation with clear and simple application processes.

Boalt explains that the opportunity lies not in replacing the government systems that issue passports and visas, but in making them easier for travellers to navigate.

“Global governments have built enormous processing capacity to handle the hundreds of millions of applications every year,” he explains. “What hasn’t existed at the same scale is the convenience layer around it: a system that knows which documents you need, adapts to the answers you give, checks your application before it goes in, tracks your application from beginning to end and gives you someone available when you have a question in the middle of the night. That’s what we’re providing.”

In practice, the platform helps travellers identify the passports, visas or travel authorisations they need, complete applications online, and check them for errors before submission, with live progress tracking and support throughout. For passport applications specifically, HelloGov’s network of government-registered couriers can hand-deliver documents directly to a passport agency, so travellers don’t have to wait in line themselves.

The economics behind the deal follow the same logic. “The strategic case for the merger is about revenue synergies, reducing overhead and operating leverage,” says Brian LaBasco, co-founder of HelloGov. “Both businesses were acquiring and servicing the same customer separately. Combined, we can optimise and enhance the entire customer journey.”

For Perez, “the goal is simple: know what you need, submit it once, and know exactly where it is until it’s done.”

HelloGov combines AI-assisted questionnaires and error-checking with human review across 14 languages, and the company says most applications submitted through its platform are approved on the first attempt.

“Most people apply for a passport or a visa a handful of times in their lives, so nobody becomes an expert at it,” Boalt says. “Our job is to make sure that when an application reaches a government office, everything in it is right the first time.”

None of that means travelers have to use the service, though. As in most industries, they can choose the standard route — going directly through government websites and handling everything themselves — or opt for a paid option that provides additional support throughout the application process.

As travel requirements become more complex, with more countries introducing e-visas, ETAs, authorisations and arrival cards, a single trip can involve a passport renewal, a visa or travel authorisation for the destination and, in some cases, separate requirements for countries along the way. For the combined company, this creates multiple opportunities to serve the same customer across a single journey.

Travel documents may only be the starting point. HelloGov has already launched business formation services, with vehicle registration and tag-and-title services planned for later this year. The company intends to use the same verification, review and support infrastructure developed for passports and visas across other government processes.

Boalt built HelloGov after his own expired passport nearly derailed a trip years ago; Perez built iVisa after a confusing new e-visa requirement did the same to his. Each spent years addressing different aspects of the travel document process before deciding that one way to address the broader process wasn’t to keep building alone, but to combine forces with another company already serving the same customer.

As more government processes move online, the opportunity for companies in this space may depend on more than the capabilities of their AI models. Building reliable data systems, compliance relationships, courier networks and human support can be just as important, particularly in areas where technology can simplify the process but cannot replace the infrastructure behind it.