"Why will our passport index number won't go down, if we have such fraud companies are working. Get yourself bitten by a mad dog, but not don't book your visa through this company, and I am here stuck in China because of this company."
That was how travel influencer Akash Chaudhary began his viral rant. Known for documenting his journeys as a full-time traveller for the last four years, Akash posted a video from China detailing how a simple visa application spiralled into a costly nightmare.
Akash said that while he had arranged his own Chinese visa, he decided to book a Mongolian e-visa through Atlys, an Indian visa firm company that had promised him a guaranteed three-day approval. "I thought, since it is an Indian company, we should help also, let's trust it," he explained. But instead of three days, his application dragged on for over two weeks with no clarity.
Despite repeatedly mailing the company and stressing that he was in China on a single-entry visa, he received no proper solution. When Atlys finally sent him the visa, it contained a glaring mistake: the first letter of his passport number was wrong.
"I've a ticket to Mongolia today, and I've spent a lot of money on the tickets, and then I saw the blunder. Imagine what would have happened if I would have entered Mongolia with the visa, and left China? I only had a single entry visa in China, and Mongolia would not have let me in as it would have been an illegal entry," he said in the video.
His voice shook with anger as he added, "Imagine, if I had gone to the border, they would had detained me and I would be stuck at the border because of the fraud company. I've been travelling full time for the last 4 years, nothing like this has ever happened to me."
A Video That Went Viral
The post instantly caught fire. Within hours, hundreds commented on having similar experiences. Some users shared their own nightmares with visa delays and errors, while others defended Atlys, saying mistakes could happen with any service.
"Till date, none of my visas had ever been cancelled or rejected but the one I applied for through @atlys turned into a complete disaster. Please don't ever book your visa with them. They are highly unprofessional and lack even basic communication skills," Akash says.
Have a look at the comment section:
In case you don't know, Atlys is a travel-tech platform that streamlines and automates visa applications, positioning itself as a fast, predictable way to get visas "on time, guaranteed."
According to the company's site it offers end-to-end visa assistance for 100+ destinations, including form filling, document checks, appointment guidance, and status tracking, with a focus on reducing errors and improving on-time delivery for travelers and agencies.
After the video went viral, Atlys first replied under Akash's video, saying: "Hello! Our team has been in constant touch with you. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused. The correct visa was issued on 29 September and we're actively assisting you to ensure a smooth and safe exit from China."
As of now, Akash is still stuck in a village in China, as after the video went viral, and he received his corrected visa by then it was China's national holiday, and everything was closed.
Complaints Pour In On X
NDTV scrolled through X and found just how many grievances were piling up. One user wrote, "I used @atlys for my parent's Canadian visa. They promised I'd have my visa by Aug 20 or I'd get a refund. It's now Sept 14, no visa, no refund. They keep stalling and refusing to honour their guarantee. This is unethical & misleading."
Another complaint came from Anmol, an entrepreneur: "The worst experience I have been having with @atlys for visa application. Is your backend stuck? I can help fix it for free. But their support is really bad, and just telling me to wait for 48 hours since September 12th. Maybe they have a different clock. Worst experience ever."
Others posted screenshots of emails where they had been assured of refunds or "tokens of apology" after delays, but in practice the money never arrived.
And it wasn't just X. On Reddit too, travellers had created threads narrating similar visa struggles, many of which sounded eerily like Akash's complaint: delays, lack of response, and errors in documents.
Atlys' Response
NDTV reached out to Atlys and the company's founder and CEO, Mohak Nahta, issued a response to us.
"Our goal at Atlys is to make visas seamless. Which is why what happened in this case pains us deeply. We made a mistake, and we want to sincerely apologise to the creator and to everyone who follows and trusts us," he said.
Nahta admitted that the visa in Akash's case had been approved on time, but the final document carried a missing letter in the passport number. "That should not have happened, and we take full responsibility. Our system shows scanned documents to travellers three times, and while it catches 99.08% of errors, this one slipped through. Once it was flagged, we acted quickly to resolve it and support the traveller."
He added that Akash had since also shared a positive story about the company after the situation was resolved, but acknowledged the incident had damaged trust. "We are now adding stronger checks and anomaly detection so that even rare misses like this are caught before they ever reach a traveller."
Why People Call Them A Scam
Nahta also addressed the wave of online comments calling Atlys a "scam". "We monitor every negative reaction and track the reasons behind them. It is true that when a visa gets rejected, people often call us a scam," he said.
According to him, the rejection rates for visas like Schengen are already very high for Indian applicants. "That said, we now take a much stricter stance than before. If our models show that an application is likely to be rejected, we do not accept it. Almost 20 percent of potential applications are declined upfront, with clear reasons shared with the traveller. This comes at a revenue cost to us, but over time, it has built trust - today our denial rate is just 0.3%."
The Bigger Challenge
Nahta admitted that visa processing remains extremely complex. "Visa processing is extremely complex across hundreds of corridors, with different rules, requirements, and technical touchpoints. In this particular case, the traveller was an Indian citizen in China applying for a Mongolia visa, which meant multiple layers of complexity. But complexity is not an excuse. This was an error, and we take responsibility for it."
He said the company always prioritises the traveller: "In such situations, we put the customer first, fix the issue, and then build better infrastructure to avoid recurrence. In this case, we not only resolved the issue but also helped the traveller reach Mongolia successfully."
Nahta also pointed out that Atlys provides Atlys Protect, a feature that ensures travellers receive a full refund if their visa is denied. Beyond this, the company publishes a Transparency Report each year with denial rates, error rates, and sentiment data. "We know we still have a long way to go, but we are moving in the right direction and are committed to showing that progress publicly," he said.
A Company On The Rise
Despite the controversy, Atlys has been reporting huge growth. Data from the company shows a 45.5% surge in visa applications in 2024 compared to 2023, with destinations like Dubai, Egypt, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia seeing year-on-year growth of up to 51%. The momentum has carried into 2025 as well, with a 68% jump in applications this summer compared to last year.
Indians are travelling more then ever. Photo: Unsplash
Schengen countries, the US, and the UAE are expected to be the most popular destinations this year. Gen Z travellers, in particular, are driving much of the growth with their preference for spontaneous, experience-led trips. Indonesia, Egypt, and Japan continue to top the list of most-requested visas.
For many, Atlys seemed to represent a solution to the confusing and bureaucratic world of visa processing. But Akash's experience, and those of many others now surfacing online, highlight the cracks that needs repairment.
A Larger Trust Issue
For Indian travellers, the issue isn't just about one company. Visa hurdles have long been a source of stress, with India's passport ranked low on the global index compared to many other nations.
For influencers like Akash, who travel constantly, the expectation is that services claiming to simplify the process should at least get the basics right.
His viral rant tapped into a larger sentiment: that travellers often feel helpless in the face of opaque processes, poor communication, and shifting guarantees. Atlys, on its part, insists it