Global Visa Center World (GVCW) was founded in 2015 by a team of seasoned professionals, with distinguished service in the public and private sector, with the aim of offering bespoke visa issuance services to Foreign Missions.
In 2017, following a 3-year international tender process that was organized by the Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), GVCW became the global exclusive Visa Service Provider for Greece. GVCW is a one-stop-shop for foreign visa applicants and a full service provider to the local Greek Consular Authorities in issuing Schengen visas.
Having completed the development of its electronic platform, GVCW started the rollout of its operations in 11 countries and 71 cities, beginning from South Africa in January 2018, continuing to India, Nepal and Sri Lanka later the same month, to China in February, to Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus, the UK and Russia in April 2018 and to Uzbekistan in January 2019. From January 2023 GVCW oeprates in 18 countries and 82 cities including Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iraq, Kosovo, Libya, Philippines and Vietnam.
Within a four-month period, leveraging on its operational capabilities and the valuable contribution of its partners, notably the Hellenic Telecommunication Organization (OTE), the largest telecom Company in Greece and S.E. Europe, GVCW began servicing thousands of visa applicants daily. The continuous efforts of almost 300 visa handling personnel now manning GVCW's 82 Visa Application Centers for Greece and our cutting edge on-line visa application technology, allow for a more efficient workflow and have enabled the substantial reduction of the respective Greek Consulates' workload leading to the streamlining the visa-application procedures and, ultimately, the enhancement of Greece's image abroad.
All Directors and members of the GVCW senior management team have either served in senior Ambassadorial and Consular positions, or have been entrusted ministerial and governmental posts, or were C-suite executives in the private sector. Their diverse backgrounds and experience are complimentary and directly relevant to GVCW's core capabilities: international relations and diplomacy, security and data protection, InformationTechnology, business development and operational management.