Early access — Meridian

Summer's finally here for some of us, and something is taking shape. Later this month we'll open Meridian's platform to everyone, starting with Schengen short-stay visas. Here's an early look.

The embedded demo below plays at 2x speed. Prefer it at normal speed and fullscreen? Watch the demo on screen.studio.

Here's your early access:

And in other news, we've joined the builder community at Platform 9¾ and been accepted into the Shack residency program byFounders.

Always, back to why

We should strive, in some cases, to make the world flat. This is the case for bureaucracy and all the other obscene obstacles in front of us that make simply being human a more paperful affair. (I see you, taxes.) Unfortunately, borders have become business.

I am building Meridian because I want to be able to remove the hassle from going to places I want to visit or move to. I want to know the requirements, to know if I'm ready to apply, and to get ready to apply as soon as I'm ready. Although I live in Denmark, my Nigerian passport is "weak" and therefore I still need visas to travel to most places outside the Schengen region. I already know the immense privilege I have living in Denmark. The ability to travel visa-free to all twenty-nine Schengen member states is a privilege I'm only learning to work with. I show up at the airport and cross the borders on rail and buses with a confidence I rarely have when I need to visit a place with a visa.

I believe all people should be afforded this confidence and ease to travel where they want, when they're able to, as hassle-free as possible. It should be as trivial as a chat to your favourite AI assistant. People should not be spending time or wasting money working through often-complex embassy websites to understand visa rules as a precursor to an exciting or life-changing trip. You want to travel to a place, you have your documents, can we not automate away or flatten the steps in between to turn a cumbersome process into a simple one?

This is exactly what we're looking to do with Meridian. Under the hood, Meridian sits on top of all border rules so you don't have to, and provides guidance contextual to your given situation and travel needs. It goes without saying that there are already excellent people in the space like Atlys and Sherpa. We're here to complement them by providing guidance for consular visas and to close the gap on one of the most overlooked demographics: anyone with an African passport living anywhere in the world. Best believe it'll work for others as well, but this is our main drive and focus.

Paul
Founder, Meridian