Tuesday, July 6, 2004
Visa vicissitudes
Once upon a time there was a man from Belgium who moved to Kemerovo, Russia to work and live.
After endless procedures and a lot of beating around the bush, he finally got a single-entry visa, which was valid for 3 months and which could - so he was told - be extended without any trouble.
So, when the first term of three months was nearing its end, the law-abiding citizen from Belgium turned to the proper officials in order to have his visa extended.
On this day, June 29, I remember it well, our hero was told in not-so-friendly terms that - due to some new legislation - his visa COULD NOT BE extended and that he had to apply for a new multiple-entry visa, which would be valid until March 21 of the next year. All that was required of him was another form asking for such a visa, a copy of his contract - the original of which the kind officials already had in their files - and a few photographs.
Since the official seemed to know what she was talking about and the prospect of a multiple-entry visa quite appealed to our Belgian friend, he did as he was told and reported back to the institution in question on the next day. On this fine rainy morning, having stood in line for about half an hour, just like the day before, our still-optimistic hero delivered the requested documents and his passport to another kind official. In return, he got a piece of paper saying that he could come and pick up his new visa on July 6.
By now, the man was quite sceptic and on that ill-fated, drizzly morning of July 6 his suspicions were confirmed: a third kind official - in this case he really was kind - told him that his superiors had not decided what to do yet. They would either extend his first visa - which had been told to be impossible - or give him a new multiple-entry one. Again, he was given a piece of paper, only this time it stated that his visa would be ready on July 13.
This quite disturbed our hero, since he had planned to leave the city for an extended visit to his mother-in-law on July 10th. His main reasons for leaving the city: from July 12 till the beginning of August there would be no hot water supply in his flat and, also, there is not much to do in the city where he lives.
Understandably, our friend from Belgium is by now quite pessimistic and is having trouble taking things lightly. This was not his first and only encounter with Russian bureaucracy and it has made him wonder what on earth he was thinking when he decided to move to this new country.
Not to despair, though, our hero has not lost all hope yet and he is sure that everything will just turn out fine. It always does.... doesn't it?
After endless procedures and a lot of beating around the bush, he finally got a single-entry visa, which was valid for 3 months and which could - so he was told - be extended without any trouble.
So, when the first term of three months was nearing its end, the law-abiding citizen from Belgium turned to the proper officials in order to have his visa extended.
On this day, June 29, I remember it well, our hero was told in not-so-friendly terms that - due to some new legislation - his visa COULD NOT BE extended and that he had to apply for a new multiple-entry visa, which would be valid until March 21 of the next year. All that was required of him was another form asking for such a visa, a copy of his contract - the original of which the kind officials already had in their files - and a few photographs.
Since the official seemed to know what she was talking about and the prospect of a multiple-entry visa quite appealed to our Belgian friend, he did as he was told and reported back to the institution in question on the next day. On this fine rainy morning, having stood in line for about half an hour, just like the day before, our still-optimistic hero delivered the requested documents and his passport to another kind official. In return, he got a piece of paper saying that he could come and pick up his new visa on July 6.
By now, the man was quite sceptic and on that ill-fated, drizzly morning of July 6 his suspicions were confirmed: a third kind official - in this case he really was kind - told him that his superiors had not decided what to do yet. They would either extend his first visa - which had been told to be impossible - or give him a new multiple-entry one. Again, he was given a piece of paper, only this time it stated that his visa would be ready on July 13.
This quite disturbed our hero, since he had planned to leave the city for an extended visit to his mother-in-law on July 10th. His main reasons for leaving the city: from July 12 till the beginning of August there would be no hot water supply in his flat and, also, there is not much to do in the city where he lives.
Understandably, our friend from Belgium is by now quite pessimistic and is having trouble taking things lightly. This was not his first and only encounter with Russian bureaucracy and it has made him wonder what on earth he was thinking when he decided to move to this new country.
Not to despair, though, our hero has not lost all hope yet and he is sure that everything will just turn out fine. It always does.... doesn't it?
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