tourist visa red tape
a not-so-nice incident happened today when i went to get my visa done for the upcoming trip.
place: royal embassy of cambodia in singapore (orchard towers, #10-03/04)
time: 1415hrs
roles: moby, hostile cambodian visa officer (hcvo)
moby: hi, i'd like to apply for a visa to go to cambodia. =)
hcvo: travelling when sir? *looking very bored*
moby: this thursday morning...can get it done by then right? your colleague told me over the phone that it's two working days...
hcvo: should be ok...we try by wednesday afternoon...what nationality are you sir?
moby: taiwanese. (i could have used my other american passport, but decided that i only wanted to bring one passport there...less troublesome...)
hcvo: oh...taiwan ah? go fill out the application forms and give me two photographs. *scowling face*
moby: err..ok...where are the forms?
hcvo: there lah! >=( *points to table on the side with paper on it*
moby: oh...ok...
*moby diligently starts to fill out two identical forms*
*5 minutes later*
hcvo: by the way, you can bring the form home and hand it in tomorrow morning.
moby: err...why would i want to do that?
hcvo: oh, because you can only submit the applications from 0900hrs - 1200hrs...we only do collection of visas from 1400hrs - 1600hrs *points to a small paper printout on the wall*
moby: what??? then how long will it take for me to get this processed? you said two working days right? tomorrow is tuesday right? can i get it done by wednesday afternoon then?
hcvo: hmmm... *counts on his fingers* tomorrow is tuesday, so you submit the application, then two working days...wednesday and thursday...so you can collect on thursday afternoon.
moby: what??? but i thought that you said it could be done by wednesday?
hcvo: it says here that you can only submit from 0900hrs - 1200hrs...but you came in at 1415hrs today...so, no, it must be submitted tomorrow, and that's why you don't get it until thursday...
moby: so like that how? i'm leaving on thursday morning...
hcvo: *shrugs* but if you have an emergency visa application...that can be done by wednesday afternoon, we will charge you another $5 for it.
moby: huh??? where does it say that??? *looks for paper printouts on the orchard tower office walls, looks at application form, and finds nothing*
hcvo: i'm telling you now...$5 extra for emergency applications.
moby: how long can it actually take for you to get this processed? 45 minutes???
*looks around at empty room...meaning no other people / passports / visas to deal with, no other work for hcvo to do...*
hcvo: two working days.
moby: i've had enough of this...i'm going to your country as a tourist...and i'm facing so many problems getting this paper work done...sorry, but are you in charge here?
hcvo: yes.
moby: what is your name?
hcvo: why you want to know my name? *looking a bit scared*
moby: because i want to write in to the newspaper and tell everyone about this nonsense!
hcvo: i don't want to give you my name.
moby: what is your name?
hcvo: do you know that it is very rude for people to ask for other people's names in my country? you only ask them if you are friendly with them.
moby: oh my god. fine, i will just write about this whole visa application process for the cambodian embassy, and what a nasty experience it has been for me. i don't need your name...in fact, i'm better off without remembering who you are.
hcvo: ok.
*moby storms out of the small office space in orchard towers*
i is royally cambodianally pissed off!!!
it's not about the extra money that i would have to pay...what's $5 right...it's about the whole red tape and discrimination shit that i have to face just to get a tourist visa...which may have been very much different if i had used my american passport to apply (going to a country that is still using USD as their main currency). ironically, it is this very same red tape that i want to escape from by going to cambodia. in the end, i'll just have to apply for a visa using my american passport at the cambodian airport. btw, i'm very proud to be a taiwanese, which is why i chose to use that passport for the application today. please don't try to cheat me again.
and on hindsight and after some discussion with jason (who i'm going to cambodia with), i've decided that writing into the newspaper would be a waste of my time, effort, paper, and vocabulary...cuz it still wouldn't get me a visa...which is why i'm putting this on my blog instead...at least my readers get a chance to find out before the public. haha.
i hope, and i know, that the people in cambodia aren't like this at all...but like they say, it just takes one rotten apple can make it all go wrong. but i promise that i'll go to cambodia with an open mind, two rolls of film and three eyes for the unusual...wish me luck guys. =)
place: royal embassy of cambodia in singapore (orchard towers, #10-03/04)
time: 1415hrs
roles: moby, hostile cambodian visa officer (hcvo)
moby: hi, i'd like to apply for a visa to go to cambodia. =)
hcvo: travelling when sir? *looking very bored*
moby: this thursday morning...can get it done by then right? your colleague told me over the phone that it's two working days...
hcvo: should be ok...we try by wednesday afternoon...what nationality are you sir?
moby: taiwanese. (i could have used my other american passport, but decided that i only wanted to bring one passport there...less troublesome...)
hcvo: oh...taiwan ah? go fill out the application forms and give me two photographs. *scowling face*
moby: err..ok...where are the forms?
hcvo: there lah! >=( *points to table on the side with paper on it*
moby: oh...ok...
*moby diligently starts to fill out two identical forms*
*5 minutes later*
hcvo: by the way, you can bring the form home and hand it in tomorrow morning.
moby: err...why would i want to do that?
hcvo: oh, because you can only submit the applications from 0900hrs - 1200hrs...we only do collection of visas from 1400hrs - 1600hrs *points to a small paper printout on the wall*
moby: what??? then how long will it take for me to get this processed? you said two working days right? tomorrow is tuesday right? can i get it done by wednesday afternoon then?
hcvo: hmmm... *counts on his fingers* tomorrow is tuesday, so you submit the application, then two working days...wednesday and thursday...so you can collect on thursday afternoon.
moby: what??? but i thought that you said it could be done by wednesday?
hcvo: it says here that you can only submit from 0900hrs - 1200hrs...but you came in at 1415hrs today...so, no, it must be submitted tomorrow, and that's why you don't get it until thursday...
moby: so like that how? i'm leaving on thursday morning...
hcvo: *shrugs* but if you have an emergency visa application...that can be done by wednesday afternoon, we will charge you another $5 for it.
moby: huh??? where does it say that??? *looks for paper printouts on the orchard tower office walls, looks at application form, and finds nothing*
hcvo: i'm telling you now...$5 extra for emergency applications.
moby: how long can it actually take for you to get this processed? 45 minutes???
*looks around at empty room...meaning no other people / passports / visas to deal with, no other work for hcvo to do...*
hcvo: two working days.
moby: i've had enough of this...i'm going to your country as a tourist...and i'm facing so many problems getting this paper work done...sorry, but are you in charge here?
hcvo: yes.
moby: what is your name?
hcvo: why you want to know my name? *looking a bit scared*
moby: because i want to write in to the newspaper and tell everyone about this nonsense!
hcvo: i don't want to give you my name.
moby: what is your name?
hcvo: do you know that it is very rude for people to ask for other people's names in my country? you only ask them if you are friendly with them.
moby: oh my god. fine, i will just write about this whole visa application process for the cambodian embassy, and what a nasty experience it has been for me. i don't need your name...in fact, i'm better off without remembering who you are.
hcvo: ok.
*moby storms out of the small office space in orchard towers*
i is royally cambodianally pissed off!!!
it's not about the extra money that i would have to pay...what's $5 right...it's about the whole red tape and discrimination shit that i have to face just to get a tourist visa...which may have been very much different if i had used my american passport to apply (going to a country that is still using USD as their main currency). ironically, it is this very same red tape that i want to escape from by going to cambodia. in the end, i'll just have to apply for a visa using my american passport at the cambodian airport. btw, i'm very proud to be a taiwanese, which is why i chose to use that passport for the application today. please don't try to cheat me again.
and on hindsight and after some discussion with jason (who i'm going to cambodia with), i've decided that writing into the newspaper would be a waste of my time, effort, paper, and vocabulary...cuz it still wouldn't get me a visa...which is why i'm putting this on my blog instead...at least my readers get a chance to find out before the public. haha.
i hope, and i know, that the people in cambodia aren't like this at all...but like they say, it just takes one rotten apple can make it all go wrong. but i promise that i'll go to cambodia with an open mind, two rolls of film and three eyes for the unusual...wish me luck guys. =)
13 comments:
I have come to realise that the moment you walk into any embassy, you are transported into a different world. It's like their own little country in there and too bad, you can't out-talk or out-wit them. I've had bad experiences in Indian and Indonesian embassies. Same, same, my friend.
Your experience is a walk in the park compared to what I experienced at the Taiwanese Rep. Office in Singapore.
An officer pulled the "you have to ask the next counter" thingy, when there were only 2 of them behind the counters and the other fella had to ask the first office I spoke to for advise!
I was made to make 3 trips, cos they only told me the documentation requirements one at a time.
Then the documents had to be processed by 3 more bodies in Taipei before they could have been used officially.
Morale of the story - red tape is the same anywhere. avoid civil servant like the plague!
Good luck, dude.
you must be very new to applying visa!!!
u don't have to get the visa in singapore. i just went cambodia last oct and what happened was i just brought 2 photos (or 3, if you're going angkor - 1 spare) and the visa is done instantaneously on arrival at the airport (i arrived at siem reap - but think it's the same for phnom penh, just different price). unless things changed in the last 3 months... i doubt it though.
tell u already lor......
just apply at the airport!
want to be keh-kiang lor....
see ya on thurs! hahahahahaha
dear everyone...i thought i could be spared the hassle of bringing around 2 passports to cambodia by making sure that i get a visa using my taiwan passport (some places require advanced visa application for taiwanese...like malaysia) beforehand in singapore...cuz i though it would be a smoother process here...but as ting mentioned, i guess it's like you're stepping into another country upon entry into the embassy.
and yeah, i know that there's red tape everywhere...i used to work for the government too...but there's always gotta be a starting point to cutting all this away.
oh well, 2 more days and i'll find out just how much red stuff i have to snip off. haha. cheers. =)
"Ironically, it is this very same red tape that i want to escape from by going to cambodia."
I find the above very ironic too.
Have fun in Cambodia! And you can then share that experience with all of us!
=)
Enjoy! Share with us the nice pix over there.... :)
Bon Voyage!
tsk tsk.. these taiwanese har.. hehe go around demanding things
Dude, have fun. With joe around, you're in safe hands. At the most, he bring U eat some happy pizza..
Dont shag underaged chicks. It's bad karma ;)
Don't worry ... in Italy is the same. Take a look to my story http://www.inviaggiopertamara.com
You will see which discrimination in italy !!
that was unfortunate.
sometimes i wonder
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