Diplomatic practices

This may be putting the cart before the horse, but it seems we now have all of our required visas! Actually that’s a lie, since at the time of posting we’re still waiting on our Chinese visas to be approved. However being someone that occasionally likes to leap before he looks, I wanted to share the differences in applying for these visas. The simple lesson is that everyone has their own way to do things and that just because it is explained in simple English, doesn’t necessarily imply it is simple to follow.

We decided to apply for visas in reverse order since most places want to know how you are entering the country, and how you’re leaving. So with this in mind starting from the back seemed to make sense, and overall it wasn’t a bad decision.

Lithuania/Poland Visa Process
This has proven to be very easy! Since both are EU countries some really nifty bilateral agreements have already been set up between Canada and them, so no visa is required (or so says the Lithuanian embassy at least). may this does not come back to haunt us

Russian Visa Process
This was the first actual visa we had to apply for the trip. The process is a bit weird and I have no other way to describe it other than being what you would consider Russian. The neat part is that the form is all online and has this great feature so that you can pick up where you left off (this came in handy given how long it was!). The text was in English (mostly) and was fairly easy to understand (also big wins). Our only gripe was the amount of detail they wanted on the application form itself.: make sure you can list your three previous places of work (including the name of the person you reported to), any associations you are a member of or are affiliated with, all your educational background, and my favorite – the entry dates of all countries visited in the past 10 years (!). There’s likely some other items I forgot, but needless to say remember and then filling this all out is an exercise in itself. It becomes even more of an exercise when a certain me incorrectly enters my home address and finds out that once completed, the form is locked and has to be entirely re-entered… that kinda sucked. The invite we received from the travel company was handy, although finding all the contact details for your hotel when the lack a website is a bit cumbersome. Luckily, one money order later (and the exactly specified 21 days), we received our lovely visas!

Lessons learned:

• make sure you triple check the text before hitting the final save button. – actually check it as you enter it.
• it isn’t time badly spent redoing an application since Alicia witnessed a couple having to leave the consulate to redo their form due to a similar mistake – after having to wait for an inordinate amount of time at the consulate
• Passport holders appear to get priority when compared to visa applicants – welcome to distinct systems
• It pays to read and follow instructions and be nice. A well travelled friend indicated it isn’t uncommon to have your application denied

The Russian Embassy (somewhere in the snow)

Mongolia Visa Process
I would summarize this one as “painless and easy.” The application itself wasn’t the best translated document in the world, so there was ‘some’ ambiguity over which documents we had to include. A short (and friendly) phone call later to an embassy worker cleared everything up. He essentially indicated that we just needed to convince him that we were actually going there, and when. When I visited him at the embassy he was super nice, friendly and even tried to help us keep our costs down on the application process (by suggesting a shorter visa term that would work for us). Four days after applying I receive a call indicating everything is ready (it was a nice touch, especially since it was early).

The Mongolian Embassy

Chinese Visa Process
Initially I was a bit annoyed that I would have to make my way over to the embassy (as it is a decent distance from home), but was surprised to find out they have a visa application center right near my work… although this is getting ahead of myself. The form was a pdf form that you could actually fill out (the only application we had with that), which was great!… until they asked for some lengthy answer questions and the text didn’t fit. The application itself is easy to follow and designed to account for people being confused and they put a huge red arrow where to sign. It asked for some basic information and then a few easy extras (but nothing like Russia where I swear we needed to submit a DNA sample). What we did notice was the emphasis around what job you had. It was a checkbox area and for 95% of the jobs out there, you would tick just one specific box. Politics and military received their own special boxes – and then there was 3 for reporters. It is amazing what that tells you.

So back to the application center since it was pretty awesome! First thing was I was greeted at the door by someone and where a machine gave me a ticket (it felt a bit like the Ikea returns line, only nicer). There is a large waiting room with lots of seats and several booths where applicants were being processed. In the back there is a photo booth(!!!), a free to use computer, and even a printer ($0.10 a page). All I can say is just wow! They certainly do make it easy! The lady was professional but fairly friendly and the best part is that they actually accept debit! No need for a money order! Now here is hoping that we didn’t goof up anything too badly, as I get to pick up the visas later today.

 

Edit: So good news is we did get our Chinese visas! However a new thing was learned on transparency… if it looks too good to be true, it likely is. The great center and service I got at the visa processing center was not without its cost. It is actually a private enterprise that handles the process on your behalf… for the added charge of $30 per visa (assuming normal timeframes). From what I’ve heard from some friends at work, you can go to the embassy and apply directly there and only pay the visa fee… oops! It isn’t a huge amount of money, but good to know for next time!