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[aopaq]

One of my pet travel peeves are visas and the oft time-consuming process (not to mention cost) of getting them. I know they have their purpose but they frequently seem to be just a bureaucratic hoop set up to frustrate and raise revenue. I would much rather use the funds and the time spent applying and picking-up my visas to actually travel. I often wish that the UN or some similar world body could issue a "Global Visa" because if that were the case, I would definitely apply!

Anyway, now that I have voiced my rant, I am curious if any of you have been refused a visa or have any visa horror stories to tell.

[barsie]

Well I guess I have a visa luck story- when I planned traveling I wanted to go see thailand and head to surrounding countries to try them (laos, cambodia, vietnam) but I found visa so complicated flying into thailand than I decided to fly into malaysia.

I never planned to even visit but spent 4-5 weeks there and loved it. Also met the legend Scottwoz there (happy birthday pal). It's amazing how much I think I gained by flying to a different country due to visas. I'm still to do most of the trip I originally planned- which is awesome- gives me a great to do in the future.

[big_red_truck]

I've never been denied a visa *knocks on wood* but consider this, you're lucky that you only have to apply for tourist visas.

Most of my visas are either Business or Working...which is even more of a pain. My Brazilian working visa takes 3+ months to get! And as soon as I get home, I've got to apply for my Russian working visa...I've been told it takes even longer to get.

[aopaq]

Well I guess I have a visa luck story- when I planned traveling I wanted to go see thailand and head to surrounding countries to try them (laos, cambodia, vietnam) but I found visa so complicated flying into thailand than I decided to fly into malaysia.

That is a great story....especially because it resulted in you meeting the legendary ScottWoz!!

I've never been denied a visa *knocks on wood* but consider this, you're lucky that you only have to apply for tourist visas.

Most of my visas are either Business or Working...which is even more of a pain. My Brazilian working visa takes 3+ months to get! And as soon as I get home, I've got to apply for my Russian working visa...I've been told it takes even longer to get.

Getting my Temporary resident visa for China was a hassle so I understand how your business and working visas are a headache. I was actually denied a visa to Tajikistan which cost me a lot of time and money as I had to go to Istanbul and then backtrack to Iran. I have also not been officially denied an Iranian visa before but they just out-waited me so I had to go with my alternate plan.

Visas are definitely a hassle, and they fill up your passport far too quickly. Things are getting a bit better in this part of the world though and the 'one-ASEAN' visa is being developed (albeit very slowly).

That is good to know about the "one-ASEAN" visa but I won't hold my breathe waiting!

[mmbcross]

I had a Colombian friend who purchased a Globus tour of Europe before the Schengen Visa was created. She had to get 7 visas in exactly the order of the countries she was visiting. On top of this, she needed a dual entry visa for France, as the tour ended there. The only country that did not require a visa for Colombians then was Switzerland.

And you think you had problems?

[aopaq]

I had a Colombian friend who purchased a Globus tour of Europe before the Schengen Visa was created. She had to get 7 visas in exactly the order of the countries she was visiting. On top of this, she needed a dual entry visa for France, as the tour ended there. The only country that did not require a visa for Colombians then was Switzerland.

And you think you had problems?

Ouch! How long did it take her to get all the visas and what was the approximate final cost? That must have really sucked! I hope her trip made all the headache worthwhile!

[big_red_truck]

Collecting visas and stamps is part of the fun...

[aopaq]

Collecting visas and stamps is part of the fun...

I agree but on the other hand, I would quickly forgo that joy if I did not have to deal with the hassles, costs and time spent getting visas before and while travelling.

[big_red_truck]

It's like any other collecting hobby. If you like to do it, you don't mind the expense and sometimes frustration...the difficult parts help you to enjoy it when it goes easily, and appreciate it more when you've completed your collection...tonite I'm going to be posting in my blog about the difficulties I had in getting the Bolivian visa last night...check tomorrow morning for a good story.

[sianeth]

Out of interest, what are typical reasons for denying visas? Is it a personal issue, random, or to do with errors in forms etc?

[mmbcross]

If your name is Osama bin Laden, you probably would't get a visa to enter the USA. Other than that I have no idea why visas are denied. Remember we had a forum not long ago where is was stated that hippies and gypsies could not get visas to Costa Rica. How do you define a hippy? In some cases it is reciprocity. For example because the U.S. requires visas for Brazilians, Brazil requires visas for U.S. citizens.

[aopaq]

It's like any other collecting hobby. If you like to do it, you don't mind the expense and sometimes frustration...the difficult parts help you to enjoy it when it goes easily, and appreciate it more when you've completed your collection...tonite I'm going to be posting in my blog about the difficulties I had in getting the Bolivian visa last night...check tomorrow morning for a good story.

Yes, I understand the perspective from a hobbyist point of view. But for those who would rather focus on the travelling side of things, the frustration, expense and time is not a reasonable trade-off.
I don't recall Bolivia being difficult to get a visa but I know a lot has changed since I was last there. I will definitely check out your visa story!

Out of interest, what are typical reasons for denying visas? Is it a personal issue, random, or to do with errors in forms etc?

I am not sure if there are necessarily "typical" reasons. I was denied a visa for Tajikistan because supposedly there was an election happening. Why the election was a reason for not allowing me entry to the country did not make a lot of sense to me. The other scenario is what commonly seems to happen with Iranian visas and I have experienced this twice before. They don't necessarily always reject your visa immediately but "out-wait" you so that you eventually have to give up and make alternative travel plans.

[semi-backpacker]

Collecting visas and stamps is part of the fun...

I LOVE collecting Visa stamps! Once in a while, I look at my passport and it brings back so many great memories. I also like seeing how different all the stamps are. In my opinion, the best one is Guatemala, it's huge and very decorative and the least impressive ones are the ones I got at Heathrow...the font is quite menacing!

Also, the Russian visa is a pain. I had to get it 5 years in a row when I was married (my ex was Russian, long story)...and it was a hassle of paperwork and money. I also didn't like that I had to register it as soon as I arrived and their hours sucked, so we had to put holiday plans on hold while we took care of that. My last gripe with the Russian visa is that it takes a whole page on the passport!! It seriously limited my space for stamps! :-) On the flip side, Russia is a beautiful country, I was always treated well, and I especially enjoyed the time I spent in St. Petersburg.

[big_red_truck]

Out of interest, what are typical reasons for denying visas? Is it a personal issue, random, or to do with errors in forms etc?

I know that one of the guys I work with was denied a working visa for Brasil because he didn't have a long enough work history.

And another guy from my company's Chinese subsidiary has been denied a regular visa to the USA because he didn't have any new passport stamps. After he had traveled to another country and been stamped. He reapplied for a US visa and was accepted.

Yes, I understand the perspective from a hobbyist point of view. But for those who would rather focus on the travelling side of things, the frustration, expense and time is not a reasonable trade-off.
I don't recall Bolivia being difficult to get a visa but I know a lot has changed since I was last there. I will definitely check out your visa story!

Oh the Bolivian visa was actually quite easy...but the process was difficult because I wasn't fully prepared...it's too long a story for here. To Bolivia!

I am not sure if there are necessarily "typical" reasons. I was denied a visa for Tajikistan because supposedly there was an election happening. Why the election was a reason for not allowing me entry to the country did not make a lot of sense to me. The other scenario is what commonly seems to happen with Iranian visas and I have experienced this twice before. They don't necessarily always reject your visa immediately but "out-wait" you so that you eventually have to give up and make alternative travel plans.

I don't know about Canada, but in the US, you can get a duplicate passport which you can send off. Then the "waiting" game won't affect you nearly as much. How to Get a Duplicate US Passport

[raniroo]

A few years ago I had to apply for a Shengen visa for Europe (entering France). No problems getting it, but within the month of getting it, they lifted the visa and I didn't need it....what a waste of money! Surely the authorities would have known that this visa was going to be abolished for Australian passport holders by then!

Russian visa was a hard one to get..(after 2 visits to the embassy in London and still not getting through the gates I ended up using a visa service in the end).

thankfully, never been denied one...