Yesterday I went to the German Embassy to file in the documents for a visa. The thing is, that I felt like I was treated like a person from the third world. The girl who checked our documents talked to us in a tone that was next to offensive. It felt, like we were some poor people, that dreamed of seeing a miracle world of Germany.
I'm traveling at least 3 times a year to Europe. With the new job I guess I will travel even more. Last time I got a visa for half a year to travel to Spain, when I didn't even ask for it. We spend money when coming to Europe and when we're back we again earn money for their companies, as we sell european equipment here in Russia. So I can't understand, why there is such a treatment.
I really hate the idea of visas itself. It really brings trouble. To travel to some asian countries is even harder. You either have to buy a tour from a travel agency which is usually inconvenient by the dates and VERY expensive or you have to find a person, that will invite you there, but that brings a lot of paper work to that person. The third way is to pay someone around 250-300 USD for them to prepare all the docs for the visa (including invitations). You can't just book a ticket and a hotel and go to the place you want to see.
Unfortunately, I could not understand your situation on VISA because I have never traveled to countries that need it. But, I
ReplyDeletehave a litte bit similar experience in Germany when I visited there as a part of my study trip about 10 years ago. At that
time, I tried to send a small package to Japan at a post office. A worker in the office explained that I should write a
siginiture in a space, but I could not understand what he said because he spoke in German, even I looked an Asian man. After
that, a customer in the office helped me. She explained me about what he said in English, so I could solve this problem.
Well, to tell you the truth, there're quite many people from Asia now in Europe and they live there for quite a time, so sometimes those working in different services don't expect tourists from Asia to come. And unfortunately not everyone speaks english, so it might be hard sometimes.
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