Delayed…

Visa – noun – An official authorization appended to a passport, permitting entry into and travel within a particular country or region.

Application times for international visas vary depending on what visa you apply for and what country you are applying to. There are several types of visas, depending upon your intention in the country. For the sake of this post, we will use a work visa as an example.

In some countries, a visa is not required, for example in New Zealand, Australians are entitled to the same work oportunities as New Zealanders, as long as they are of good character and have entered the country legally. Australians between the ages of 18 to 30 can apply for a 12 month German Working Holiday Visa, it costs 60 Euro and takes 1 to 2 weeks to process. Work in the Netherlands can be undertaken under the Working Holiday Scheme, once again you have to be 18 to 30, it costs 40 Euro and takes a maximum of four weeks to process. Work in Sweeden is much the same, 18 to 30, around 60 Euro and four weeks to process. For work in the United Kingdom, you can now apply for the Youth Mobility Scheme, 18 to 30 year olds can apply with minimal inclusion of past work, or past education.

In December, I started the application for the Youth Mobility Scheme. First an online application form had to be completed, taking about 30 minutes. Upon completion a window was made available that allowed an appointment to be made at my local consulate to submit “biometric details” (fingerprints and facescan). The paperwork was stamped, and then required to be sent to the British High Commission in Canberra.

I was supposed to leave the country today (11:30am on Saturday the 24th of January), alongside my sister Charlotte, who is off to France for a student exchange. At 3:50pm yesterday, I was forced to cancel my flights, due to the absence of my Youth Mobility Scheme Visa, and more importantly, my passport. They are both still in the hands of the British High Commission in Canberra, who at this present stage cannot give me an indication of when they will arrive, or how far along my application is. All I know is that my application fee of $248 was taken out of my account on the 11th of January, which is a Sunday, those British bureaucrats must work hard.

The 11th of January was three days after I posted the application, which means they must have opened the envelope. When I submitted my biometric details, I was given two pieces of paper, one piece of paper said that a return postage fee was required and another that said that I was to include a self addressed return envelope. Due to my application going through the Visa 4 UK website, I had not come into contact with any specific information relating to processing in Australia. I did a Google search and was directed to the UK in Australia website’s FAQ section. I found out that the system had changed recently and that due to courier charge increases, return postage envelopes were now required.

Looking through the FAQ I stumbled upon another question, unavailable to me before; How long will my Application take? To my horror, it stated 25 Working Days. I rang the consulate on their 1300 number, and to my surprise I was asked for my credit card number. As it turns out you are required to pay $9.90 BEFORE you talk to an operator. This was the last of my problems, so I accepted and was given no more useful information from the operator. My travel agent advised me that a letter with my application would possibly assist me, this was included with my application. I am not the only one to have had problems with the British High Commission and their processing of visas and customer service, and I call it customer service due to the fact that they have a Public Service Agreement Charter. Simply do a Google search for UK Visa Canberra Processing Time Forum, and you will find many people very disgruntled with the system. There is an upside to this however…

“Never do today what you can put off untill tomorrow. Delay may give clearer light as to what is best to be done.” Aaron Burr, American Statesman and Adventurer, 1756-1836

Whinging aside, this means I have re-jigged my plans, and you can view them in full at my TravBuddy page. I am now hoping to leave on February the 5th which is Thursday week. I fly straight to Ko Samui in preparation for the Full Moon Party, with Caitlin and Alex, two friends from High School. I spend about 5 days there, enough to get ready and more importantly recover. I then move onto Hanoi in Vietnam for two nights, Sapa in the mountains of the north for two nights, and then head down to Hue which will take almost a whole day on the train. I plan to stay in Hue the mid point of Vietnam for about 3-4 nights, then onto the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Hoi An.

The final city I will visit in Vietnam is Ho Chi Minh City. From Ho Chi Minh, I then plan to fly into Vientiene in Laos. From Vientiene, I am doing a fleeting tour toward the Thailand / Laos border, so I spend two nights in Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang and then cross over into Bangkok. Becuase of my delayed departure, I am spending just three nights in Bangkok before heading to Kuala Lumpur to visit my VCA friend Govin. Govin and I will hang out in Kuala Lumpur as he is doing a large festival with Peter Wilson, the ex VCA Puppetry Head of School. He and I are planning to head to Manila in the Phillipines for three nights to party it up before I leave Asia. Govin is planning to drive me from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore to drop me at the airport and also visit his Grandparents. I then fly onto Dubai.

My altered Itinerary

I am also now planning to work in Dubai instead of London. This is due to the large amount of work available in the United Arab Emirates region. Audio Visual work is in high demand due to the large number of conferences and events that are held, and the money behind the companies over there. A past collegue has just come back from there and earns about $14,000 a month, with included accomodation, and an $80 a day allowance. I am hoping to work for one of two companies, Gearhouse Staging Connections, or Action Impact. I submitted applications this afternoon after changing my flights and other details.

Thanks for reading this far in the post. I have worked hard on trying to make this post as informational as possible, and with as little whinging as possibel. I am hoping that others can learn from my small mistakes, that have turned into trip altering problems. Please feel free to comment this post with your travel nightmare stories, at least we can have a laugh in retrospect. I look forward to sharing my experiences with you, once I actually leave the country.