MartyConnelly
martyconnelly at shaw.ca
Sat Mar 8 19:48:01 CST 2003
I would write it off as the cost of doing business, it isn't worth the hassle to complain about some minor functionary or bureaucrat who probably doesn't understand all the rules and is too afraid to ask. I have run into the same thing with Canadian External Affairs in embassies overseas and got into arguments, only to find out it was local citizens handling the Visa sections run by one Canadian national who was too busy to oversee them what with all his demands of having to attend functions at the local Jockey club and golf course. Lodging a complaint against External Affairs is generally useless unless you threaten them with a press expose or high political action from their minister. I would get your partner to complain through his Dutch member of parliament, if you really wanted to raise the issue further. By the way the here is a description and cost of a Schengen Visa plus a pdf of the form from Dutch embassy in Washington. http://www.netherlands-embassy.org/article.asp?articleref=AR00000396EN Of course you could always expend some time filling in a Green Card lottery form for permanent residence in US (odds 1:100) rather than expending the time on a complaint. Better to light a candle than curse the darkness. http://www.usnis.org/ I have got my own back at times on Immigration types, once in Lagos Nigeria I was asked for dash ,mordida or baksheesh; to expedite my getting out of the country at the airport. So I reached into my throwdown wallet (in case of robbery) and pulled out a fistfull of Canadian Tire money (these are discount coupons that look like money in amounts of 10 cents through a dollar put out by an a Canadian Automotive chain store) explained to the guy I didn't have US cash but here was Canadian money. I could barely keep a straight face. Shamil Salakhetdinov wrote: >Hi All, > >I'm sorry I'm writing about that here - I just went very crazy today about >what they - Western Embassies and Consulates here and their bosses in Den >Haage (Netherlands) are doing... > >Here is a fresh story: > >- I applied for business Visum (15 days of staying, one entry) several days >ago for me and my two children(15 and 17 years old) (IMPORTANT NOTE: here >in Consualate General they ACCEPTED this application for BUSINESS visum and >they checked all the docs carefully) - to make that I prepared all the >needed paperwork, get original invitation from my partner from Netherlands >(DHL, second day delivery = rather expensive), even changed the passports to >make them fresh new (some more bucks) because at first they said that the >ones I had aren't good, PAID for their "services"(not that much but should >be enough for a rather good dinner for three I think) and I started to >wait... >And BTW I spent quite some time on all that prepations and quite some >bucks in total... > >Do you know what answer I've got today? (in fact my Netherland's partner was >called from Den Haage - Ministry of Foreign Affairs) - they said I should >have applied for TOURISTIC not BUSINESS visum because I plan to go with my >kids but as I mentioned above here they CHECKED all the docs and ACCEPTED >them... > >Should I fight with them looking for truth with the risk to be written in >their "black lists" forever? >Or should I give up and accept the "rules" of their game? - there is a whole >business around them here - and one (including any kinds of criminals etc.) >can buy for money any kind of Visum and freely enter West Europe or States >or Canada... > >I wanted to make it direct and according to all the laws and I didn't want >to pay to the "shadow business around them" any extra money - and I've got >NOTHING - or I'd better say I and my partner in Netherlands got real >mockery... And they were harsh not only with me - they were that hostile >with my Netherland's partner too - how it comes? > >Shamil > >P.S. I know, probably Russian Embassies do something like that there in West >Europe - but should it justify what they are doing here these ambassadors of >"civilized" free world? > >-- >e-mail: shamil at smsconsulting.spb.ru >Web: http://www.smsconsulting.spb.ru/shamil_s > > >_______________________________________________ >AccessD mailing list >AccessD at databaseadvisors.com >http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd >Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com > > >