A Fistful of Visas

Let’s talk about visa applications. Our little red passport is lovely, since many countries do not require a visa to visit. However, for most of where I will be going, a visa is still necessary. To avoid the hassle of running around hunting for the consulates and embassies for this next upcoming long one, I’ve started picking my way slowly through the visa jungle. I’ll update this post with the results.

26th Jan

–          Dropped by the China visa application office at Raffles Place. Application took all of 5 minutes. Come back in 4 working days.

–          Then went to the Pakistan High Commission. Seems that visas can now only be applied in home country, with validity of 90 days. Not good news for me, because If I apply now, my visa would have expired before I cross the Pakistani border. KIV – will try applying in China.

–          Wrote in to submit application for Letter of Invitation for Uzbekistan from one of the travel agencies. 14 days required to process, upon confirmation of payment.

27th Jan

–          Decided to join in the North Korea tour. It’s the Great Leader’s 100th birthday, and I want an invite to the celebrations! Sent in my details so that they can apply for a North Korea visa.

30th Jan

–          Confirmed North Korea tour with deposit, visa application ongoing!

–          Apparently the Uzbek LOI can only be done closer to entry date, from mid-Mar onwards. Not good, since I will not be in Singapore by then. Wrote in to them to see if there is some way to get it done earlier.

1st Feb

–          Picked up China visa. Success! 6 month multiple entry China visa. *Dance dance!*

–          The Kazakhstan embassy. Dropped by the Kazakh embassy and applied for a 1 month tourist single entry visa. I was the only one at the Consular section, and after a brief interview by one officer, was told to come back on Friday.

3rd Feb

–          Doh! Kazakh visa not ready. Took half day off-work, travelled down to the embassy just to find out it’s not ready. What gives?! Come back Wedsnesday. OK.

–          On a more positive note, the tour agency wrote back and said they will be able to apply for my Uzbek LOI after all. Takes 10-12 days, after which I need to apply for the visa, which takes another 5-10 days.  I hope there are no unforeseen issues, I have no buffer days. =/

–          A Russian LOI is obtainable, and I can apply in SG. Should I? If I do I will enter up through the mouth of the Volga.

8th Feb

–          Got my Kazakh visa! Had a friend pick up the visa from the embassy for me. Thanks W! *Dance dance!*

–          Waiting for news of the Uzbek LOI now. Expected arrival in my email: 14th – 16th Feb.

–         On another note, I don’t understand why customs officers chop all over the passport page, the entry and exit chops can take up the full page. Normally if they are prudent, 6 chops can go in one page. At the rate they are using up my passport, I won’t have any free pages by the time I reach the Middle East…

13th Feb

–          Wrote in to ask about the LOI, and voila! Got it tonight. Early by a few days. Woohoo! Next up, a visit to the embassy!

16th Feb

–          Armed with a passport, LOI, a couple of passport photos and the visa application form, this intrepid traveller wannabe made his way to the Uzbekistan embassy. The embassy guy is friendly, and tells of the Uzbek government which has just opened a new solar energy research facility in Tashkent. And they are interested in visiting the plant I work. Wow!

Travel Info: my visa applications for central asia

The below applies to Singaporeans, and was correct at time of writing.

Application for 6 month multiple entry tourist (L) China visa. The process is pretty straightforward. Fill up an on-line form at http://www.visaforchina.org, and make an appointment. On the appointment day, bring the form, a photo and your passport. The lady issuing queue number will just check to see whether the form is filled up correctly. No return ticket or hotel booking was required. Regular collection will be 4 working days. Fee for a 6 month multiple entry visa is 70 SGD. Each entry for a maximum of 60 days.

Application for Kazakhstan visa. The Consular services require that you fill up a downloaded form, affix 1 photo, and a letter indicating your purpose of visit, places you will be visiting, type and period of visa, and contact in Kazakhstan. Also, you need to provide proof of employment (a letter from your company should suffice). No onward ticket required. You can apply for future dates of travel. (Mine was 5 months in advance). Cost is 25 USD for a single entry tourist visa. You can either pay by inter-bank transfer or by cash deposit. The latter option is better, since there will not be any extra charges. Going by inter-bank transfer will add at least 50 SGD of bank charges.

Application for Uzbekistan visa. What’s required: 2 passport photos, 2 copies of the application form, a copy of the Letter of Invitation. To get the letter of invitation, you need to contact an agent. I went through Stan Tours, which is probably the most convenient way to do it. The LOI takes 10-12 working days and costs 40 USD, to be paid through Auctionchex (which is the cheapest method with 8% service charge). The visa cost is dependent on how long a visa you need. My 1 month single entry visa costs 75 USD. Also, visit I Have Travel Lust for more useful information. Same thing as the Kazakh visa payment, do it by cash deposit through any HSBC account.