Tips for getting a visa when there's no embassy in one's country of residence

Question

I'm looking for general tips about how to get a visa cheaply when there are no embassies in one's country of residence. This has prevented us from getting visas more than one time. Think e.g. non-EU citizen living in Malta, a small country with only a handful of embassies and (expensive) flying being the only option to travel to neighbouring countries.

Some observations:

• The "standard" way to get the visa would be to travel to a neighbouring country (Italy in the case of Malta) two times: once to apply, and one to collect the visa. (Note that the passport is needed for return, hence the need for going again to collect it instead of trying to get the passport mailed back).

• Embassies don't seem to be open officially to applications either in mail or through a third person.

• From the answers I get I have the impression that the people working at embassies are often not confident about what is allowed in what isn't. Perhaps sometimes they say no to reuqests such as sending the application through a third person only to "be safe". I'm not really sure how to handle them. They might give different replies when calling twice ...

• There tend to be honorary consulates in small countries, often managed by companies, which may or may not be helpful with this. One time they offered a 200 EUR service fee, which was actually several times the visa fee and not worth it ...

So do any of you have experience with this? Have you been in a similar situation? Do you have any tips on how to avoid travelling abroad twice (very costly!!) to get a visa when there's no local embassy?

Answer 1

Quite often there are agencies that can deal with the problem for you (you see a problem, they see a solution!).

For example, it's quite likely that you may live in a country that doesn't have an Uzbekistan embassy or high commision. Or Tajikstan. Or Kazakhstan. If you're headed to central Asia, that either means dealing with them at the borders (you can get an on-arrival visa at Bishkek's airport in Kyrgyzstan) or applying for them in neighbouring countries when you get closer.

Or you could use a company like StanTours who can handle visa applications and invitations (Uzbekistan) for all central Asian countries. A lot of backpackers I met had used them.

You could also mail (make sure to track it) your passport and application to a friend or travel agency in the town that DOES have an embassy, and ask them to drop it off for you. I've done that for friends at the Russian and Zambian consulates in London, and have had it done for me for my first Tajikistan visa.

A final trick is to contact YOUR country's embassy in the country you want to go to (or closest). This applies also to any help you may need from your embassy. For example, I required assistance when in Bolivia last year. However there was no NZ services there. I contacted the NZ High Commisions in Santiago, Chile and Buenos Aires, Argentina instead, and they were able to help me from there, and also liase with the Australian and British High Commisions in Bolivia. SO as in that example, sometimes other countries' embassies can still help you out. And at the very least, they may be able to give you some ideas on how to achieve visas in your unique situation.