Tourist visa woes
Baya Agarwal; April 25, 2009
Visa applicants outside the VFS application centre. Photo by: Baya Agarwal
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If you walk past Bateman building in SOHO Square and observe a long queue of people sleeping on the pavement, do not mistake them to be homeless or beggars, they are prospective travellers, in fact.
Sleeping bags, umbrella shelters, blankets, packed food - this is what best describes the sight of the VFS Netherlands Visa application centre.
London, otherwise known to play host to a city of workaholics, is also known to be the one making best use of vacations.
It begins to celebrate its vacations, months prior to their arrival and that explains why getting a travel visa is quite tough during these frenzied times.
Tourist Visa
During the recent Easter break, it appeared as if the whole of London was planning to holiday in the Netherlands.
As the rush of visa applications increased, the Netherlands Visa Application centre declared it would accept only 40 applications on first-come, first-serve basis.
Every year during the holidays, embassies of neighbouring countries become stricter when it comes to accepting and granting visas.
Most people are not dissuaded by these decisions though. As long as they ultimately get their visa, they do not mind queuing up hours before the visa application centre opens.
If you go there you realise that carrying blankets, sleeping bags and food is just as important to the visa applicants as carrying their documents for their application.
Lin L I, who has been to the VFS office thrice but has failed to make it to the first 40, does not mind trying it for the fourth time. He says, "This is my fourth time and I am the first one in the queue, so I am certain I will get the visa."
Lin queued up at midnight to make sure he does not go back disappointed this time. He is not the only one - if you talk to people standing in the queue, then you will find out that most of them have been in the queue before.
So, if you are planning to get a tourist visa, make sure that you not just plan your trip well in advance but also queue up well in advance to submit your application.
