Visas

Two visas down, one to go... 

So far it appears the majority of travellers in Bishkek are not there for the many Soviet statues (situated on just about every street corner), but are stuck in transit, waiting for their visas to be processed for Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Sad to say, we have joined that queue.

Warning: this post is going to be kinda boring for those who never intend on applying for visas in Bishkek. But hopefully it will be informative for those who would like to know the various processes, or lack thereof.

We rose bright and early to head directly to the Uzbek embassy, having been previously warned that it is the most difficult country for which to procure a visa. Lonely Planet had warned us the staff were 'far from friendly', so we were prepared for the worst. A sign on the tall and intimidating gate informed us that we must call for an appointment between 2 - 4pm, Monday to Friday. We buzzed the intercom anyway and were curtly told 'you phone!' 

Ok, new plan. We headed to the Kazakh embassy where we were informed we had to pay the $30 USD visa fee at Kazkommertsbank, a 10-15 minute taxi ride away! After rushing there and back we realised the embassy closed at 12 noon. It was now 12:10pm. Doh! 

Ok, onto Plan C. We headed to the Tajik embassy where there was no queue and we were told our visas would be ready the next day at 10am. Yay! The helpful lady at the desk even asked us if we wanted to apply for a GBAO permit (which we did, but had forgotten to do) as there was no extra fee involved. We had also applied for a 30-day visa, but she pointed out we could get a 45-day visa for the same cost, so ticked that box instead.

After leaving the Tajik embassy, we phoned the Uzbek embassy at 2pm, as per the instructions on the embassy gate. Despite these instructions, we were then told to phone back at 4pm. I said we could come in at 4pm rather than phone to which I was abruptly told 'NO COME!' And hung up on. I called back again at 4pm and was to come in the next day at 10am. 

The next day...
We got to the Tajik embassy right on 9.30am and collected our passports, freshly stamped with a shiny 45-day tourist visa with GBAO permit. The visa cost $75 USD. We then rushed to the Kazakh embassy and provided our receipt from Kazkommertsbank and our completed visa application forms, and were told to come back on Thursday 6pm to collect our visas (3 working days). 

After this, we caught a taxi to the Uzbek embassy and arrived there at 10.10am. The problem? There were seven other foreigners in line front of us who had also been given the appointment time of 10am. We had been warned we could be waiting up to three hours, so had come prepared with food, water and Kindles. We pulled out the Kindles, settled down on the dirty pavement, and waited.

The queue actually ended up moving rather quickly. Unfortunately, this was because people were getting turned away for not having the correct paperwork. We were getting a little nervous. After 40 minutes, we were finally let into the tiny office and handed over our documents, including our very important Letter of Invitation (LOI). This letter is essential for an Uzbek visa application. If you book your travel through a tour company, the company will usually organise the LOI for you. As we were not planning on doing any tours, we had to find another way of getting our LOIs. Before we left Australia, we had found a company online that organises LOIs for a fee, without you needing to book any tours. This company was called Stan Tours and they were very good. The LOI wasn't cheap, at $70 USD each, but it was worth it. Bear in mind, though,  you still need to pay the visa fee of $75 USD in addition to that.

We were required to provide a 3cm x 4cm passport photo and a photocopy of our passport (for each visa application). Some people report they were required to have a photocopy of each page of their passport that contained a stamp, but we were never asked for that. After 10 minutes, the woman handed our passports back to us and I asked when we should return to collect our visas. She gave us a blank stare. I opened my passport and there it was, in all its colourful, shiny glory... 

The Uzbek visa! 

'It is done' she growled, and we high-tailed on out of there in a state of euphoria, before she could change her mind.

Two down, one to go....