Visa complications: A nightmare for every Bangladeshi

Travelling is a refreshing experience that we all want to acquire. Countries around the world promote tourism to increase their revenues. The number of Bangladeshis travelling abroad is also rising for higher studies, medical purposes, or to visit tourist attractions.

In English, people randomly use the word "travail," which means struggle, reflecting the extreme challenges of travel in ancient times. Unfortunately, for countries like Bangladesh, we are still "travailing".

In addition to economic, political, and security issues, there have been some administrative issues that have made travelling complicated for Bangladeshis.

Visa issuance is one of the first problems faced by Bangladeshis when planning to visit another country. Excessive suffering for document processing ruins the incentive of travelling abroad. Strictness gives rise to situations where common travellers suffer.

Managing a visa is quite a frustrating experience for travellers. So much so that you may want to give up in the middle of submitting the documents for the visa application. Fear of rejection after putting in so much effort and money feels quite discouraging. 

In Bangladesh, many people want to find professionals to help with their visa applications. This is the beginning of visa-related costs. It is okay to charge service fees, but unfairly charging a large amount of money to exploit travellers is an unethical practice. Just to set up the documents, these middlemen are charging excessive fees.

Take the Thailand visa, for example. In recent times, the visa application for Thailand has become lengthy, taking 15-20 days for a response.  Besides, the visa requires a lot of documentation, and even after all sorts of effort and waiting for a long time, you may not get the visa for reasons undisclosed. Besides, you have to pay additional charges known as processing fees or service charges to the agencies authorized by the Thai Royal Embassy. But this is just one example of visa complications in Bangladesh out of many.

Imagine you have gotten a scholarship at a renowned university in Finland. Instead of applying for a long-term visa for Finland, you find yourself in front of the Indian embassy applying for an Indian passport.  

The short-term Finland Schengen visa includes a tourist visa, business visit, family visit, and official visit visa. 

The long-term visa comprises a study visa, a join-family start-up permit, scientific research, seasonal working, etc.  The short-term visas are handled by the Sweden Visa Application Center in Bangladesh, while the Finland Visa Application Center in India manages the long-term visa applications. Therefore, to make an appointment at the Finland Visa Application Center in India, you have to avail an Indian visa first.

If you are going to Portugal to work or study, you will be planning to stay longer than usual. A popular opportunity for Bangladeshi people is also the "job-seeker visa." It lets you come to Portugal and find work. While there is an Honorary Consulate of Portugal in Dhaka, long-term visa applications for Portugal from Bangladesh have to be submitted to the Embassy of Portugal in New Delhi.   

In the current condition of the country, where even film actresses like Tasnia Farin are getting their visas rejected due to political animosity, imagine the stake of a regular person like you and me having the probability of getting an Indian visa.

This is a painful tragedy for someone who has the talent to study at a renowned university but is unable to do so because of unnecessary obstacles. 

Dubai is one of the most hyped destinations for tourism all around the world. Where people from other countries are getting visas for Dubai hassle-free, some of us get our visas rejected.

A large number of unskilled labourers apply for Dubai tourist visas and then stay there even after the visa expires. This creates an overall bad reputation for the nation. Consequently, normal tourist visitors also get their visas rejected if there is any slight consistency in the visa information. 

Travelling is a fascinating part of living on Earth. It helps us flourish with new skills, grow a vast taste palate, and carry a great cultural bond. Unfortunately, travelling to foreign land has become a stressful experience for us.

Complications like having to run to India for visa applications and tons of document-related hassles need to be reduced. Let us hope Bangladesh gets the chance to rebuild its reputation and bring out positive outcomes.

z.mashkura@gmail.com