The INDIAN VISA: Fleeced by the NZ Consulate

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The INDIAN VISA: Fleeced by the NZ Consulate

In Turkey, 120 Lira (NZ$140) will do quite a lot for you. You could happily buy yourself ...

120 kilos of the juiciest delectable mediterranean oranges
33 chicken kebabs, an essential staple in our daily diet
15 kilograms of Benj's favourite touristic Lemon Turkish Delight
8 person lunch at a cute touristic wine making village, Waiheke Island style
6 entries into Aya Sophia, one of Turkeys world class heritage buildings
4 five hour bus trips across Turkey
3 nights in a private Cappadocian cave room, with private bathroom facilities

2 pieces of A4 paper from the NZ Consulate, regurgitating the information contained in your passport, officially 'introducing' you to the Indian visa issuing process.


The time it took to decide whether to abandon our Indian plans delayed the 15 minutes it took for the new office assistant to produce these precious documents from the printer.

Calling this corruption would be absolutely uncalled for in an honest country like New Zealand, as we were given an official looking receipt and a sympathetic shrug. Fleeced would be the right term, and given the cold wintery days in Istanbul, we were feeling very deprived of the fluffy lining of our pockets.

We are not sure whether to be more appreciative to the Indian border authorities who require such bureacratic recycling fodder, or to our very own instrument of offshore governmental affection.

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Photos

Go Helen
Underneath Helen's attractive (and technologically assisted) visage, Arlene is almost feeling at home in this little piece of New Zealand in Turkey.

Authority
Sporting letters of empowerment from the Queen's representative, and a letter from none other than Winston Peters thanking the consul for the nice lunch, this office is the real thing.

The letter of Introduction
This is it!! A Styly A4 print out, using nice formal language wıth a swirley racing stripe that adds the wow factor to your visa application.

And the other bit
A real receipt - a "New Zealand Government Official Receipt Overseas", no less.

Comments

[karen richmond]

what 140 dollars would buy you in Bolivia
A LOT!!!!!!!! Our huge ensuite room with cable is $3.00 US tonight!!!!! Steak lunch was $2.00 US Love reading the blog, it makes us smile. Karen & Marcel Lake Titicaca