Urgent request for help about visa on arrival!!!!!!!
Replies: 25 - Last Post: Sep 29, 2012 6:51 PM Last Post By: NgaDef
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Urgent request for help about visa on arrival!!!!!!!
Hello, we are at airport and they are telling us that visa on arrivals have been stopped. Is this true? We haven't heard anything! We had to beg to be allowed on the flight and worry if they will let us on the connecting flight in Istanbul.We have British and New zealand passports. Can anyone advice us as we will lose thousands and a holiday we have been looking forward to for months.
1
I can't see from your post which country this is about, so please state that clearly.I take it that you are being refused by your airline. Airlines are fairly careful about these rules, but some are better informed than others. See if you can telephone British Airways or Air France, since in my experience these two airlines have good and up-to-date visa information.
Once you are in Istanbul, you MIGHT find that the airline staff there are less careful about checking visas than the staff where you are now. If so, that would still leave you the problem of dealing with Immigration once you arrive. Otherwise, you would need something official from the country in question to confirm that you would be admitted, and since embassies are closed on Saturdays that could be difficult.
If it is any consolation, Istanbul is a fantastic holiday destination, and even though you had not planned a holiday in Turkey that would be a great deal better than nothing. Or you might end up having an interesting city-break there until you can get a visa and continue to your final destination.
3
Its the first I've heard of it and I'm sure I would have heard if things had changed. I would try my travel consultant but I know she's in the UK now. Try the KLM staff at Amsterdam they would know if the rules had changed. Hopefully you will get sorted. Come back if you need me to track down my consultant and check.4
I have checked on the Air France web site and it still says that visa on arrival is available (page in French at http://www.airfrance.co.uk/GB/en/common/guidevoyageur/pratique/visa_document_airfrance.htm)The KLM site says the same.
I am fairly confident that your airline has got it wrong, so perhaps the staff at Istanbul will be better informed.
Unfortunately the web page for the Kenyan embassy in the UK says nothing about visa on arrival.
KLM link here:
http://www.klm.com/travel/gb_en/prepare_for_travel/travel_planning/travel_clinic/timatic.htm
Edited by: Voyager_2002
5
..... I've done a search and can't see a recent change to regulations.The usual stuff like onward ticket, $50 charge, means to support yourself while in Kenya etc, no changes.
Good luck.
6
I got a visa on arrival in Feb- visas on arrival for Kenya have been easily available for years. As a regular on a number of different travel forums (including safari specific ones) I haven't heard about any changes to the rules- and I am pretty sure someone would have posted about it.If your airline is wrong (which I very much suspect) make sure you complain to them afterwards- this really is unpleasant and unnecessary stress for you.
Good luck and please come back and let us know what happens.
7
Hi this has got to be a mistake/misunderstanding.Tourism is critical to the Kenyan economy, to introduce such a ruling overnight would be economic suicide.
Consider the hundreds, if not thousands who arrive each week expecting to get a visa on arrival, as many do. Kenyan embassies would not be in a position to cope with the number of applications. Many people will be about to depart, with no time to get an advance visa, its GOT to be a misunderstanding. It is true that SOME passport holders DO have to apply in advance, but these are very few, and are from countries that will see few (if any!) visitors to Kenya
Ivan
8
No it's not a mistake - both Kenya and Tanzania have been telling the airlines to "discuss" with all inbound passengers their visa status. If you have been to either country recently and have previously had a visa (issued on arrival) then they let you go. This happened to me in Sydney back in June - but since I had both a tourist visa and a non-resident "C" permit in my passport (admittedly both now expired) I was allowed to fly.The strict interpretation of the immigration/diplomatic situation is that if the country you are going to, has an embassy or consulate located in your country of residence then you "should" get your entry visa BEFORE you travel. These countries (Kenya and Tanzania) are really scratching for any extra hard currency they can get to cover the costs associated with operating their overseas embassies/consulates. So if the up the number of visas issued in advance (at a significant premium to the cost in Nairobi or Dar es Salaam) goes up the more "extra" dollars/pounds/euros they will get. As a travelling passenger you just have to be a little firmer and state that there is nothing that "specifically says you have to get a visa in advance" then you will usually be permitted to fly. However its my belief that there will be a change in the near future to enforce the visa in advance rules. Watch this space!!
11
Hi, "there is nothing that "specifically says you have to get a visa in advance", exactly, the Kenya Immigration web site currently states specifically that visas WILL be issued on arrival (for "most" visitors).Ivan
13
I found two Kenyan government websites that address this issue, but they seem contradictory. The first one clearly states that qualified visitors may obtain a visa on arrival (D. Visitors); the second one implies that if there is a Kenyan embassy in your home country, you need to get your visa in advance:http://www.immigration.go.ke/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102&Itemid=140
http://www.tourism.go.ke/ministry.nsf/pages/visa_information_centre
