The Visa Adventures

I've heard that for some people obtaining a visa in a foreign country is very easy and for others, it is quite a process. I really don't think that the Ukranian Consulate of Budapest had any desire to make things complicated for me, and I know it could have been much worse, but it wasn't something I particulary enjoyed. Here's what happened:

Day One, Wed., visit # 1: I have the address of the Ukrainian Embassy and set off to find it. The bus numbers have been changed, and since I don't speak Hungarian, it takes me quite a while to find someone to explain to me why I can't find the number I am looking for. I finally find the right bus and find the Embassy, but am told that they need a money order from a particular bank. The guy tells me it's at the end of the bus line in a shopping center called, Mammut. I go back down the hill and find Mammut, but can't find the bank anywhere. After wandering around for 30 minutes, I finally see that there is a new "Mammut" down the street, which wasn't visible from the end of the bus line. I find the bank and wait my turn, only to be told by the teller that she won't accept my USD or my debit card and I must get out of line and go out to their ATM for Hungarian Forint. I get the cash, wait in line again and finally get the money order.

Day One, Wed., visit #2: I take the bus 25 minutes back up the hill, where, of course, the consulate is now closed. A lady takes the money order and tells me to come back on Friday and the Visa will be ready.

Day 2, Fri., visit #3. The Consulate website says that visa pickup is from 3-4 pm, so I made sure that I was there waiting for them to open. They never opened. After 30 minutes of waiting and ringing the bell to the outside gate, I finally yelled up through an open window to a woman that I heard talking in the embassy section. I asked if the website hours were wrong and she said that, "Yes, they are only open from 9-12am, so come back Mon." ugh. Back down the hill I went.

Day 3, Mon., visit # 4. I leave the house where I'm staying bright and early, take the bus 30 minutes to pick up the tram, then the tram 25 minutes to get on the metro, then the metro 15 minutes to get on the bus, then the bus 20 minutes up the hill. I walk in the door and the conversation goes like this:

Consulate guy: "We have a problem. Our computer isn't working. We cannot give you a visa today."
Me: "You said that the visa would be ready Friday."
CG: "If you had come Friday, it would have been ready Friday, but since you didn't come, we didn't do it."
Me: I did come Friday! Your website said that I could pick it up from 3-4, but your website is wrong."
CG: It's not my problem. You should have come at the right time. Call later. Maybe the computer will be fixed, but even if it is fixed, you cannot pick it up until tomorrow morning." (I was flying back to Ukraine the next day at noon, so this wasn't sounding very good for me)

So I left, took the bus back down the hill and did some sight seeing for several hours. I called, it wasn't fixed and I was tired, so I took the tram 25 minutes back to the station and then the bus 30 minutes and then walked 10 minutes to my host's house. As soon as I got there I called the consulate again and was told that the computer was now fixed and that he had decided to stay so that I could come get my visa. Ugh. So I turned around and headed back out the door, all the way back to get the visa.

Day 3, Mon., visit # 5: Praise God, I actually got the visa!

Yesterday I arrived back in Ukraine and heard the rumor that all types of Visas will become void and in September they'll be changing over to a new system of just "Short term and Long term." Oy vey. I have no desire to go through this process again anytime soon. It's too bad I can't just pay someone to do it for me, because after all of this, I'd seriously consider it!