So it turns out, that trusting the sources on the internet proved me wrong! Because I am slightly paranoid whenever there is a visa required… I contacted a visa company and asked them to assist me with my visa for Djibouti. Their response was, as a South African citizen you will require a UK visa + a Schengen visa issued out of France. OMG! Instant panic stations!
So I did what any normal person would do… first checked if its possible for me to cancel my return flight from Addis Ababa to Djibouti. Darnit, its a non-refundable ticket. Argh!!!
Next google frantically in the hope that I will find some sort of direction and eventually realizing I could just call the Dept of International Relations and hope someone nice answers and will feel my desperation at this stage.
So I dialled, and what a blessing, the chap who answered could not have been kinder. First he advises that I call the Djibouti representative in South Africa, and only if I failed must I call a friend of his who is at the East Africa desk. So dial the first number, only to be answered by a receptionist at a warehouse company. Argh again!!!
Next up, the lady at the East Africa desk! Ring… Ring … and Answered (by the nicest lady ever! Woohoo). She had a wealth of information. She was just as shocked as I was about having to apply for a UK and Schengen visa and pretty much chuckled under her breath. So she directs me to a search for the Djibouti Embassy in Addis Ababa, I get the number and dial.
YAY some joy… according to the Visa desk in Addis Ababa, all we need to do is present ourselves at the Djibouti Embassy in Addis, along with our passports, flight schedule, proof of accommodation and 95USD and a day later we will be issued with a visa!
So whether we will reach this country or not depends solely in the hands of the person dealing with our application in Addis Ababa. Worst case scenario, I suppose we can just extend our stay in Ethiopia!
I suppose thats the joys of travel, forever learning! Still couldn’t help but feel like I needed a book called Djibouti Visas for Dummies 🙂
LOL this is something that could happen to me! I dont know anything about Dijbouti so hope you get your visa and you can post about it very soon. Good luck!
LikeLike
I sure hope all works out… for now plan of action is to book a refundable hotel so if we fail we can cancel at the very last moment!
LikeLike
There is always so many different information on visas and some can be misleading to which in turn lead to cancellation of our plan to that country, same happened with us, we wanted to fly to Ukraine but some travel agent mislead is so we will now travel to Thailand instead 🙂
LikeLike
Thailand is most certainly a favorite! Enjoy the great food and hospitality. Hope you get to Ukraine soon though!
LikeLike
Luckily you managed to contact the Visa desk and hopefully received the correct information for the visa. It’ll be an adventure, I’m sure of it! : )
LikeLike
I sure hope I did! but either way… we are prepared for a bit of fun and games when heading to the Embassy
LikeLike
this is an experience, sometimes when we are stress or pressured we forget the major things to do first. hopefully it won’t happen to me. I love your story 🙂
LikeLike
Glad you enjoyed the story! thats so true. And I think when I heard the lengths we had to go to my mind just froze over.
I sure hope this never happens to you or anyone in fact
LikeLike
Thank you, take care and happy travelling 😀
LikeLike
I totally feel you. As an Indian passport holder, I am always concerned about visa issues as well, it just seems like such a burden! But, I am glad you have learnt from these experiences and that’s what matters at the end of the day:)
LikeLike
Are there a lot of limitations on an Indian Passport?
Visas are my pet peeve! I know this sounds horrible but if I can avoid a country that requires a visa I will!
LikeLike
Why do places make things so complicated.. What happened to the simple version. Its great that you put this up, no one really thinks of this. I would have been in panic mode if I called as well.
LikeLike
lol, I’m glad someone else out there would have panicked as well. To be honest, I always feel that visas should be easily attained… I mean after all I want to come to your country so let me in!!!!
LikeLike
Haha what an experience!! I can feel you!! At the end its a good math for us 🙂
LikeLike
living and learning 🙂
LikeLike
Ah Survarna, this story made me giggle – I love your writing style! The pressure and panic is so real because you always want everything to work out and don’t wan to be caught in anything illegal! Great write up!
LikeLike
Thanks Yeshi 🙂 Glad you enjoy the way I write! Sometimes I feel its a bit too much into my head 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ohhh that is the worst! Nothing frustrates me more than visa’s and their complexity. Every country you learn something new for sure 🙂 Thanks for the info 😀
LikeLike
you are most welcome 🙂 There should be some way we could avoid all this paperwork… but it is what it is
LikeLike
Ah! What an experience!
LikeLike
As a traveler, my first concern is not the flight ticket rates but the Visa formalities and I am glad you shed light on the Visa process so well.
LikeLike
you are most welcome
LikeLiked by 1 person
When it comes to Visa I always go through Official visa websites that the gov supplies rather than rely on opinions. Glad you were able to get yours sorted and hope you have a great time
LikeLike
Sadly there are no official websites or even an embassy here! but all sorted and eagerly waiting for the date to come
LikeLiked by 1 person
I work in a company that deals with data of Djibouti. Never thought of traveling to the country. May I get to hear more from you soon 🙂
LikeLike
most definitely. I will be posting in detail about my trip. We are traveling over Christmas and New Years.
LikeLike
I love that you wrote a blog about this, I definitely think this is something people look up quite often especially getting a visa for another country.
LikeLike
I usually am so calm when it comes to visa applications because that is pretty much all one can do, but this time I was completely thrown!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I reading this panicking for you too lol, glad you received some clarification. I really hate having visa issues, luckily I have to to had too many problems. Looking forward to your blogs on to Addis Ababa to Djibouti.
LikeLike
Sorry to hear you have had issues as well. It really is rather unnecessary but it is what it is!
Stay tuned… I am super excited about this one!
LikeLike
Visas can be soooo frustrating, with all the various rules and complexities. This post really made me laugh though. xx
LikeLike
haha, glad I got someone to laugh over it. In the end I sat back and chuckled at my reactions
LikeLike
this is learning for all the travelers ! Visas stuff are always frustrating to me and i always want to skip that part while traveling
LikeLike
Oh no! Sounds like a hassle… hope you get your visa soon to go to your next destination!
LikeLike
I haven’t encountered this kind of scenario and just what you have said that traveling is really a learning. Through our experiences while on road, it gives us a wider perspective in life. Anyway, I hope that your visa application will be approved. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
LikeLike
Oh, Etiopia sounds so interesting!!
LikeLike
Pingback: Roaming Our Earth Travel Interview | Digital Travel Guru