[IGFmaglist] Concerns related to visa for Indonesia

[Sanja Kelly]

I will echo what others have said. I have heard from at least 10 civil society organizations from around the world who have had extremely hard time getting their visas. As most NGOs don't have funds to travel to another country, and then wait for days until their visa is processed, I am very concerned and think we need to discuss this asap.

I appreciate that our Indonesian hosts are trying to deal with this, but the problems seems to persist.

Sanja


Sanja Tatic Kelly

Project Director, Freedom on the Net

Freedom House

________________________________
From: Igfmaglist [igfmaglist-bounces at intgovforum.org] on behalf of Kossi Amessinou [amessinoukossi at yahoo.fr]
Sent: Thursday, October 03, 2013 3:14 PM
To: Patrick Ryan
Cc: MAG List IGF; KI Ditj Aptel Anthonius Malau; Ditj Aptika Kiki (Rizki Ameliah); MAG List IGF; KI DJOKO AGUNG
Subject: Re: [IGFmaglist] Concerns related to visa for Indonesia


This problem ils global. I suggest to indonesia goverment to help us.



Le jeudi 3 octobre 2013, Patrick Ryan <patrickryan at google.com<mailto:patrickryan at google.com>> a écrit :
> Hi all,
> To add to Veronica's point, I'm also hearing more about this concern.  Could we set up a call to discuss the resolution of this topic?  I fear that a resolution sometime next week is too late.  Many people in these countries are holding off from making their travel commitments because of this uncertainty, and I fear that a resolution of this next week may be too late for many.
> Our Titi Akinsanmi (now at Google, and a former MAG member) is another example similar to Veronica's.  Titi holds a Nigerian passport and Nigeria is not on the list of countries eligible for Visa on Arrival.  To complicate things, Titi will be flying from South Africa, and the airlines rigorously verify credentials at check-in and often upon boarding the plane.  So even a new dispensation to allow Nigerian nationals a Visa on Arrival will not work in her case because the airlines and other checkpoints are likely to stop her from getting on the plane.  Titi is constantly traveling on business, and needs her passport for that, and getting a visa for her is practically very, very hard.
> Could we set up a call to discuss the best way to process cases like Veronica and Titi?  The pragmatist in me doesn't think that we can come up with a global solution given the time-----but we should, hopefully, be able to create a process for rapid processing of special cases like Veronica and Titi and others.  If we could identify a couple people with the MInistry of Foreign Affairs in Indonesia who can correspond directly with individuals in this situation and resolve their dilemmas (which are likely to be unique in each case), I'll bet that most of the problems can be solved quickly.
>
> Sincerely,
> Patrick
> ------
> patrick ryan
> public policy & gov't relations sr. counsel, free expression and int'l relations
> patrickryan at google.com<mailto:patrickryan at google.com> | +1.512.751.5346
>
> On Thu, Oct 3, 2013 at 7:33 AM, <moedjiono at gmail.com<mailto:moedjiono at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>> Dear Ms. Veronica,
>> Referring to Indonesian regulation and special case of IGF meeting, MCIT has sent letter to MoFA and Director General (Department) of Immigration to solve several cases like yours. We would like to ease the visa process. Hopefully, you will get good news next week. Thank you.
>> Best regards,
>> Moedjiono
>> Powered by Telkomsel BlackBerry®
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: Veronica Cretu <veronicacretu at gmail.com<mailto:veronicacretu at gmail.com>>
>> Date: Thu, Oct 3, 2013 at 2:53 AM
>> Subject: [IGFmaglist] Concerns related to visa for Indonesia
>> To: "Igfmaglist at intgovforum.org<mailto:Igfmaglist at intgovforum.org>" <Igfmaglist at intgovforum.org<mailto:Igfmaglist at intgovforum.org>>
>>
>>
>> Dear MAG colleagues, greetings!
>> I have just arrived back this morning from Kiev, Ukraine where I approached Indonesian Embassy and asked for support in facilitating the visa issuing process.
>> In line with my not very positive experience, I would like to urge Indonesian colleagues to follow up with MFA and their Embassies abroad and:
>> - At LEAST inform their posts about the upcoming event  (dates, place, what is  IGF, etc);
>> - Ask Embassies to provide support in getting visas the same day - especially in cases when people come from a country that does not have an Indonesian Embassy and have a long distance to drive (in my case 1000 km both ways).
>> Indonesian Embassy in Kiev/Ukraine refused to give me the visa (regardless of the letter from UN, etc.). They did not say from the very beginning that they are not going to issue it there, in Ukraine, They accepted all the documents/papers and kept me in the city till 5 PM in the afternoon, asking me to call them and check each 30-40 minutes whether there is any news (me being on roaming) instead of allowing me to explain/give more details/talk to Ambassador, Council, etc. The final answer was that they need confirmation from the Indonesian Embassy in Romania on whether or not they agree with Ukrainian side issuing the visa for me, and that the final confirmation from Romania might come in several days.
>>
>> I consider that if a country accepts to host an event like IGF, it takes all aspects into consideration, treats all stakeholders interested to contribute, engage and participate with respect and makes everything that it takes to have a smooth, professional and rapid response when it comes to visas!
>>
>> I do really hope that the 2013 IGF in Indonesia will be far more enjoying and exciting than my visa related experience:)!
>> I will keep contributing online and provide whatever support I can during the IGF via remote participation/support/coordination!
>> With very best,
>> Veronica
>>
>> --
>> Veronica Cretu
>> President, "CMB" Training Center,
>> Republic of Moldova - www.cmb.md<http://www.cmb.md>
>>
>> Member of the Steering Committee,
>> Open Government Partnership (OGP);
>> http://www.opengovpartnership.org/governance-staff-donors
>>
>> Member of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group
>> To the Internet Governance Forum (IGF)

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