sábado, maio 22

DUBAI - THE VISA NIGHTMARE

A great friend of mine is relocating from Dubai to South Africa, after living in the Gulf for 8 years, they decided it is time to up sticks and leave.

Living in Bahrain, I am only 50 minutes away from Dubai and the idea of attending her farewell party was to exciting to ignore. I would be able to say bye, and see other friends that are very close to my heart, all at once.

The big problem with Dubai is the bureaucracy to get the visa. Being a female Brazilian sure does not help. Last year I went to Dubai with the intention to say these same people, and was stopped at the airport. Immigration officials decided I was too much of a risk to let me in the country.

This time I decided to get a pre visa, if I had it already stamped in my passport, the chances of being "deported"would decrease. Off I went to the UAE embassy, to get it all sorted. To my dismay, the embassy in Bahrain decided not to issue visas and had the nerves to tell me they took this decision, to "improve service levels"...

I left the embassy spitting nails, so I decided to go to a friend's house to relax!

Do you know how sometimes friendships help you get through issues? well, I used a very famous strategy, called " moaning and swearing"...

I was so upset I failed to respect the fact Rose had another visitor at her home. S is a lovely Indian woman. Polite, discreet, and more important than any other quality, she was not easily scared. She quietly watched me have a fit, and when I finished she just said:

- I work for an airline, would you like me to try to arrange your visa?

If I would LIKE her to try to get my visa? I would LOVE her to try. And would LOVE HER for trying.

A couple of days went by, and I got a phone call:

- Inaie, it is all arranged. Your visa will be issued on arrival.

I could not believe my luck. Coincidence (destiny, God - whatever you want to call it) had her in the right place at the right time.

Dubai, here I come!!!

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