Frankly Mr. Shankly

Right then, about all I have left for my trip to Yemen is to get my visa.

I figured I would be getting it soon as the paperwork I sent had been signed for by the Consulate of the Republic of Yemen on January 9th. Then, bright and early this morning the telephone rang and from that point on I felt a little like Arthur Dent when he discovered his house was to be bull-dozed.

I’ve nobody to blame but myself. I made the rookie mistake of being honest. When asked on the application, I told them that I was going to be in Yemen for 12 months and that I was going there to study Arabic. And there begins the bull-dozing of my house.

A consulate employee called at about 6:35am (Pacific) and left a message informing me that there was a problem with my visa and that I should contact them after 10am (Eastern). I checked the answering machine right after he called and returned his call immediately. Of course, immediately happened to be 15 minute to 10am (Eastern) and I was promptly asked to call back in about 30 minutes.

Fair enough, he did say after 10am. When I called back the employee in question explains to me that since I am going to be a student, my school in Yemen would need to make my visa application. Not wanting to delay issuance of my visa, I told him not to worry about a 12 month student visa and asked him to just issue me a 3 month tourist visa.

Unfortunately, Mr. Consulate Employee informs me that he knows that I will be a student and that he can’t just ignore the application and issue me a tourist visa. I was trapped by his unflappable logic and my own willing suspension of disbelief. It was at this moment I expected a pitch for a bribe, but no such luck.

So now I’ve emailed CALES and told them of my situation and asked that they do whatever it is that they have to do to get me a visa. At this point I’m not holding my breath as I came across a recent blog (recent as in this month) where the writer says she had to switch from CALES to the Yemen Language Center because CALES couldn’t get her a visa.

What then, are my choices? Firstly, I suppose I must wait for a reply from CALES. If I get a positive reply, all my worries are over. If I get a negative reply, I will contact either SIAL or YLC and see if they can get the necessary paperwork to the Yemeni consulate in Washington DC. Worst case scenario, I will just get my passport back from the consulate and take my flight to Sana’a and hope to be issued a visa at the airport.

If anybody has bothered to read this far and you are planning on studying in Yemen, just apply for a tourist visa through your embassy and let your school change your residency AFTER you’re in Yemen! I beg of you – don’t end up like me – a statistical reminder of a bureaucracy that doesn't care.