Do something about visa inequality
AS a Namibian living abroad, your newspaper helps me to keep in touch with news from home thanks to the Internet.
I can also listen to Radio Kudu via Internet and hopefully NBC will
follow their examples and upgrade to this feature in the near
future too.
I'm not writing because I miss news from home though, but
because I have a complaint about Visas.
We Namibians require visas for all European countries except the
UK.
To my surprise Namibians need a visa to enter Germany - after
all there are some Germans who live half year in Namibia and half
year in Germany and yet wish to be called Namibians.
The list of countries where Namibians must have a Visa before
entering is endless compared to ONLY six countries where Namibians
don't need a visa prior.
Why this unfairness? One might argue that Namibia benefits from
tourism hence it waves visas for foreigners visiting Namibia.
But why should we apply for visas to countries whose nationals
do not need a visa to enter Namibia? Is the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs doing something about this or do they actually not bother
because most Government officials travel on diplomatic passports?
Getting a visa is not only time consuming but expensive too.
Beside the whole thing is just really annoying after a time -
especially when work requires you to travel a lot on the spur of
the moment.
I find it discriminating and selfish that most European
countries want their nationals to go to African countries without
visas but yet don't want to let Africans visit or transit their
countries without visas.
As a tourist to Germany e.g. I pay for the visa, hotel, food,
transport and of course some shopping, but the German tourist to
Namibia skips the visa fees.
At least they ought to pay entrance fees when they get that
"entry stamp" instead of visa fees.
This will probably make the whole thing sound equal and will
definitely contribute to Government revenue.
Even better would be if countries whose nationals need no visas
to enter Namibia MUST also wave visas for Namibians.
I hope this letter will start our Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and our High Commissioners and Ambassadors to start thinking about
the issue or to negotiate harder.
I'm not writing because I miss news from home though, but because I
have a complaint about Visas. We Namibians require visas for all
European countries except the UK. To my surprise Namibians need a
visa to enter Germany - after all there are some Germans who live
half year in Namibia and half year in Germany and yet wish to be
called Namibians. The list of countries where Namibians must have a
Visa before entering is endless compared to ONLY six countries
where Namibians don't need a visa prior. Why this unfairness? One
might argue that Namibia benefits from tourism hence it waves visas
for foreigners visiting Namibia. But why should we apply for visas
to countries whose nationals do not need a visa to enter Namibia?
Is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs doing something about this or do
they actually not bother because most Government officials travel
on diplomatic passports? Getting a visa is not only time consuming
but expensive too. Beside the whole thing is just really annoying
after a time - especially when work requires you to travel a lot on
the spur of the moment. I find it discriminating and selfish that
most European countries want their nationals to go to African
countries without visas but yet don't want to let Africans visit or
transit their countries without visas. As a tourist to Germany e.g.
I pay for the visa, hotel, food, transport and of course some
shopping, but the German tourist to Namibia skips the visa fees. At
least they ought to pay entrance fees when they get that "entry
stamp" instead of visa fees. This will probably make the whole
thing sound equal and will definitely contribute to Government
revenue. Even better would be if countries whose nationals need no
visas to enter Namibia MUST also wave visas for Namibians. I hope
this letter will start our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our High
Commissioners and Ambassadors to start thinking about the issue or
to negotiate harder.