Why I haven't been posting lately!

I know I’ve been a bit delinquent posting. In my defence I haven’t spent much time in India recently. First of all there was a glorious two weeks holiday to Australia and New Zealand. Then a mere five days in India (actually less as I arrived Monday morning and left Friday night) before heading off to the old country. There were a number of compelling reasons to return to Ireland. In chronological order

1. Get my tooth fixed (there will be an entire separate entry on this epic tale)
2. Get my work visa
3. Go to my friends wedding

The good news is that I managed to do 2 out of 3. My tooth is better than it has been in years (even pre-India), the wedding was fabulous and the bride looked beautiful (I know everybody says that but she really looked like she had stepped off one of those bridal magazines). However I am still visa-less. It is for this reason that I am still in Ireland when by rights I should be back in the Indian heat!

Fortunately I am keeping my blog reasonably anonymous so I can say that I have the wrong type of visa for the type of work I am doing in India. However this has not yet caused any major problems. Nonetheless the legal department and HR are a bit worried so after some failed attempts (well this is India the home of the most complex bureaucracy), my application was submitted on May 8th. The use of the passive is not without reason as my brother submitted on my behalf. There were a few questions via email (amazing how the Indians can use technology to sustain the inefficient practices) and then nothing. I emailed asking the status and got no reply. My Indian colleagues assured me this meant that everything was in order, for if it was not I order somebody would certainly tell me. So I planned to go up to Dublin (as I’m staying in my parents house in Cork) on Wednesday to collect the visa. However my brother suggested I post the passport up to him and he would get the visa for me. This made a lot of sense as I would have an additional day in Cork and wouldn’t have to spend like 6 hours on a train. So the passport was posted on Monday, no sign Tuesday, no sign Wednesday, post office say they can’t do anything until it’s been missing a week. Much stress – my poor brother visiting all his neighbours to see if it has gone to them by accident, also venturing out to other housing estates with similar names. All to no avail. It is totally and utterly lost. We decide if it has not appeared on Monday at 12.00, then I must declare it lost, get a new passport and then worry about Indian visa. Of course with no passport there is no hope to fly out on Sunday as originally planned. Changed my flight with KLM and I must say they were absolutely brilliant – I have a pretty cheap ticket from Delhi to Cork and they let me change and only charged me 3000 rupees (about 60 euro). Also on advice of my sister, I contact a family friend M who works in the department of foreign affairs. She approves the plan and offers any help should I run into problems.

On Monday there are multiple phone calls, I can finally call the post office who tell me they will send a case number and once I get the case number I can call them back (perhaps there is an Indian designing their customer service procedures!!) but at least they are pleasant. My brother and I have agreed that he will call me at 10.00. My poor brother only arrived home at 08.00 after the night shift so it is very decent of him to get up to check the post. However it’s 10.30 and hasn’t called; his mobile is turned off; and his home number keeps going to voice mail. Finally after persistent calling (I could definitely be a stalker) I get him. Wondrous thing – my passport has arrived, my brother will go to the Indian embassy to get visa I will be back in India on Wednesday.

Well not exactly. Indian embassy say visa is not ready and won’t say when it will be ready. I decide to go up on Tuesday as when I got my other Indian visa it was a lot quicker when the applicant went rather than the visa service (the opposite from most embassies but hey it’s India). As the embassy is very strict about it’s 12.00 noon closing time, I get the 7.00 train, my brother collects me and we battle through Dublin traffic to the Indian embassy (don’t ask me why Dublin traffic should be heavy mid-morning but it was). We arrived there I talked to the sari-clad Indian lady behind the screen.

Me: good morning, my brother came to collect my visa yesterday but there was some problem
Her: there’s no problem, it’s not ready
Me: I submitted it May 8th
Her: silence
Me: may I speak to somebody about it
Her: just sit down and wait

One hour later (20 minutes before closing) – queue up again

Me: Have you any news on the visa?
She calls somebody and after a few minutes hands the man on the other end of the phone over:
Me: Hello my name is Helenindia. Can you tell me when the visa will be ready
Him: no
Me: My manager really needs to know when I can travel to India
Him: You should not make any travel plans until the visa is approved
Me: Can you tell me the time frame?
Him: No
Me: that is not a satisfactory for my company, we have many things to plan
Him: I understand the answer is not satisfactory but that is the answer
Me: well I will communicate that message, can you tell me your name please
Him: you have no need to know my name
(How can you reply to that?)
Me: How will I know when the visa is ready?
Him: We will email you
Me: will that me in the next week or month?
Him: I cannot say
Me: do you need additional information
Him: if we need additional information, we will contact you
Me: I emailed you for the status in mid-May and got no reply
Him: you did get a reply asking a question.
Me: I replied to that email and later sent another but got no reply
Him: you should not say you got no reply (but I did, however I let it go)
Me: can you tell me what steps need to take place before you issue the visa
Him: that is internal Indian embassy policy which we do not share with outsiders
Me: is there anybody I can talk to?
Him: you have no need to talk to anybody, we will contact you when it is ready
Me: Can you tell me if it is likely to be in the next 2 weeks
Him: No, I cannot tell you that

We go back and forth for a while really getting no further. Having failed utterly to get my Indian visa, I took my receipt and passport. Then the embassy closes and I leave

I talk to M in the department of foreign affairs. She has also contacted them but only got voicemail. Her contact (an Irish person, not an Indian) told her a ghastly story about how a senior government official wanted to go to India for a conference and neither hell nor high water would persuade the Indian embassy to expedite the request. I think the applicant in question ended up missing the conference.

In addition to wonderful M calling various people, she also suggested I contact Michael Martin’s office (he is the Irish government minister for trade and industry – so responsible for work permits). His people are very helpful and promise to get back to me. Also the legal department in the US is contacting people as well as HR in India (even though the embassy man says there is nothing that needs to be done).

So now it’s Wednesday in Cork. Maybe I will return to India on Sunday or maybe not. Who knows? But at least you know why I haven’t been posting.

Every so often I planned to post but never did. Finally a comment spurred me to action. The next post should come from India but you never know!