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#1
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Rant about Spanish visa rules
If I want to spend 90 days in Spain, I just go there. Easy.
If I want to spend 91 days in Spain, I assemble half a kilogram of documentation: http://tinyurl.com/Visa-for-Spain and then wait two to four months to see if it's approved. And even though the approval (or not) comes from people in the Spanish consulate in USA (who speak English fairly well), they require "certified" translations of everything. Even though I speak Spanish well, I'm not anxious to translate umpteen pages of insurance policy. Not to mention getting someone to "certify" it. There must be a better way. |
#2
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Rant about Spanish visa rules
On 08-13-2016 20:05, Happy.Hobo wrote:
There must be a better way. And that way is NOT posting a €50K bond with Andorra to allow staying longer than ninety days. |
#3
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Rant about Spanish visa rules
On 2016-08-14 01:05:47 +0000, Happy.Hobo said:
If I want to spend 90 days in Spain, I just go there. Easy. If I want to spend 91 days in Spain, I assemble half a kilogram of documentation: http://tinyurl.com/Visa-for-Spain and then wait two to four months to see if it's approved. And even though the approval (or not) comes from people in the Spanish consulate in USA (who speak English fairly well), they require "certified" translations of everything. Even though I speak Spanish well, I'm not anxious to translate umpteen pages of insurance policy. Not to mention getting someone to "certify" it. There must be a better way. I have no specific knowledge about Spanish visa requirements for visitors from the USA, but I would guess that it's reciprocal, that Spain just imposes the same requirements, whether silly or not, that the USA imposes on visitors from Spain. That's how it works for numerous countries. For a long time Brazilians had to go in person to Brasilia to get a US visa, and the US authorities were deaf to protests that Brazil is a very large country and that nearly all of its citizens live a long way from Brasilia. Eventually the Brazilians said OK, US citizens wanting to visit Brazil need to go in person to Washington DC to get their visas, with no exceptions for Alaska or Hawaii. After that I think the silly rule was dropped. Likewise countries whose citizens have to pay to enter the USA require US citizens to pay an equivalent amount. It gets quite expensive if you want to visit several countries in South America on the same trip. On leaving the flight in Chile, for example, there is a big notice with flags of USA, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Albania saying that their citizens have to pay before going through immigration. I was quite surprised to see Albania on that list, but presumably it's reciprocal. Anyway the fee is only $5 for Albanians, about $30 for Mexicans, and a lot more for the others. I expect that the sort of Albanian who can afford to fly to Chile can also afford $5. -- athel |
#4
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Rant about Spanish visa rules
On 08-20-2016 06:03, Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote:
On 2016-08-14 01:05:47 +0000, Happy.Hobo said: If I want to spend 90 days in Spain, I just go there. Easy. If I want to spend 91 days in Spain, I assemble half a kilogram of documentation: http://tinyurl.com/Visa-for-Spain and then wait two to four months to see if it's approved. And even though the approval (or not) comes from people in the Spanish consulate in USA (who speak English fairly well), they require "certified" translations of everything. Even though I speak Spanish well, I'm not anxious to translate umpteen pages of insurance policy. Not to mention getting someone to "certify" it. There must be a better way. I have no specific knowledge about Spanish visa requirements for visitors from the USA, but I would guess that it's reciprocal, that Spain just imposes the same requirements, whether silly or not, that the USA imposes on visitors from Spain. The "specific knowledge" is on their website, which I linked to. Nothing on it suggests it is rules for Americans. And while I have no doubt USA has excessive paperwork,¹ I doubt it's as ridiculous as Spain's. The most ridiculous part is that one can show up with nothing but a passport and stay 90 days, but for 91, three months of preparation and a ton of paperwork. ¹A bureaucrat is someone who cuts red tape—lengthwise. |
#5
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Rant about Spanish visa rules
"Happy.Hobo" wrote in message ... On 08-20-2016 06:03, Athel Cornish-Bowden wrote: On 2016-08-14 01:05:47 +0000, Happy.Hobo said: If I want to spend 90 days in Spain, I just go there. Easy. If I want to spend 91 days in Spain, I assemble half a kilogram of documentation: http://tinyurl.com/Visa-for-Spain and then wait two to four months to see if it's approved. And even though the approval (or not) comes from people in the Spanish consulate in USA (who speak English fairly well), they require "certified" translations of everything. Even though I speak Spanish well, I'm not anxious to translate umpteen pages of insurance policy. Not to mention getting someone to "certify" it. There must be a better way. I have no specific knowledge about Spanish visa requirements for visitors from the USA, but I would guess that it's reciprocal, that Spain just imposes the same requirements, whether silly or not, that the USA imposes on visitors from Spain. The "specific knowledge" is on their website, which I linked to. no you haven't - it doesn't work |
#6
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Rant about Spanish visa rules
On 08-20-2016 11:37, tim... wrote:
The "specific knowledge" is on their website, which I linked to. no you haven't - it doesn't work Hmmm, interesting. It did work the other day. The original (LOOONG) URI is a blank now, too. Oh, well. Basically, it was a page-and-a-half list of documents one had to present, all "certified translations" into Spanish. And then you wait two to four months for an answer. But if you want to spend ninety days (OR if you don't care about being legal), no visa is required for citizens of many countries. |
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