So, we’ve had the joys of filling out all manner of new things in support of our visas, this year. Last year, it was just the online form, and a visit to the Consulate in Los Angeles. This year … well, this year is different. 1) The UK has implemented an ID Card scheme for foreigners, so we’ll be required to carry around ID (which we do, in any event, because … we’re so used to carrying it in the form of our passports, and our library cards, and credit cards, etc.). But this ID is special: it requires fingerprints and, apparently, a retina scan. 2) because D. is doing research which falls under the umbrella of Computer Science, he’s had to fill out an interview for the Academic Technology Approval Scheme. This amounted to answering a bunch of questions similar to (but sneakier than) those we both answered for our visas. 3) We had to fill out the standard Visa application, which has been improved to include questions like these:
- In times of either peace or war have you, ever been involved in, or suspected of involvment in, war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide?
- Have you ever been involved in, supported or encouraged terrorist activities in any country? Have you, ever been a member of, or given support to an organisation that has been concerned in terrorism?
- Have you every, by any means or medium, expressed views that justify or glorify terrorist violence or that may encourage others to terrorist acts or other serious criminal acts?
- Have you engaged in any other activities that might indicate that you may not be considered a person of good character?
Tick yes or no.
About the only suspicious thing about D. is that he’ll take pictures of abandoned furniture and strange signs (and, unfortunately, any surveillance cameras he comes across). We’re working on this, and we doubt that anybody looks at our Flickr pictures anyway.
We have appointments to get our ID done (in Oakland!), and then should be able to either overnight or courier our passports to the Consulate in Los Angeles. They don’t accept visitors in person any more, which is truly a shame, as it means that we’ll be mailing our most important documents over Christmas. This is not something we look forward to, particularly as we need them 2 weeks into the new year! We can rejoice, though, that it’s not Parcel Force who’s doing the mail carriage.
– D & T
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Reading all of your adventures, at times, gives me the sense that my life is quite simple.
🙂
Hope it all goes well for both of you. I just don’t know with ALL of those photos 😉
: )
Reminds me of all the silly-silly-silly questions I had to fill in in May when applying for the US visa.
Do they really think someone will answer ‘yes’ to the question along the lines of “Do you plan to carry out terrorist activities in this country?” (US).???
I got the US visa for 10 years alright (and now Estonia is visa free anyway), but leaving the embassy after the interview – and the very ridiculous and dehumanising security control – I wished I had never been invited to take part at that conference.
I had nice time in the US, however, so it all turned out well at the end.
Hope your visa application procedure is smoother and more civilised..
Oh, yes, in November 2009 I will have to extend my Ancestry Visa for the UK, and no doubt, get an ID card too.
Is it just me or does the government over here feel inherently anti-immigration? I mean, an ID Card????
I had to get my biometric data taken when I had to get entry clearance earlier this year – it took three weeks to get an appointment for something that took five minutes. Bah.
Hi, what a beautiful blog! It’s crazy, isn’t it? We remember when we had to apply for the USA visa in 2001. It was just crazy!!! A visa for the UK is nothing in comparison, believe me! I did both. Best regards, Paulinne
Uhhhh…..nice…ummmm….pointed questions? Makes you wonder if they want to be able to say, in the unlikely event that you are caught in the act of committing a terrorist act, (Please add appropriate whining)”But you said you weren’t going to! Liar liar pants on fire!”
You really have to question the sanity of the lame-brained bureaucrats who formulated the questions. Normal human intelligence would dictate that a.) no person who had done such things would admit to it (duh!); b.) nobody planning to do such things would admit to it (duh!); c.) anyone who answers “yes, I killed about 800,000 orphans once” is yanking your chain, guilty of having a sense of humour, guilty of a healthy disdain for bureaucrats, and doesn’t deserve the bullshit you are going to subject them to.
What a complete load of crap. I used to go to the US regularly but refuse to do so now because of the BS foisted on us under the banner of “security”. What a load of crap. None of this is about security (no government official actually cares if you die or not), it’s all about population control. And it’s going to get a lot more intrusive. Your children will begin to have “chips”, just like they do with pets. But people are sheep, so it’s going to be too late before the wake up comes.
It really is all just madness. Particularly some of the airport security things. Our department secretary says that her husband works at Glasgow Airport & the thing that always gets him is the piles of perfectly good umbrellas that they take from people. Because, you know, an umbrella might be a weapon.
We got actual, real silverware with our Asian Vegetarian meals, on KLM. Everybody else got plastic. Go figure.
Hmm yes, I had to answer similar questions when I went to the states many years ago – Have you ever been part of a terrorist organisation? I wanted to say , why, if I belonged to the IRA would you give me lots of money??
I’m SO looking forward to when we all have ID cards – the information on them is going to be 100% correct isn’t it?
Anyway i do hope yours all works out ok!