Getting in or out of a country, especially given the supposedly strident War on Terror and operations to disrupt the cross-border narcotics trade, would seem to present greater difficulties than what would be required merely to Not cross a border - that is, to stay in a country. But not so!
The issue of Kyrgyzstan's odd border situation - with multiple "kyrgyz islands" embedded in neighboring Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and reciprocal "tajik/uzbek islands" within Kyrgyz territory - will have to wait for another post. It's a topic of some interest, and admittedly has spring-boarded to local headlines over this summer as long-quiet disputes are flaring up and small pockets of actual terrorists (as opposed to the peaceful protestors usually assigned the title) have been caught traversing the largely-permeable border areas.
Instead, this is a post about one simple man's effort to stay right where he's at.
Upon arrival at Bishkek's Manas International Airport (another item of considerable international news recently with the dramatic (though not unexpected) reversal of the Kyrgyz threat to expel US military forces operating there since 2001), I initially purchased a 30-day tourist visa. Airport cost: $70.
The downside of the airport visa, which can be purchased "on arrival" with no prior planning, is that it can only be for single entry, and it cannot be extended. Once it expires, you must either be out of the country, or have gotten a brand new visa. Or so I later learned.
Originally, the plan was to get a 3-month business visa as an official intern with RFE/RL (known locally as Radio Azattyk). In the months prior to my US departure, this was proceeding along well until someone put 2 and 2 together. I was a US citizen coming to Kyrgyzstan for "Journalism" exactly during the period of the Kyrgyz Presidential Election.
Request: Denied.
So instead, as far as the Kyrgyz Republic is concerned, I am here as a Tourist. Thus far it's been more accurate than any ostentatious "journalist" credential would suggest. But it does require getting a second visa to stay for the duration of my internship.
How this went from being a simple formality into a week-long affair can be attributed mostly to language breakdowns and the legacy of Soviet bureacracry.
Friday, June 19 (Visa expiration in 10 days).
Having been abandoned by my intern advisor, who had to make a trip to Tajikistan at the beginning of the week, I made inquiries to some other Radio Azattyk staff. "So... what do I need to do about my visa?"
The response: "Um... we'll look into that."
One of the other tidbits of advice I had upon arrival was that the Manas airport visa was by far the easiest to acquire. It was recommended that when my first visa ran out, I should just take a weekend trip to Almaty (Kazakhstan, 5 hours by car) or Dushanbe (Tajikistan, airport). I could then get a new Kyrgyz visa upon re-entry at Manas.
I spent the weekend looking into this option, but it wasn't promising. Dushanbe was expensive, but viable - visa on entry at the airport and again on return to Manas. However, the airlines don't book on-line, so pricing out this option was a problem, and so was searching for flights/open seats on 1-week notice.
Kazakhstan was iffy about visas-on-arrival - they may/may not have required a letter of invitation, which I didn't have. Further, Kazakh visas took 3 days to get, and because it was "so close," there was only a few flights from Almaty to Bishkek every day, usually around 3 am. Ground transport return wasn't an option since they check visas at the border, and I wouldn't have one. Unless I got a Kyrgyz visa while in Kazakhstan, which was possible, but also took 3 business days - so much for the weekend - out of my planned 5-day Kazakh "transit" visa stay.
Confused yet? So the weekend went.
Monday, June 22 (V-minus 7 days)
It was decided that I would extend my current visa (see above), and that since my intern advisor was abroad, two other Azattyk staff would assist me (ok, to be honest, do it for me).
I insisted that this wouldn't be necessary. I haven't traveled widely, but thus far the most reliable truism I knew was that any country that wanted tourism (and who doesn't?) at least has a visa program that can be navigated by tourists.
Nonetheless, it was insisted that an Azattyk reporter, Eleanora, would accompany me to the Kygyz Ministry of Foreign Affairs, just in case.
Tuesday, June 23 (V-minus 6 days)
After much waiting and no small amount of josteling ("lines" are a totally inaccurate referrant for Kyrgyz-style ques), Eleanora was able to confirm that we would need an official letter of invitation from Radio Azattyk as well as 5 additional documents (verifying Azattyk's credentials), my passport, a passport-sized photo, and formal approval from the Kyrgyz government for my internship - approval that required a minimum of 10 days to process, and which, based on our earlier experience, I was pretty sure we would be denied.
This didn't seem to distract my Azattyk co-workers. They spent the day assembling the proper forms & letters.
I called the US Embassy (another full post if you're desperately curious. The US Embassy in Kyrgyzstan is not known as the most efficient/competent of America's various bureacracies abroad. From a journalistic stance, it is Extremely tight-lipped, even by Central Asian standards, and from the local perspective, it is not very involved with anything except official Presidential correspondence. On the up side, the ambassador is supposedly (finally) learning to speak Kyrgyz).
The Embassy told me that I needed to go to the Office of Visas & Registration (OVIR), that it would cost about $15, should be ready the same day, and that I wouldn't need any additional letters. I was given the address - 58 Kievska, very close to my flat.
I was also informed that I would need a new visa; it was only at this time that it was revealed that Manas airport visas were not extendable. On the plus side, my new visa would be multiple-entry (allowing for trips to neighboring Kazakhstan and Tajikistan later in the summer).
Wednesday, June 24 (V-minus 5 days)
Upon arrival at OVIR offices (58 Kievska, as US Embassy directed), we were told that we were in the wrong place. I say "we," but honestly it was all Eleanora. As in the Kyrgyz Ministry of Foreign Affairs, not only was there not a sinlge English-speaking visa officer, there weren't even any signs, forms, or directions in any language except Russian & Kyrgyz; the ominous exception being the letters outside the building, "Office of Visas and Registration."
A short walk later (and it must be said, 2 blocks closer to my flat), we arrived at the "Bishkek" bureau of OVIR - or so I was told. The building had no markings in English to denote it as such, and my scant knowledge of Cyrillic couldn't find any allusion to OVIR, visa, etc.
Here we were told that I needed to fill out 3 identical forms and attach 3 photographs to them. There was a copy machine in the corner - we were not to use it. In addition to the 3 forms, I had to have a letter of invitation from Radio Azattyk, my passport, a photocopy of my passport (which could be purchased), and $25.
When we got up to pay, I noticed the (Russian) sign said that 1-entry visas were (equivalent) $25, while multiple-entries were more. I asked if I could pay more for the multiple entry. It was at this time that we were informed that no, I was not allowed to have a multiple-entry visa (apparently under any circumstances). My Azattyk colleagues suggested I could visit Almaty at the end of July and just not come back to Bishkek - too bad my flight leaves from Manas, and cannot just be "switched" to Almaty.
On the plus side, I should have my visa (and be allowed to stay in Kyrgyzstan) by the next afternoon.
Downside - they hold your passport at OVIR while the visa is being prepared. In theory, I could tell any curious police officer that my passport was at OVIR, and if they were patient and dilligent enough, they could verify this... somehow. Needless to say, I felt very vulnerable for the next 36 hours without it.
Thursday, June 25 (V-minus 4 days - notably, only 1 more business day)
We arrived back at "Bishkek-OVIR" at 4 pm as we were told to. In theory, all I had to do was walk up, say my name, and get my passport. I again tried to dissuade Eleanora from coming along - Surely I can pickup a passport by myself!
Apparently, OVIR collects passports all day, then takes them to the back office at the end of the day. They then spend the entire day checking, verifying, and filling out new visas all the next day, and send the entire pile to the front desk at 4:30. The offices close (mercilessly) at 5, and any unclaimed visas are held until the next afternoon. You can see what sort of feeding frenzy this *might* cause.
We entered a small office packed with travel agents, local Kyrgyz (and their sons), and only a few other tourists. Most people who travel in CA do use tourist agencies, which take care of all the hassel of visas, etc. without the traveler present. This does make the room less crowded, but it also means that one person in line might take 6-12 times as long to collect and sign all the relevant measures to pickup a passport in abstentia.
After even more josteling, by 4:48 pm, I had a passport in my hand, and a decent assurance that it was mine. We checked outside, and indeed:
Richard Ryan Weber
Single Entry Tourist Visa
Expires July 28, 2009
(this was a major point - my flight out of country was for 27 July, and I was very worried that they would issue a visa for 30 days from issuance (expire 25 July) rather than from the expiration of my first visa (28 June). That would have been a big problem).
Eleanor and I stumbled out into the street. Checked the visa again, and took a deep breath.
It wasn't the type of visa I wanted. It wasn't the process I was told would work. But it was a visa.
I felt like celebrating - Victory! - but Eleanor had to get back to the station, and I was only 2 blocks from home. So I cooked myself some pasta (my staple), and stayed up late to watch another international football game (tough loss in the 88th minute by S. Africa to Brazil).
I don't know if I'll end up seeing Almaty or Dushabe - it is still possible, I suppose, with the purchase of a 3rd visa at Manas - but I do plan to get more distance out of Visa #2 than I have with Visa #1. Kyrgyzstan isn't a huge place, but there's much more to see than Bishkek, and it is perhaps time I started seeing it.
Especially if my "internship" has no other plans for me.
Weber (on the lamb)
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