Nat Locke: applying for a Turkish visa has led to frustration, anguished wailing and a loss of faith in tech
Let me explain.
I'm heading off on holidays in just a couple of weeks' time and my first stop is Turkey. Or Turkiye if we're going to be absolutely correct about it. And seeing as I'm trying to get them to like me, Turkiye it is.
So, as an Australian visiting Turkiye, I'm eligible to apply for an e-visa prior to my arrival. It's a relatively simple process, that in a perfect world, goes like this:
Step 1: Fill out an online form with your passport and contact details.
Step 2: Wait for an email.
Step 3: Activate the link in the email within 60 minutes.
Step 4: Pay.
Step 5: Admire your new Turkish e-visa.
What could possibly go wrong, I hear you ask.
Well. I completed Step 1 on a Thursday evening a couple of weeks ago and checked my email. No email that night. No email all Friday. Then an email from the Republic of Turkiye turned up at 5:28am on Saturday. Unfortunately I didn't wake up until 7:15am, so the 60 minutes had elapsed and I had missed my window. So I went back to Step 1 again on Saturday at about midday. No email arrived on Saturday. No email arrived on Sunday.
I started to take it personally. After all, I have been nothing but supportive of Turkiye. I'm a big fan of Turkish Delight, for starters, and sometimes I get mocked for my choices. But I digress.
The much-awaited email turned up at 5:22am on Monday. Luckily, I was already at work, so I asked for silence and clicked on the link. And what appeared was a message indicating that my 60 minutes had already elapsed and I would have to go back to Step 1 again.
At this point, I declared that the system was basically impenetrable. If the email didn't arrive in time, how was I supposed to activate the link? I was literally at a stalemate, but I love a challenge.
So I utilised the strategy that has helped just about everyone to subscribe for something twice. Yes, I used my work email address. Back to Step 1 I went, laboriously filling in my passport details yet again. On the upside, I now know when my passport expires. It is seared into my brain.
And guys, THIS TIME IT WORKED. The email appeared in my inbox immediately. I eagerly clicked on it, ready to activate the link and finally make my way to Step 3. And the email disappeared. It just ceased to be. It wasn't in my junk file or my deleted items folders. There wasn't even a tiny puff of smoke. So, I did what any tech-savvy human being would do. I asked the Turkish government to resend the email. And it appeared immediately. And then as soon as I clicked to open it again, it disappeared forever.
At this point you may have heard some anguished wailing emanating from the greater Fremantle area. Yeah, that was me.
The next day, I enlisted the assistance of one of our technical dudes at work, hoping he might be able to identify why these official government emails kept disappearing in front of my eyes. Being an expert in such things, he peered at my monitor for a while, then shrugged. Eventually, he asked someone in our Melbourne office to do something about it, presuming it's some sort of spam filter that prevents employees from applying for e-visas on company time. Or something like that.
If I'm trying to find a positive in this scenario, it's that I've determined I'm not actually an enemy of the Turkish state. I'm just an enemy of technology in general.
What a relief.
As it stands, though, I still don't have a visa for Turkiye. If my research has served me well, it is possible to get a visa on arrival, but that would involve joining a queue at Istanbul airport after a 21-hour journey, which is what I would quaintly refer to as the 'worst case scenario'.
In addition, I have lost my faith in technology, which might be problematic in the future.
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