Visa processing may hinder eid travel
Eid break, from Oct. 13 to Oct. 17, is a little more than a month away and students are beginning to make plans to travel abroad. A large majority of ...
Sep 7, 2013
Eid break, from Oct. 13 to Oct. 17, is a little more than a month away and students are beginning to make plans to travel abroad. A large majority of students, however, do not currently have their passports with them.
At the beginning of the semester, Global Education collected students’ passports and Emirati residency ID cards for visas processing. Associate Dean for Global Education Katya Grim explained the procedure.
“After we collect passports from students, we submit them to the NYUAD immigration team,” Grim said. “They prepare all documentation needed for the visas and submit everything to the Abu Dhabi Immigration authorities. The government then follows its established process for visa adjudication.”
The process to secure UAE residency visas is still underway and some students hoping to travel abroad expressed concern that passports might not be returned in time.
Sophomore Eszter Sarkozi, who wanted to go to either France or Germany during the break, was worried about the possibility of her plans being disrupted by not having her passport returned before the Eid break. She is still going ahead with her travel plans, but taking extra precautions this year.
“I’m still going to go even if we don’t get our passports back until the 13 [of October],” Sarkozi said. “But I’m going to buy a refundable ticket. Of course, if I knew we would get them back earlier, I wouldn’t buy a refundable one. I would just buy a normal ticket.”
In addition to plane tickets, another consideration students face is obtaining tourist visas for the different travel destinations. While some countries issue visas on arrival, others require a trip to an embassy beforehand. In some cases, dependent on one’s nationality and destination, the process to secure a tourist visa may be lengthy.
“I think I’m going to chance it, since I can get my visa there upon arrival,” said sophomore Tamara Sanchez-Ortiz, who thought of going to Ethiopia. “I’m pretty sure I’ll have my passport by the time Eid break comes around. But if I were in another circumstance, I would definitely want to have it way in advance so I could go get the visa.”
The next step for students is a mandatory medical examination, which includes a physical examination, a chest x-ray to check for pulmonary tuberculosis and a blood test for HIV. Grim confirmed that the medical appointments have been scheduled for Sept. 14. Visas should be granted shortly afterwards and passports returned.
“Once the [medical] results are received, the visa adjudication process should be completed in ten business days,” Grim said.
Grim emphasized, however, that immigration procedures are beyond NYU Abu Dhabi’s control.
“This process is administered and controlled by the UAE immigration authorities, so we can only estimate when passports will be returned,” she explained. “Since NYUAD cannot guarantee the exact timing of the visa process, I cannot give anyone travel advice that depends on that.”
Senior Amelia Kahn, who did not yet have any concrete plans yet but considered travelling to Georgia or Armenia, did not have any problems in previous years and was not concerned about the situation this year.
“It’s never been an issue before, that people don’t have their passports back by Eid,” Kahn said. “I’m not very worried about it.”
There have been no problems in previous years with passport returns and travel. Last year, the medical exam was scheduled for nearly the same time as this year, on Sept 15, 2012, but Eid fell nearly two weeks later last year. Due to this circumstance, Grim advised that students should plan early but be prepared for all possibilities.
“Consider purchasing refundable, changeable tickets,” said Grim. “Some embassies require in-person interviews for visas. Students could schedule those closer to the time of travel when there is a good likelihood they will have their passports back."
Delays with passport returns are not expected, but students who need to apply for visas in advance should be mindful of the short timeframe between passport return and Eid break.
Clare Hennig is features editor. Email her at thegazelle.org@gmail.com. 
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