Something stinks in Denmark. The phrase, sourced by William Shakespeare reflecting the moral corruption of that kingdom in 1600, is used to demonstrate suspicion that something is wrong, wrong and stinks in a particular institution, situation or negotiation. I chose it to warn that something was wrong at the visa processing agency.

He was planning a long trip to the Middle East, which for health reasons required a strategic passage through Barcelona. Both the destination (New Delhi) and the stop required visa processing: documents are processed online, through specialized digital platforms.

With a reasonably safe time of four months before the trip, I began the process of obtaining a visa for Spain: access, on Wednesdays at 14:00, the page that will generate a queue for an appointment for a personal interview. The first week, nothing. First trimester, nothing. The page did not open, seats were not offered.

Spain offers support to Ecuador in the management of the short-distance Schengen visa

Prompted by the fact that the date of the trip was approaching, and somewhat out of journalistic curiosity, I started consulting agencies, acquaintances, foreigners, frequent travelers, tourists, exchange students, brokers, etc. And the tip of the ball started to develop.

There are those who suggest processing with agencies that try to find an appointment for $60. There are those who do it for larger amounts, but without a visa guarantee. But if you put more zeros in the numbers, it will be easier to jump over a big puddle.

To arrive at the visa appointment, you must have a purchased plane ticket and defined places of accommodation, and this is an investment that is risky due to the impossibility of obtaining a quota. Every week, for three months, we tried to access that portal, which was never opened. After so much counseling, it ends in the depths of extortion, in a parallel world of corruption that takes us as citizens into the hands of public officials, attacked by traffic agents, chased away by municipal inspectors…

There is certainly too much demand for visas and perhaps extortion has become naturalized as a condition of travel….

The first crazy proposal I got set a $600 spot with no visa guarantee. There are those who offer a refund of up to 70% of the price if the place is not obtained. Doing it with a visa guarantee is more expensive: $2,000 and a passport photo at the start of the process, and $2,000 more the day before the appointment. It was the most expensive proposal of that underworld of processors, extortionists and cynics.

Although the fair and expensive solution was to buy tickets for the route that bypasses the nut, I decided to make public this complaint which shows the tendency to obstruct the procedures, then price the formulas to unlock the obstacles. .

I’m talking on my cell phone about the costs of getting a “visa on the left”. This dialogue was conducted through a mediator who succumbed to the “extortion proposal”. There is certainly too much demand for visas and perhaps extortion has been naturalized as a condition of travel; But I resist interfering.

Something stinks in Denmark and in the process of issuing a visa for Spain. (OR)