Friday, September 02, 2005
Spanish Embassy in New Delhi
The Spanish Embassy in New Delhi reserves a separate blog for all the good work it has been doing. Because the embassy staff don't believe in the modern form of communication, they don't have a website and they don't answer the phone. In case you are ever lucky to get hold of one of the embassy staff, the staff hangs up the call before you are done talking. That was so nice, wasn't it?
After getting some information from the partners who had applied for dependent visa in the IESE forums, we went to Delhi to apply for our visa. We reached the embassy at around 11 pm. For a reason I will mention later, we were able to apply for our visa the same day. However, this was not how the things normally worked. If you wanted to apply for a visa, you would have to come at around 4:30 in the morning to be in a line to get tokens. Supposedly, they only allow 15 or so applications per day. Since there would be more than 15 applicants, it would be first come, first serve system. But guess what, even if you come to the queue at around 4:30 in the morning, you are only going to get your token at around 9:30 in the morning. So you would be standing in queue for 5 hours in a place which doesn't have any restroom or a canteen to have tea/coffee. Don't you wish they had a reservation system where they would give you a date and time to apply for your visa? In this regards, I think the American embassy is very efficient. They give you a date to apply for your visa. After the interview, if you are approved for your visa, you get the visa stamped in your passport the same day.
After applying for the visa, then you would have to wait for a month or so to have your visa approved. Since I was aware of the time taken to approve a visa, I was okay with it. It would have been nice to have it approved sooner, but since they tell us in advance about the wait, I don't have much to complain on this. But I still like to make comments about the system they had to find out the status of your application. The Embassy in New Delhi gives you a number of the "visa section" to call to find out the status. But guess what, nobody ever picks up the phone. Never..ever....Why do you want to give out a number which you are never going to pick up? That was so annoying. Then I called the direct number of the embassy where I was told to call only after 2 on Mondays and Thursdays. They didn't give this information to us earlier. Still no luck calling the visa section after 2 on those days. So I had to call the direct numbers of the embassy (not the visa section) to ask for status.I guess they also realized that they don't pick up the phone in the visa section and hence agreed to note down my application number to check my status. At least it was better than nothing.
You thought that was the end of the story. No that is not. After we had our visas approved, we came to the embassy to have our visas stamped. Guess what, the lady who was supposed to have the visas stamped was out on vacation. So there was basically no one else to do her work. Thats what we were told by the security guards. I saw people coming to the embassy for "at least" 5 consecutive days to have their visas stamped and still didn't have any luck. I saw one guy who was already late attending his classes in a school in Barcelona. What a pain? What an inefficient embassy which can't even put someone else for the work when one person is on vacation? Again, with pure luck, Kapil and I were able to have our visas stamped by the third day. I think Kapil waited one more day than I did.
So that is the story of the Spanish Embassy in New Delhi. Let me make it clear, this is nothing against the Spanish people, I have found them to be extremely friendly and helpful to me. But something needs to be done about the visa section of the Spanish Embassy in New Delhi, India and Honorary Spanish Consulate in Nepal.
After getting some information from the partners who had applied for dependent visa in the IESE forums, we went to Delhi to apply for our visa. We reached the embassy at around 11 pm. For a reason I will mention later, we were able to apply for our visa the same day. However, this was not how the things normally worked. If you wanted to apply for a visa, you would have to come at around 4:30 in the morning to be in a line to get tokens. Supposedly, they only allow 15 or so applications per day. Since there would be more than 15 applicants, it would be first come, first serve system. But guess what, even if you come to the queue at around 4:30 in the morning, you are only going to get your token at around 9:30 in the morning. So you would be standing in queue for 5 hours in a place which doesn't have any restroom or a canteen to have tea/coffee. Don't you wish they had a reservation system where they would give you a date and time to apply for your visa? In this regards, I think the American embassy is very efficient. They give you a date to apply for your visa. After the interview, if you are approved for your visa, you get the visa stamped in your passport the same day.
After applying for the visa, then you would have to wait for a month or so to have your visa approved. Since I was aware of the time taken to approve a visa, I was okay with it. It would have been nice to have it approved sooner, but since they tell us in advance about the wait, I don't have much to complain on this. But I still like to make comments about the system they had to find out the status of your application. The Embassy in New Delhi gives you a number of the "visa section" to call to find out the status. But guess what, nobody ever picks up the phone. Never..ever....Why do you want to give out a number which you are never going to pick up? That was so annoying. Then I called the direct number of the embassy where I was told to call only after 2 on Mondays and Thursdays. They didn't give this information to us earlier. Still no luck calling the visa section after 2 on those days. So I had to call the direct numbers of the embassy (not the visa section) to ask for status.I guess they also realized that they don't pick up the phone in the visa section and hence agreed to note down my application number to check my status. At least it was better than nothing.
You thought that was the end of the story. No that is not. After we had our visas approved, we came to the embassy to have our visas stamped. Guess what, the lady who was supposed to have the visas stamped was out on vacation. So there was basically no one else to do her work. Thats what we were told by the security guards. I saw people coming to the embassy for "at least" 5 consecutive days to have their visas stamped and still didn't have any luck. I saw one guy who was already late attending his classes in a school in Barcelona. What a pain? What an inefficient embassy which can't even put someone else for the work when one person is on vacation? Again, with pure luck, Kapil and I were able to have our visas stamped by the third day. I think Kapil waited one more day than I did.
So that is the story of the Spanish Embassy in New Delhi. Let me make it clear, this is nothing against the Spanish people, I have found them to be extremely friendly and helpful to me. But something needs to be done about the visa section of the Spanish Embassy in New Delhi, India and Honorary Spanish Consulate in Nepal.
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ON the contrary , my exp has been great . one of the best so far . the functioning is so effcient that you hardly waste any time .the only thing to note here is that your papers shd be in order .
i think my friend over here did not do his homework properly
i think my friend over here did not do his homework properly
# posted by 
: Feb 3, 2006, 5:53:00 PM
: Feb 3, 2006, 5:53:00 PM
Dear anonymous,
I did my homeworks. It was not just about putting the papers in order (although I had mine in order), it was about inquiring information about visa, checking if the visa was approved, getting the visa stamped once it was approved and much more. And I was not the only one. Everyone who has come to IESE in Barcelona in Spain had similar experiences. In other words, it was not an isolated case.
If things have changed for good and you no longer have to go through that bad experience, than its fantastic. Way to go!
I did my homeworks. It was not just about putting the papers in order (although I had mine in order), it was about inquiring information about visa, checking if the visa was approved, getting the visa stamped once it was approved and much more. And I was not the only one. Everyone who has come to IESE in Barcelona in Spain had similar experiences. In other words, it was not an isolated case.
If things have changed for good and you no longer have to go through that bad experience, than its fantastic. Way to go!
I totally agree with MBA's experience. I went there for a work permit in 2003 and got a first hand view of the "rough" spanish culture. I think the staff there are underpaid, unrecognized and demotivated totally. Eventually I managed to get the thing done, but it was harrassment, mistrust and beaurocracy at it's ugliest form. I don't know if their managers in spain read these blogs. Well done, spain, keep it up.
# posted by : Dec 9, 2006, 10:57:00 AM
: Dec 9, 2006, 10:57:00 AM
Dear Friend,
very sad story, really bad treatment by Spanish embassy.
Here I would like to give you 1 suggestion, Instead of putting your complain here (nothing will be happened here), write your problem to Protocol division, MEA (MInistry of External Affairs), Govt. of India. They are the only body in India, who is looking after this things.
Protocol division email: dcpf@mea.gov.in
Thanks
very sad story, really bad treatment by Spanish embassy.
Here I would like to give you 1 suggestion, Instead of putting your complain here (nothing will be happened here), write your problem to Protocol division, MEA (MInistry of External Affairs), Govt. of India. They are the only body in India, who is looking after this things.
Protocol division email: dcpf@mea.gov.in
Thanks
# posted by : Jun 29, 2007, 8:46:00 AM
: Jun 29, 2007, 8:46:00 AM
indians are dirty and only come to our country to stay, you are not welcome in Spain!!! so don't complain if you suffer racist attacts, please take your dirty dark bodies and you stupid females to england, you just look like gypsies to us!!!
# posted by : Jul 8, 2007, 2:04:00 AM
: Jul 8, 2007, 2:04:00 AM
Indian are not dirty, they are very great people. In reply I don’t want to abuse Spaniards because we Indian are not like you, but I must want to say that you have dirty mind, your thinking is so cheap, and must be you also very cheap. Look at your white dirty skin, always smelling, no one can stand with you more than 5 minutes.
Now days India and Spain having very good relation and its going very fast, but people like you having problem, I know very few stupid people in Spain thinking like you, because I have so many friends in Spain. They are very nice not like you. So clean your dirty mind, and change your thinking for Indians. Indians are very great people with culture, civilization, mind, beauty, intelligence and with money also. So beware of Indians, understand…….
Now days India and Spain having very good relation and its going very fast, but people like you having problem, I know very few stupid people in Spain thinking like you, because I have so many friends in Spain. They are very nice not like you. So clean your dirty mind, and change your thinking for Indians. Indians are very great people with culture, civilization, mind, beauty, intelligence and with money also. So beware of Indians, understand…….
# posted by : Jul 12, 2007, 8:31:00 AM
: Jul 12, 2007, 8:31:00 AM
The topic here is the inefficiency of the Spanish Consulate in India, and not Spaniards in general. The Spanish Consulate in India is probably the worst consulate in the country. The IVS staff is rude and unhelpful and so are the guards at the consulate. The consulate takes forever to get anything done, especially for students. The consulate does not care about the welfare of students and whether or not they get visas in time. The people at the consulate are rude and inefficient. There is no debate about this.
However, with India-Spain relations improving, and more importantly, India making her mark globally, will have an impact on the inefficient consulate. They will get their act together (I hope soon) and treat students with the respect they deserve.
However, with India-Spain relations improving, and more importantly, India making her mark globally, will have an impact on the inefficient consulate. They will get their act together (I hope soon) and treat students with the respect they deserve.
# posted by : Nov 8, 2007, 4:56:00 PM
: Nov 8, 2007, 4:56:00 PM
I agree with most people here,as confirming that the Spanish Embassy in Delhi is the worst with dealing with.When you call enquiring for information they tell you to call here or there but at the end they dont end up giving you the right information, thus having to go to the Emabssy many times, and people have to waste their money and time, as not everyone lives in Delhi. I have a friend who had a work visa approved in Spain , but no one was able to tell him precisely what paperwork exactly to have on hand when goiong to pick his visa, which for he needed an appointment, which takes for ever to get, and for getting it, one must call like a 100 times, till they pick up the phone. On top, calling times are limited to just 2 hours a day. This has been going on for a long time and no one in a responsible position is doing anything, and I guess they wont do anything.So we will just have to suffer and be treated like dogs.
# posted by : Nov 22, 2007, 8:03:00 AM
: Nov 22, 2007, 8:03:00 AM
Hey guys, Thanks for your blog, am now prepared to face all challenges to get my family regrouping visa. Do you guys have any update about the process of applications? I have the call letter and all other documents ready, need some more guidance.
# posted by : Dec 1, 2007, 10:30:00 AM
: Dec 1, 2007, 10:30:00 AM
hi can anyone tell me how long does it take to get student visa for spain
# posted by : Jan 3, 2008, 8:39:00 AM
: Jan 3, 2008, 8:39:00 AM
I am a spanish citizen living in Spain with many Indian friends. I am ashamed to say that the spanish embassy in Delhi is one of the most ineficient embassies I have seen in the world.One of my friends, got his work visa approved in Spain and had to go to the embassy to get his approved visa just stamped on the passport. To start with, the number they give you for appointments, only gets picked up at certain hours, that only if you are lucky that they pick it up. One has to call like a 100 times before they pick up, and when they do so, they will give you your appointment, not soon, but at least a minimum of a month away.They dont tell you what exact documents to bring and they are very vague in their answers and in a hurry to get off the phone.Once you go for the appointment, they will make you come atleast three times, (unnecessarly) without taking into consideration, if you live 800 kilometres away. At no point will they let you know, if finally you will get your visa or not.In general they are very rude and inconsiderate. We all understand that they must follow certain procedures, but for whatever they do, they take forever and it seems they are doing everyone a favour. It is a shame, the way they represent the spanish society in India, as the spanish people, are in no way like theway they are in India at the Spanish Embassy. Whomever gets treated not correctly or if they take very long with your paperwork or they act in a unconsiderate manner, I urge you to complain to the embassy and to the ministry of foreign affairs in Spain, which you can do by email.
# posted by : Apr 1, 2008, 9:55:00 PM
: Apr 1, 2008, 9:55:00 PM
Exactly..this Spanish Embassy sucks big time!! And i am passing through a tough phase in my life now because of them...its almost been a month since i applied for a short stay visa to spain for my internship and still they havent given me any updates on the status of my visa. After reading all these comments, i m really getting worried now. Good news is that they have starting picking up the phone and worst news is that the lady who picks up the phone in IVS is so dumb and she tries to convince you even after 1 month that it takes time to get a visa without even enquiring with the embassy once. When i called the embassy directly for my Visa they said Sorry Spanish Embassy is not responsible for short dtay visas:O...i mean common how can they say such a thing.
Watever as the above person suggested we should rather mail our grievances to the ministry rather than discussing it over here and i am ready to devote my time for this matter...ny suggestions wat can be possibly done to reincarnate this dead Embassy?
Watever as the above person suggested we should rather mail our grievances to the ministry rather than discussing it over here and i am ready to devote my time for this matter...ny suggestions wat can be possibly done to reincarnate this dead Embassy?
# posted by : May 24, 2008, 10:54:00 AM
: May 24, 2008, 10:54:00 AM
Pathetic?? talk about it..... We are a group of 6 people planning to go backpacking in Spain on 22nd June. Today we are on the 17th. Its been more than 15 days since i applied. There is no reply and no notification. We have supplied all docs... even the return tickets an hotel bookings....... still they seem to be indifferent..... its pathetic that even in todays world all this shit exists........ i pray its done!!! if any1 has any tips on how to speed up kindly let me know... thanks
my husband is a resident pf spain.he has been there for the last 5 years. i want to book an appointment for spain visa.if you could please let me know what are the documents required for the visa. please give me appointment so that i can be there for visa on specific date and time.
thanks
chanda jagdish mankani
jaipur
thanks
chanda jagdish mankani
jaipur
# posted by : Jun 23, 2008, 4:32:00 PM
: Jun 23, 2008, 4:32:00 PM
Hi, any suggestion for me............i have got an internship opportunity in spain in december that is about 40 days from now........so, i need to get a visa as quickly as possible.......reading all these comments, i am getting a bit worried........anybody having any suggestions to speed up these things can be of great help to me!!
hai, my name is amrik singh i m living in spain i have got residing n work permit. i have called like hundred times to the spainish authoroties in spain embassy in India, New Delhi, but im sorrry to say no one picks up phone ,.,therefore ur requested to please give me appoint ment for submission of visa forms for my family, i will be very thankful to u,.,.,my email id is rajpelia_77@yahoo.com
Dear Friends,
I am Pravin Gangwar final year student of IIT Kanpur. I got offer from a company in spain for pursuing master degree in aerospace engg from 'University of polytechnic Madrid' (company is funding my master degree) and then I have a contract for doing job in the same company for 2.5 years. Could anybody tell me please what documents do I need for getting this 5 yr visa or if somebody could tell me whom should I ask about the same. My email id is pravin.gangwar@gmail.com. I'll be very thankful for all your favors.
waiting for your response.
I am Pravin Gangwar final year student of IIT Kanpur. I got offer from a company in spain for pursuing master degree in aerospace engg from 'University of polytechnic Madrid' (company is funding my master degree) and then I have a contract for doing job in the same company for 2.5 years. Could anybody tell me please what documents do I need for getting this 5 yr visa or if somebody could tell me whom should I ask about the same. My email id is pravin.gangwar@gmail.com. I'll be very thankful for all your favors.
waiting for your response.
Hi!
I am very much excited to join this community. Its my pleasure to take part of the discussion. Good luck that in this path I will share different matters discuss and gain knowledge through this way, not only gain knowledge but also salve many more questions.
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I am very much excited to join this community. Its my pleasure to take part of the discussion. Good luck that in this path I will share different matters discuss and gain knowledge through this way, not only gain knowledge but also salve many more questions.
Delhi embassy
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