2015-16 Grand Prix assignments

[matmuh]

in this tweet ,Misha explains the problem

The update about my France GP visa issue.
(It's might be little long in explain, so sorry for that)

In shortly said about my case is like this right now :
I have 3 weeks, need to get done 3 visas, for 3 back to back competition.
*in order : Sofia(SeniorB), Beijing (GP), Bordeaux (GP).
You'll say - why you can't start earlier?
A: because just got the invitations letters ( and still only two of them ).
Why can't chose competition that not that close ?
A: Sorry GP is not picked by me it, i receive it this way, and Sofia it was planned long ago, but competition dates were changed from Dec to Oct.

So i'm should leaving to Sofia on 19th of Oct (if no changes) which mean i have 21 days to get 3 visas done : in Order i should get Bulgaria visa then Chinese then French.
But as from previous experience and problems ( not only me, my teammates as well : incedent in Nice, Worlds, 2012, when they were changing their skates in taxi and skate SP without warm-up because consulate not giving them visas till the very last moment ) i went to French Consulate first (today).
Few days earlier i did all their many documents they ask, and get try get an appointment, but problem is they have one only left for today ( but as they rule it says : one appointment for one person only ) but we have two here, me and my Coach, and there no other left then Oct 5th.
And if not today then next appointment will be available for Oct 5th ( if i get 5th one, it will not be possible to finish two other visas )
So i email them couple days ago, with lot of info and ask as possibilities (since its competition) to see what possible to do for us to have appointments, and if need that our NOC and Winter Sports and also if need French side will contact them for help.
Which they reply shortly kind of like: "all info on website, please follow as our website rules as it said".
Even like that i went to the consulate today with all docs for both of us, me and my coach.
What we need is : (to ask what we can do to get both of our visa done, since we have two more countries visa to do in such a short)
You know, i don't like complain but... ever since i enter there i been pretty much not allowed to ask anything or answer anything except yes or no, simply said been shut up on every single word (even being nicely to them and speak slowly), and (also they tell my Coach leave consulate and wait outside),
When i was asking regarding invitation for two people and about our case, they repeat me again "sir please answer us only yes or no, and not asking other questions" and after on the question "then may i our NOC or French side to contact you guys with email regarding our case", they answer "no, we only do the way we told you, and it will no help"
Shortly said, it was #NoFun.

That the way is , they cannot process our two visas today.
So since that seems like (might) need to cancel France GP,
from the case and timing we have now, but we will see.
Im apologise for long post, and for this text, but some items not depending on me, so just letting you guys know about situation earlier.
Thank You for All Your Support
#Bow

i hope they can figure it out soon cause it would be a shame to lose GP cause of visa issue

 

[karne]

Doesn't Misha have like three passports? Surely he can use one of the other ones to get his French visa if the Uzbekistani one is such a problem.

I also don't understand what he means by invitation letters. Is that pertaining only to the fact that he is Uzbekistani, that he needs a letter of invite? What about his official listing on the ISU's event pages? Then he could have started earlier.

I mean, I feel sorry for the guy, but we've known the GP assignments since June, and he'd have known about the GP assignments since then too, and with the current situation in Europe getting progressively worse for travelling, you'd have thought skaters and their teams would have made it a priority to get their visas sorted as the first thing they did...

 

[uhh]

I think, karne, that he would be fully aware of the challenges he's facing given the issues he faced getting the visa for Worlds in 2012, and obviously the listing on the ISU site doesn't count otherwise he wouldn't have risked not getting a visa by leaving it so late. He says he needed the invitation letter, and the invitation letter has only just arrived. Saying "you'd have thought skaters and their teams would have made it a priority to get their visas sorted as the first thing they did..." doesn't help, if you read his statement it's clear he couldn't do anything until he had the letter.

At least the FFSG has tweeted to him saying to let them know if he needs any help with the embassy.

 

[karne]

I think, karne, that he would be fully aware of the challenges he's facing given the issues he faced getting the visa for Worlds in 2012, and obviously the listing on the ISU site doesn't count otherwise he wouldn't have risked not getting a visa by leaving it so late. He says he needed the invitation letter, and the invitation letter has only just arrived. Saying "you'd have thought skaters and their teams would have made it a priority to get their visas sorted as the first thing they did..." doesn't help, if you read his statement it's clear he couldn't do anything until he had the letter.

At least the FFSG has tweeted to him saying to let them know if he needs any help with the embassy.

Well, the FFSG clearly hasn't helped him all that much if his invitation letter has only just arrived! Maybe they want him to pay a ransom, too...

It's just a little surprising that this process wasn't started earlier. For my mind, if I knew I'd had problems getting a visa to a certain place before, as soon as the GP assignments were announced I'd have been on the phone to whoever I needed to saying "send that letter now. Email it, fax it, express post it, I don't care, just send it now." But then I suppose this is the French fed we're talking about here. Maybe Didier thinks this is a new great way to draw publicity to his GP. :no:

I hope it works out for him.

 

[TMC]

Didn't he get a visa for one of his GPs last year like 2 days before the competition? Let's hope he gets it sorted.

 

[Tavi...]

It's really a shame, for so many reasons. I feel bad that Misha has to do all of this himself - as he once said, he basically is the Uzbekistani skating federation. It's nice that France offered to help, but whatever help they provided was seemingly ineffective.

 

[cheerknithanson]

The Ubekinstani embassy really needs to get a move on because this is ridiculous. They've done it before, like grant him visas for competitions, so this shouldn't be any different....though I admit, that's partially me probably being naive and ignorant. But still this is ridiculous!

 

[ice coverage]

The Ubekinstani embassy really needs to get a move on because this is ridiculous. They've done it before, like grant him visas for competitions, so this shouldn't be any different....though I admit, that's partially me probably being naive and ignorant. But still this is ridiculous!

CKH, the French consulate must grant Misha's visa to enter France. Not the embassy of Uzbekistan.

And his upsetting treatment by the French consulate is the reason for Misha's discouragement about getting to TEB.
Please read matmuh's post (#521) on the previous page of this thread -- which quotes Misha's long tweet explaining the details.

Fingers crossed for Misha.
He usually is so cheerful and upbeat. The situation must feel quite bleak for him to utter even one word of frustration. #NoFun
Holding out hope that if anyone can figure out how to overcome the bureaucratic nightmares, it is Misha. He has a lot of experience with this type of stuff.

 

[StitchMonkey]

I also don't understand what he means by invitation letters. Is that pertaining only to the fact that he is Uzbekistani, that he needs a letter of invite? What about his official listing on the ISU's event pages? Then he could have started earlier.

That part jumped out at me too and I am thinking what it basically means is that he needed some kind of formal proof he was going to France for a job essentially. I could be wrong but I suspect skaters are there for "business" vs "pleasure" in terms of Visas and that might require a more formal form of proof than a posting online. Maybe he can fill out paperwork before hand, but if he needs the letter to actually start the process of being in contact with them, there is only so much he can do.

It sounds to me like the ISU needs to start requiring these letter go out sooner and spell out some penalties as well.

I wonder if he could get the last spot at NHK instead of TEB at this point. He does not have issues with Japan Visas does he?

 

[el henry]

Also, I remember Misha's tweets before the 2014-2015 GP; some, IIRC, were depressed about his results, mulling over whether to continue skating, and mulling over what he had to do to please the judges. He sometimes wears his heart on his sleeve; he skates the same way, which is why I love him (and I think the French would too).

Let's hope FFSG can do something right for a changeand get this cleared up!

 

[noidont]

Wow I envy all of you having never come across visa troubles. I could totally relate to what Ge is facing. In fact I'm dealing with a problem at the moment. It's a constant struggle. And UZB I think get free access to more countries than a CHN passport holder.

 

[TheGrandSophy]

Poor Misha. I agree that some of us need to feel fortunate.

When I went on holiday with a friend to a country that will remain nameless that was brought home to me. My friend at the time had only a Jamaican passport. Not only did she have to obtain a visa whereas I could have hopped on a plane that day and gone if I had wanted, but she was interrogated for so long and in such a horrible manner at passport control whereas I practically waltzed straight through. It really emphasised for me how much easier it had always been for me as a UK passport holder. Needless to say, when her required residency was completed, my friend put things in motion to get a UK passport!

 

[Ice Dance]

I wonder if he could get the last spot at NHK instead of TEB at this point. He does not have issues with Japan Visas does he?

This makes perfect sense, actually.

 

[cheerknithanson]

This makes perfect sense, actually.

WOW!!!!! That's actually a smart idea! Plus I believe the Japanese fans would love it!

 

[SamuraiKike]

WOW!!!!! That's actually a smart idea! Plus I believe the Japanese fans would love it!

If a sktater withdraws from one event he can't get picked as a replacement for a later event.

 

[Mattieu]

Let's hope FFSG can do something right for a changeand get this cleared up!

I think you might be in for a long wait for the FFSG to do something right!
They are notorious for submitting paperwork late or not at all.
The French are so laid back, everything gets left until the last minute.

 

[4everchan]

well in this case, their loss… they won't have misha who is popular with the fans… may they sell less tickets to TEB… BOOOO

on a more serious note, i have had to write letters of invitations for people coming to an event I was organizing and VISAs are very tricky… sometimes, they took no time at all, and sometimes, the invitees never got them…it's quite random… and it is worse when it's for work and I am sure that skating at an event with prize money is equivalent to work.

I think you might be in for a long wait for the FFSG to do something right!
They are notorious for submitting paperwork late or not at all.
The French are so laid back, everything gets left until the last minute.

 

[moriel]

Well, the FFSG clearly hasn't helped him all that much if his invitation letter has only just arrived! Maybe they want him to pay a ransom, too...

It's just a little surprising that this process wasn't started earlier. For my mind, if I knew I'd had problems getting a visa to a certain place before, as soon as the GP assignments were announced I'd have been on the phone to whoever I needed to saying "send that letter now. Email it, fax it, express post it, I don't care, just send it now." But then I suppose this is the French fed we're talking about here. Maybe Didier thinks this is a new great way to draw publicity to his GP. :no:

I hope it works out for him.

As he said, he needed the invitation letters (yeah, most likely he would need over 9000 documents, and not all provided by him).

Depending on the country / consulate: not sure about france, but somehow different consulates have slightely different rules, or at least different degrees of friendliness and willingness. While not a 100% solution, if there is another French consulate he has access to, would be worth checking them out.

And +1, work visas are a pain to get.

I'm slightely suspicious that france will give him the visa - like in the middle of the competition already =/

 

[cheerknithanson]

If a sktater withdraws from one event he can't get picked as a replacement for a later event.

Now I feel stupid...

 

[dorispulaski]

Don't feel stupid!

Many of these rules make no sense.

Lots of rules change every year.

No one can get them all memorized unless they have little else to do in life., and you are a very busy student.