Gohar Ghandilyan is a post-graduate student at Yerevan State University’s Faculty of Sociology. On May 20, 2008 she applied to Oslo University in Norway to attend summer session and was accepted and received a tuition allowance to participate in a six week “Peace Research” study program. The scholarship was granted by the Fritt Ord Norwegian NGO, allowing her to not only attend classes from June 21 to August 1 but to participate in a one week seminar comprised of individuals from the former Soviet Union and the Balkans. Upon receiving the school’s invitation, Gohar immediately started to look into getting a visa. Since Norway doesn’t have an embassy in Armenia, the French embassy handles such matter. According to the regulations, Gohar shows up at the French embassy with the required paperwork. “I was supposed to hear from the embassy a week after submitting my application. I really didn’t expect to face all the problems I had heard about getting a visa; problems that I had confronted once before,” Gohar said. In the summer of 2006 she had applied to the German embassy for a visa to attend a seminar there. She was turned down without any explanation. A week later Gohar went to the French embassy in Yerevan to be told that there was still no answer regarding her visa application since there was a rejection stamp in her passport issued by the German embassy. The French embassy was waiting for an explanation from the Germans as to why she was rejected. It turns out that after being rejected by the Germans, Gohar was issued a visa by the Italian embassy. Thus, for the Italians, the German rejection didn’t seem to pose a problem. Gohar relates that, “They called me to the embassy for seven days straight and kept giving me the same line – there might be an answer tomorrow. Two weeks later my application was denied with no explanation. Later on I learned that there is a Norwegian consulate in Yerevan, so I tried to arrange a meeting with the consul. The consul wasn’t in Armenia at the time. The consular staff told me what I already knew; that the French embassy handles visas for Norway and that I should write them a letter requesting that my application be reviewed.” The next day Gohar takes her written appeal to the French embassy. “I want to note an interesting occurrence. None of the staff registered my letter in any official ledger. The employee who was at the door monitoring the comings and goings of people took the letter and said that I’d get an answer in a week. There were ample grounds to suspect that my letter was never delivered to the consul personally for review,” Gohar says. In her letter to the embassy, Gohar Ghandilyan wrote, “The international summer school is world renown and the classes top-notch. These classes are of great importance to my post-graduate studies and future vocation. After inexplicacable delays and reasons, which lasted from May 27 to June 3, I received a rejection. The reasons for the rejection aren’t clear. I was somewhat amazed to have received such a response after presenting all the required documentation. In addition, I must note that an individual’s and citizen’s right to free movement, the right to receive an education has been violated. These are rights that have become one of the cornerstones of European democracy and human property due to the efforts of the French people after the great revolution.” She requested in her letter that the rejection she received, which wasn’t signed, be reviewed – “Especially, since I will not be travelling to France. I am a law-abiding person as witnessed by the fact that I travelled to Italy and returned. I will also be returning to my country in the time that is allotted me to travel.” It was already the beginning of June and Gohar was supposed to be in Norway in two weeks. “I never received an answer to my request. I got the same response whenever I called the embassy – if there is a change you will be notified. It was clear that nothing positive would result from all this,” Gohar continues. Grasping at straws, Gohar got in touch with the program coordinator in Norway who in turn intervened and explained the problem to Lars George Fortal, the Norwegian consul in Moscow. Gohar got a letter from the consul soon afterwards saying that they’d issue her a visa if the paperwork was immediately sent to Moscow. She did so and ten days later was on her way to Norway. “However, due to the never-ending run around I got at the French embassy, a result of their   irresponsible and illogical behavior in the matter, I was never able to attend the one week seminar. What I found especially insulting was their attitude towards me, a citizen. Not one of the staff at the embassy deemed it proper to personally explain the reasons behind my visa application rejection or at least to answer the letter I sent to the consul,” Gohar says. Lilit Gevorgyan attends classes at the Joint Master Programme of European Integration and Regionalism at Yerevan State University. The curriculum is such that students in the program attend a set of short classes at five European universities within the space of a year. The classes are run with the assistance of the European Commission. Classes in Barcelona were set to start on March 23, 2009. In Armenia, Spanish visa are handled by the Italian embassy in Yerevan. Lilit applied for a visa on March 2. On March 13, the day scheduled for her to appear, the embassy announced that there was still no answer regarding her application. Lilit recounts, “However, one of the girls at the embassy said that they would call if no decision had been reached and that I shouldn’t call. But they never did. That day they instructed me to call every day to find out if there was any change. I called on Monday – no decision. Tuesday – no decision. Finally, when I called on Wednesday they told me that a decision had been reached but that it was negative.” That same day Lilit went to the embassy, requesting that she talk to the consul in person. “They told me the consul was very busy. After I made a bit of a fuss, an Italian employee told me that the Spanish had rejected my application and that he couldn’t tell me why. He said that the embassy could give me a visa for Italy but not for entry into Spain,” Lilit relates. Lilit however expedited her paperwork to Moscow and received her Spanish visa. She was assisted in the matter by Spanish consuls Redondo Gómez and Luis Ángel. “I left there very irritated and insulted. My flight was in three days. I called my program coordinator, an Italian woman, and she phoned the Italian embassy. They gave her the same answer,” Lilit says. Erik Grigoryan is a 25 year-old Program Coordinator for American-Armenian Foundation. He has a long-term work contract and receives a good salary. On March 13, 2009, he applied to the French embassy for a visa to Norway in order to participate in the “International Gathering in Norway” program. He had received an invitation to attend the program from former Norwegian Deputy Lars Risse. He received a rejection notice on March 19. This was the fourth time that Erik had applied for a visa at the French embassy. He had received a visa on the first two occasions. As with his previous rejection, Erik had all the proper paperwork in order this time as well. The previous rejection was in 2007, when Erik was to have attended the “Forum for Faith & Values” in Norway. Norwegian Deputy Ketil-Solvik Olsen had personally invited him at the time and sent a signed affidavit to that effect. Even this document was of no help and Erik was denied a visa. “Time was running out and I never made it to Norway,” Erik says, adding that, “After I was rejected, the person who invited me said that I should apply via Moscow in the future.” Erik recently got married. His wife works in a tourist agency. The couple owns an apartment in Yerevan and they have a large bank account. “All this is proof that we have no intention of remaining in Europe once we get there. It’s not like I’m about to be drafted into the army and want to go and never come back. I don’t see any grounds for them to be suspicious of my motives and thus reject my application. If there is a procedure in place for the illegal granting of visa, then it too limits the possibility for ordinary citizens to get a visa,” Erik argues. Eric believes there are several theories at work here. “If we accept, for argument’s sake, the fact that Armenians leave and never return, they mostly go to the Czech Republic or Poland. Why is it that that the French, Italian and German embassies issue so many visa rejections. However, the German embassy, as a rule, never gives the applicant the run-around while the French and Italian embassies constantly do. The widely circulated word on the street is that these embassies take bribes for a visa to be issued, but I can’t really confirm these rumors. In any event, when you go to apply the treatment you receive is cold and reserved; nothing of a personal nature is ever taken into account. It really doesn’t matter if you are in a hurry. The delays are frightful. They call you to come back in a week. Then they call and say to show up in ten days. When you finally go, they reject you,” French Consul Responds to “Hetq” Inquiry The embassies have no appeals procedure. In other words, a rejection cannot be appealed. Back on April 14, “Hetq” wrote to the French embassy in Armenia requesting clarification regarding the above cited rejections. The French embassy responded on May 19. The head of the Public Affairs Office at the embassy, claimed that they had never received our letter and that it “probably got lost in some in some box somewhere” since it never turned up. This, despite the fact, that “Hetq” received confirmation that the letter was delivered to the addressee. Consul Frederic Graben answered our second inquiry sent via email. According to French embassy statistics, 7,938 visa applications were received by the embassy in Yerevan in 2007. 6,678 applications were approved. In 2008, 4,869 applications were approved out of 5,771 received. We received no figures regarding the first quarter of 2009. According to the statement of Frederic Graben – The issuance of “Shengen” visas by the embassy of behalf of a third country without representation in that country is subject to strict rules that cannot be circumvented. All such claims are processed in the same manner as claims for French visas. In this context, it should be noted that the country is represented without having any contact with those countries that are represented. The consul’s letter states that, “In the case of a rejection, applicants have the right to present a new application to any consulate of the country they wish to travel to.” When asked by “Hetq” as to the primary reasons why applicants are rejected, Consul Graben responded, “The primary reason for rejection are based on one’s resources, travel insurance and the absence of  temporary residency documentation from local officials in the destination country.” Foreign Consulates Need Not Justify Visa Denials In response to our inquiry as to why the applications of Gohar Danielyan and Erik Grigoryan were rejected, we received the following explanation – “In accordance with the law, and having the right not to substantiate the rejection, it is not possible to provide an answer in the above cited cases as to why Shengen visas were rejected.” Erik believes that this is an incorrect approach, especially for students and young people who travel overseas to exchange ideas and experience and to receive professional training and skills. A more simplified visa process must be enacted in these cases, as is the case in Georgia which implemented such a system in 2006. “I have participated in a number of similar scientific gatherings which have greatly assisted me in my work. The knowledge I obtained is used later on. Also, I can get a job based on such experience. It just goes to show that the possibility to travel for our youth is severely restricted and fraught with complications. Armenia must simplify the visa process,” Erik argues, adding, “It seems that there’s some sort of quota division working in the background. They hand on visas illegally and this negatively impacts on the quota set for average folks.” Too make a long story short, like Gohar and Lilit, Erik was finally able to get a visa through the Norwegian consulate in Moscow. On-Line Petition Calls for Reform The “European Movement in Armenia” NGO is also perturbed over the fact that these young men and women couldn’t get visas in Armenia The group released a public statement regarding the situation and have even launched an on-line petition that will be sent to the institutions responsible. 162 people have already signed the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/visas/petition.html. It also complains about rejections issued by the American embassy in Armenia. Those signing the petition call the attention of the above cited officials to the treatment meted out by the staff of the American embassy in Armenia who reject a majority of applications without any rhyme or reason, depriving young people, students and scientists from travelling to the United States to further their education or to attend any type of seminar or conference. Discussions on the topic are also taking place in Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=15445144630&ref=ts). There students and others are voicing their complaints regarding the actions of various European embassies and consulates. The petition organizers clearly point out that the signatures will be forwarded to the RoA President Serzh Sargsyan, RoA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Immigration Service, the American embassy in Armenia, etc. The European Union’s “Eastern Partnership” program envisages an improvement and simplification of visa procedures for those wishing to travel to Europe. As to whether or not it will actually be implemented, only time will tell.