Getting an Uzbek Visa in Ankara

Uzbek Flag

OK, so sebastian takes care of most of the posts, but I'm feilding this one, it's kind of a storey of my troubles getting an Uzbekistan visa and kind of a guide so that anyone who wants to can have an idea of what it entails.

So I got on the night train from the asian station in Istanbul to Ankara on sunday night. Fish (Sebastian) came with me to the station. The boats stop about the same times the trains go (11.30pm) so Fish had to get a taxi back, but at least the bridge is apparently really cool to travel accross at night (it has some kind of dangerously disorienntating light show, just in case driving in istanbul wasn't dangerous enough).

I got a seat, not a sleeper, and slept ok. I'm starting to realise that your propensity to sleep is much more a finction of tiredness than comfort. But I got into Ankara at 7:38am, stupidly, at the train station I didn't get a locker for my bag, which are cheap and easy to use (like 4 lira for 4 hours (plus 50 cents an hour after that)). So I was  wandering around Ankara the whole day with it. I killed some time having coffees until 9.30am when i got a taxi to the embassy, you are better off getting a taxi to the UN (or something like that) building across the street, bcause it's easier to find. I'm glad I got a taxi, because it's right in suburbia  (20 lira well spent), you can get a bus to the nearby parade of shops (to see them just turn right as you come out of the embassy and they're on the other side of an empty plot), but good luck finding the right bus.

I had to wait till the embassy opened at 10, and while waiting, a lovely bloke who was waiting to go into the UN (or something) building came across the street to talk to me, I had enough time to find out that he was from Iraq before a burly Uzbek security guard told him in no uncertain terms to bugger off.

Just for anyone reading this, I hold an ordinary UK passport, I believe that the process is similar for most EU countries. The embassy opens at 10am and closes at 1pm. I suggest getting there at 10am, to remove the possibility  of a mega fail. As far as I know, that is every day of the week, but common practice of many of these embasies is to apen Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I can confirm that it IS open on Mondays, and visas can be obtained same day

Once I got into the embassy, they said that I would need 5 things

1.  To transfer 110USD to their account and bring back the reciept (this can be done at the HSBC on the parade of shops, but needs to be paid in cash unless you have an HSBC account (which seems to be a good idea if you are serious about travelling as HSBC are EVERYWHERE!).

2. A colour photocopy or print out of your passport. You can do this at an internet cafe down the road. Come out of the embassy, turn right, and almost immediately right again, then head abot 100m down the road and it's on the corner on your left. Alternately, find HSBC and you can see it from the entrance. (it's fairly cheap, like 2 lira an  hour).

3. A passport photo. You can get these from at least one shop on the parade, but they make you buy like 8 at a timne so now I have 7 passport size photos of a very tired, very sunburnt, unshaven me. this, i think, set me back 15 lira.

4. A copy of the Visa application form, this is a massive ball ache, as the dates and stuff have to exactly match the dates on the Letter of Invitation (5th thing), so i frantically had to email people. (at this point my LOI's status was kind of complicated, but if you already have a print out, it should be fine.) I imagine that you are much more organised than me, you will be ok.

5. A letter of invitation. as far as i know, the only other thing you might need is a print out of your LOI. However they didn't ask me for this at the embassy when I went. (This, however is probably due to the circumstances describd below though). I provided on anyway though, because i had got one anyway just in case and it seemed to be OK.

Special Circumstances. Ok, it's a bit complicated, i tried to get my visa from 'the visa machine' in London, and told them I would need my passport back by the 16th, they said they would have it back to me with all of my visas by the 6th, but on the 15th they still hadn't got the Uzbek one.
Subsequently, I told them to send my confirmation to the Uzbek embassy in Ankara, which (they said) would have meant that I just had to go in and pick up my visa no hassle. I might not have been asked for an LOI because the confirmation had already come through, but I would advise against taking the risk.

Bottom line, I got my visa, had a massive McDonalds to reward myself, and then hopped on a bus back to Kizilay Square (town centre where all the busses convene). Kizilay square is alright, there's a pretty cool fountain, and a some nice cafes to chill, shops to shop and people to watch. I did this until 7pm, when i hopped on a bus to Umitkoy (by the way, like anywhere some turks can be bell ends, but most are great, i asked one guy if hje knew where my bus went from, and he didn't know, so he asked like 10 people, and then walked me all the way to the bus stop, before making sure i got a ticket alright. what a  lad!). That night, I couch surfed with an legend called Idris, he was awesome, and i hope to see him again if i go back if you're in Ankara, look him up.

So anyway, Hope this Helped.

I'm Sam Brassington, saying:

stay classy, PLANET EARTH