Czech authorities launch new online visa application system

The Czech Foreign Ministry has launched a new online system for long-term visa applicants. The authorities believe the new tool will curb corruption that was allegedly taking place in the application process at several Czech embassies. The Visapoint system is now available to the citizens of six countries: China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The head of the consular policy department at the Czech Foreign Ministry, Jan Vyčítal, explains the innovations the new system brings.

“In the past, applicants asked for appointments by phone or through call centres; now, all the embassies operating under the Visapoint system provide the same conditions. The system offers several dates the applicants may accept; they get an e-mail confirmation and they can modify their appointment requirements. So these are the main things that have changed. Also, embassies have an overview about the applicants so that the consuls can prepare themselves for the interview. That’s also a big improvement.”

Foreign Minister Jan Kohout said the new system will be ‘better and more transparent’. Does that mean that the system was not transparent in the past?

“I wouldn’t say so. Visa processing was transparent even before but now the system gives the ministry and the embassies more control. We now know about the number of applicants, their background, and we see who is doing what in the system. This was not possible in the past because the embassies ran their own systems of appointments.”

Jan Kohout (center), Jan Vyčítal (right), photo: CTK

Your ministry has been criticized over the situation at the Czech embassy in Vietnam. There were speculations that the whole procedure is managed from outside and the applicants were organized by local middlemen. Is the new system going to remove this?

“We hope so. The ministry can only assume responsibility for the procedures that take place within the embassy; we cannot be held responsible for the situation off the embassy’s limits. I hope the situation in Hanoi is under control. According to our information from the embassy in Hanoi, the situation is improving. The situation from last year, when there were hundreds of people waiting outside and paying hundreds of dollars to someone who was supposed to help them with the visas is a thing of the past. I’m sure that what’s happening within the embassy in Hanoi is very transparent and all the procedures are above board.”

The new Visapoint system is now available for the citizens of six countries. When will be extended to other countries, and will it eventually cover all the countries around the world?

Photo: Radio Prague

“Hopefully it will. The pilot project first started at Hanoi, and after several moths we implemented the system at other embassies as well. Within several weeks, we hope to cover Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and other countries of the Western Balkans as well as Turkey. In the first stage, we would like to cover the most vulnerable countries where the demand for long-term visas is very high. The aim is to cover all of our embassies by the end of this year.”

The Foreign Ministry introduced another new measure – visa applicants from several countries including Moldova, Ukraine and Vietnam have to prove they are not infected with TB and syphilis and that they are not HIV positive. But syphilis is easily curable – why did you include it on the list?

“That’s a question for the authorities responsible for public health, especially Deputy Health Minister Michael Vít, and the Czech Foreigners’ Police.”

You can access the online visa application system at www.visapoint.eu.