The Czech government is looking for ways out of the visa deadlock
However, it is still possible to get the coveted number if you turn to intermediaries and pay several hundred euros for their services. What is the Czech Republic doing in this situation?
Reporter of Czech Radio Janek Kroupa conducted an investigation and found that due to the lack of an opportunity to independently book an appointment at Czech consulates in Ukraine, intermediaries are taking large sums of money out of Ukrainians' pockets. By speculating with numbers in the electronic queue of the Czech Foreign Ministry's VISAPOINT system, intermediaries can achieve an annual turnover of up to 110 million euros. To stop this practice, the country's diplomatic department is currently testing the so-called "endless queue." Other steps have also been taken.
"It cannot be said that the VISAPOINT system is not functioning. In the vast majority of countries, it works normally. The problems concern two countries where the influx of people wishing to work in the Czech Republic is the most serious. However, this system limits the flow that we would not be able to handle," emphasizes Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek.
He recalls that the problems with VISAPOINT concern primarily Ukraine and Vietnam, and exclusively the process of issuing work cards. The minister also does not believe that the illegal income of speculators with electronic queue numbers can reach such a significant amount as the reporter claims, since no more than 10,000 visa applicants pass through the VISAPOINT system in Ukraine annually.
"To what extent I am responsible for what happens on the territory of other states, I do not know. The security services have repeatedly confirmed that our employees are not involved in any corruption, which is very important to me. I do not know if we are to blame for the problems that have arisen, as it only affects the VISAPOINT of the two mentioned states.
Let us set aside the degree of our guilt in the emergence of speculation with the numbers of the booking system. However, it does not leave us indifferent, although it does not concern the territory of the Czech Republic.
I also want to note that today the situation is already different from what was described earlier. We have taken measures. For example, the government has increased the number of employees who handle processing at the consulate in Lviv. And this is far from the first and not the only step. Together with employers, we have created a system, a kind of 'fast track,' that allows us to accept employees who want to work for us much faster outside of VISAPOINT.
I know that at the moment 80% of work cards are issued precisely through this new system. Therefore, I can guarantee that today VISAPOINT is no longer under as much pressure as before," is confident Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek.
While investigating the issue of speculation with VISAPOINT pre-booking numbers in Ukraine, Czech Radio reporter Janek Kroupa compared the situation in Ukraine with other states. The Czech Republic provides part of the visa processing services on an outsourcing basis. The journalist managed to find out that the company that received the right to conduct booking and accept applications in Belarus is connected to companies of Oleg Deripaska, who is considered close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Is there a risk for the Czech Republic in this?
"The company in question participated in tenders for the provision of such services not only in the Czech Republic but also in many countries around the world. To cancel such a tender, strong arguments are needed. There must also be interest shown by the state in which the service is provided. The country must declare that there is a risk to its citizens.
Why do we handle visa applications through outsourcing? Because that is what most countries do. We do not have employees to carry out such operations. Moreover, they only organize the queue and then pass the documents to us. They do not process the data. Firstly, carrying out these operations independently is expensive. Secondly, without separating the operation of accepting applications from their processing and visa issuance, there is an additional security risk for the Czech Republic," believes Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek.