Glad to read this thread.
I want to pass on my recent experience with my visa in Kas last week.
My last visa was renewed in Bulgaria on 20th JUNE. The visa stamp I got had USA dollars on it which I thought was odd at the time but never thought anything more about it.
As I was coming to the Fethiye area to collect the rest of my things I thought to save me the awful Bulgarian run and so I would kill two birds etc...........
Phoned Selo - ok no problem see you 10.30 Kas. Warm welcome off Selo like an old friend. :DGave in passport. Went back to tea garden Selo comes in shouting my name all over the place much to my embarrassment in front of other ex pats and roaring my visa is 12 days overdue!!! :-\The POLICE want to see you! I said to the other people around the tables its actually 12 days UNDER not OVER.
I was flabbergasted!!
I followed Selo who was ranting down to the his little desk by his boat and he said your VISA IS 12 DAYS OVERDUE!! YOU HAVE TO PAY 190 LIRA NOW OR YOU ARE OUT OF THIS COUNTRY FOR THE NEXT 5 YEARS!
!] I kept saying you are wrong but it fell on deaf ears. I said to Selo can I speak to you in PRIVATE he said NO!
Just then the old robbin git:
that tried to sting me for 50 euros on my first trip rode up on his bike with my passport(apparently hes been promoted now from robbin git : :)to captain of a visa run boat) he put it on the desk and kept banging his finger down on my passport pointing to the stamp saying MAYIS MAYIS YOU CAME MAYIS.[
!]I turned to Selo and said how can this be??....
..........he said the police say its on the computer that you came here in MAY..... Er no I said that is JUNE
- it's VI not V. [^] He would not have any of it. Selo pointed to the Visa stamp and said that is a TURKISH VISA STAMP you have been given
- I said What!!?? with dollars on it?? You must pay the 190 lira he said or dont do your visa now but if you are 15 days over then you will be deported!! : :)Eh???(he ran around like his arse was on fire)- well I was absolutely gobsmacked :oso I said to Selo that I was in currently in Istanbul and the reasons why......and why would I be here on an expired visa?
[
)]....etc.......he made a phone call and suddenly everything was all ok?! [|)]
All I got after that was sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry.............needless to say Im applying for residency now but I have heard various stories that they are getting meaner at the borders and frightening people into parting with money unecessarily.
A girl on my last bulgarian run had to pay 300 lira when she was 10 MINUTES over her visa. My other colleague got told they assumed she was working because this was her 2nd trip over and could she show them her work permit. She WAS staying with a boyfriend so why did they ask her for her work permit. Scare tactics is the order of the day now so beware. They will try and get you on the tiniest discrepancy on your visa. In my case it was a clear V and a rather faded I next to it.
I was astonished the behaviour of SELO! but I suppose in fairness to him he could lose his business but it annoyed me that Ive been doing that run for the last 2 years or more and he took it as read that I was trying to pull a fast one and using him to do it.
But I wont be going on his runs again.
Brian there must also be Linda syndrome.
That other captain on the boat is a cheat if its the same one you went on and the same thing happened to me I got shunted to another boat (his) but came back on Selo's boat because I didnt want to stay until 3pm in Maice.
It seems they got to put someone through hell just to set an example to the rest of the visa runners and you and I were IT!
