Consider this a delayed paean to the U.S., slightly too late for the 4th of July. I had to get extra pages added to my passport in order to get a Nigerian visa. While I was handling my passport in the office, one of my South African counterparts made some comment to the effect of, “Oh, a blue passport – the one that can take you anywhere." South Africans used to have trouble traveling because of apartheid, but I was surprised to find that they still have to get a visa for most places they go. Apparently part of the reason is corruption: you can (illegally) buy South African citizenship and a fully legitimate passport for a couple thousand U.S. dollars. (Zimbabweans were singled out as frequent purchasers of SA passports.) Because other nations don’t trust SA to properly police its own citizenship and passports, they require visas in order to do their own checks.
Oh, and those efficient German? It takes them a week to add pages to a passport. I got mine done in a day. Getting my driver's license to me is a different matter, though...
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
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I can confirm your passport experience at the US Embassy in Beijing. It took me less than an hour to get my new pages in my passport. My favorite part was walking right past a line of at least 30 Chinese people outside the gate, flashing my blue passport, and walking right in, accompanied by the disdain an envious looks of all those in line.
I can also confirm about South African's visa troubles. I have met two teachers here who are South African. Apparently China is one of the easier countries for them to get visas to. But they both told me their options are quite limited, especially to western countries. Asia seems to be a bit more laxed however.
A 'blue' passport really is a ticket to the world. In Japan, I had a 10 hour layover, so of course I had no visa. But when I went through customs, and flashed my 'blue' passport, I got a stamp and a 90 day visa for free without even asking.
I wonder how much a 'fake' but usable US passport costs on the black market?
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