The Swine Flu & Visa Issue?

Some have been wondering how I came out on the issue of needing a swine flu (H1N1) clearance for the visa.

Well, this is what has happened. Recently, there was a new (3rd) requirement for applying for a visa for Pakistan, a swine flu (H1N1) clearance. Literally, it wasn't there one day and then the next day when I went to finish the on-line applications, it was there, listed as a new 3rd required document! You can find this now listed on many website visa services. All that is stated is "a swine clearance is required". So this was the information I was initially going on. It wasn't much and didn't give any kind of directions on what the clearance needed to say or what to include. I called my doctor to find out what it would take to be "cleared" of the swine flu/H1N1. I panicked a little when he told me it takes 10 days for the test results! I knew we couldn't wait 10 days before applying for the visas. My doctor wasn't comfortable just writing a statement without the tests and without some kind of report template to use. The instructions on how to do this were so very, very vague . . . so I just got on the phone with Washington, D.C.!

After a day of phone calls to Washington, D.C. and an on-line chat with a visa official, I found out that the swine flue clearance is only required for entry into the country of Pakistan, not for issuing a visa. (I don't know why they don't spell that out in the visa application instructions!) Anyway, what that meant for us is we didn't have to race to find a doctor & take a physical/test & have a report written giving us swine flu clearance so this 3rd document could be enclosed with the other 2 documents (original passports/2 passport photos) needed for the visa application. Our visa were not delayed at all! Yeah! Very important, since we would like our visas by 8/15!

However, we will still have to make a doctor's appointment & take physicals/tests & have reports written up that gives us swine flu clearance just before we travel. We will need to hand carry it with us for entry into the country.

Just a little interesting information for those of you who want to travel to Pakistan these days!

The online visa service I used is really cool (VisaHQ.com). They give you automatic email updates on your visa as it moves through the process. According to the update email I received today, we are currently waiting to be approved at the Consulate's office. Once that step is finished, we are in the completed phase! Then the visas will be issued and sent to us. Right on schedule!

:)