Canadian Consulate in Vienna (CCiV) Hijacked my Passport

[martinezja]

Hello Everyone,


Temporary resident visa (visitor visa):
By mail: 20 working days*
In person in Vienna: 10 working days*

The following is my case:

Me and my partner decided to exchange houses with friends from Montreal, they were supposed to come to our place in Amsterdam at the same time that we will travel to Canada. I hold a Dominican nationality, but I do have a Dutch legal residency of five years, hence i need to request a Canadian visa. I thougth it will be easy because i have a 10 years USA visa and a couple of other visas that probably will make thing easier and they would see that i been in a couple of places outside DR and the Schengen states.

First, we send all the papers to the Canadian Consulate in Berlin. The consulate send it back because according with them they received by May 1, and they were closing the Consulate. They send it back within 8 days. At least in the Berlin Consulate somebody picked up the phone, we could ask questions, they answer to our e-mails, etc. Bad luck... whatever!

Then we send it to Vienna. According with the Mail Tracking code my passport arrived on May 16. I have not received any notification from the CCiV, no e-mail, they don't answer the phone, they don't answer my faxes. It is now a little bit more that one month and i don't have a passport in my hands.

As the Canadian Foreign Affairs Website mention: Entry to Canada is a privilege not a right. I made the choice to send my passport, but is there something i can do to claim my passport back, with or without the visa?

Because of the delays and the price of the flight tickets from Amsterdam to Montreal, we can not travel anymore ( of course i don't have a passport neither). I think I rather prefer visit Zimbabwe than visit Canada any time soon.

Where is my passport? how do i know they have it? How can i claim it? To whom do i complain? Which organization/law support me in this situation?

In the end this have been a waste of money, time and energy; the process have been more really disappointing.

Is there any suggestion of what should i do in this specific situation?

Kind Regards,

Julia

 

[SenoritaBella]

I think the Zimbabwean people would prefer your kind of problems - at least they will have food, internet, safety, money for a trip to Montreal, etc. Just a few things to keep in mind when we think how "bad" we have it.

You know they received it so there's little you can do other than to be patient. Besides, if you ask them to return, there is no guarantee they will act fast.

 

[martinezja]

I think the Zimbabwean people would prefer your kind of problems - at least they will have food, internet, safety, money for a trip to Montreal, etc. Just a few things to keep in mind when we think how "bad" we have it.

You know they received it so there's little you can do other than to be patient. Besides, if you ask them to return, there is no guarantee they will act fast.

Thanks for your answer! Not much help, because that is what i know now. I was looking for a kind of international law/right that allows me to claim my right of property/answer/service against a consular services. I been making my research and of course the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations is there, but there is no mentions about the responsibilities from the consulate to the customers/ requester, solicitors etc.

I am trying to make sure that there is not any laws or rights that supports me, because definitely there is a hole in the system which need to be consider for future references.


And by the way, I have been in Zimbabwe. I and would prefer to volunteer once again, than to visit Canada any time soon.

J-

 

[PMM]

Hi

Thanks for your answer! Not much help, because that is what i know now. I was looking for a kind of international law/right that allows me to claim my right of property/answer/service against a consular services. I been making my research and of course the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations is there, but there is no mentions about the responsibilities from the consulate to the customers/ requester, solicitors etc.

I am trying to make sure that there is not any laws or rights that supports me, because definitely there is a hole in the system which need to be consider for future references.


And by the way, I have been in Zimbabwe. I and would prefer to volunteer once again, than to visit Canada any time soon.

J-

Send a letter/fax or case specific email. They will send your passport without processing the visa if you so wish.

 

[CanadaVisa1]

Did you get your passport. I am also waiting for my.

 

[Leon]

Send them a letter in registered mail. Include a self addressed envelope. Tell them you have changed your mind about going to Canada and need your passport back asap.

 

[Jeannie Grey]

Hi, I also have similar problems, although I'm applying for working permit+temporary resident visa.
I'm a foreign scientist in the Netherlands, so I first applied to Berlin but they closed down the office with no prior announcement.
Before re-directing to Vienna, I figured that the Vienna office requires your passport to be valid for >1 year. This was not the case for Berlin.
After getting new passport, I sent my application, which was received by June 1.
I waited until 20 working days (=June 29) before e-mailing them but still no response until now.
I sent one email and one case-specific inquiry. I called them but the receptionist was kinda cruel and put me directly to the machine of the visa section.

I'm getting worried because my Dutch residence permit will expire by July 28, which means before that I have to leave Netherlands and I need my passport, hopefully with a Canadian visa in it, but at this moment I just need to have my passport before I become illegal in the Netherlands.

Martinezja/Julia: DId you finally get your passport back? Your document arrived ~10 working days before mine, so if you haven't received your passport until now then I'm kinda screwed I guess

 

[Jeannie Grey]

I found this in another thread, posted by Anvaller on June 27, 2012, 02:46:03 pm

"The point is Vienna seems busy now on TRV/study permit applications, a friend of mine was there this week and she was the 93rd applicant for study permit on that day alone... U can imagine. I think their priority would shift to to those applications since most student are expecting to get their visas before August."

I'm wondering if anyone has received their TRV/study permit around this time... Please share the timeline. I will also share when mine arrives.. hopefully soon :