Uzbek visa problems
 

Just made it through the Pamirs and in Khorog, heading to Dushanbe next. Plan was to head into Uzbekistan, but...
I've just heard that my LOI was denied. I will try and get a visa without a LOI in Dushanbe, but not overly hopeful.

Has anyone else had similar problems / got advice suggestions or alternatives?

Thanks!

Hi Helen,
if you get stuck in Dushanbe because you don't have the LOI, and you probably will because the LOI is mandatory for Uz visa, try Stantours (they are in Almaty and Ashgabat) they can organize you a fresh LOI Uzbekistan - Visa

They are a reputable company and are recommended by the big Visaburo's. I hope they are not the ones that are failing you with the rejected LOI.

Cheers,
Noel

Stantours is indeed who I used (and failed with). I believe that for UK citizens, an LOI is not required - but it usually speeds things up, which is why I wanted one...

Not sure if it is better to try again with another agency for an LOI or just try and get visa without... logic would say that if I can't get an LOI, then I wouldn't get a visa... but logic doesn't always count for much when it comes to this kind of thing I guess!

Helen,

This is what I got from the website of Caravanistan another company you may use if you want to get the LOI;

Citizens of Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand (we think), UK and USA do not need a letter of invitation to apply for their Uzbekistan tourist visa.

So like you said, it seems you don't need it!

Good luck :thumbup1:
Cheers,
Noel

Hello Helen

I am not quite sure f it was you we met in Mongoilia

http://imageshack.us/a/img27/8896/1w8z.jpg

Definitely a passing resemblance between that pic and the face I see in the mirror. A few less pounds, slightly dirtier and wearing significantly more clothes now though...

Wow, you did it.

As I told you, the most crazy person i ever met :rofl:

Oh no! What did I do?

Update - went to the embassy in Dushanbe today... they took my application but NOT my passport or money and said to come back in a week.

Now why would they do that? Can't put a visa in my passport if they don't have my passport! Was an arse of a guy there too. Not hopeful...

With "you did it" I ment, that you really got through mongolia and even further on.

Very deep respect for what you are doing.
I would not be able to do that, I am way not sporty enough to just think about it.

And I hope you get your visa problems sorted and have fun on the road:D:D

Helen,

without a LOI it is normal to take a week. They send your application to the MFA in Tashkent and it takes a week to get an answer. When you go back they'll put the visa in your passport while you wait.

We had the same in Istanbul a few months ago, but because we didn't want to wait a week we requested to send the response to the embassy in Tehran, where (to our surprise..) we could just pick up our visa a few weeks later. In Tehran it was also taking a week for the travelers without LOI we met there.

Good luck!

I am in love !
 

Kudos young lady ,, I am in awe of your travels. My around the world on a Harley is nothing , compare to your resolve and courage. Let us meet one day,, a bottle of best bubbly is on moi !
Till then keep your wits about you,,

Ah, now that sounds better! cheers.

Hi

not taking the passport while processing the visa request is quite common in central asian embassies as you thereby can apply for many visas at a time and as most of them have longer processing times you save a lot of waiting time. Getting the visas in central asia this year was frustrating enough though (they sometimes close without notice and you have to wait one or a few days more).

Greetings from İstanbul

ps for the Azeris we took the online-application as theır embassy in Bishkek was shut down for 2 weeks (and it worked fine)

same red pants ....

...now with holes in the backside!

Agreed:thumbup1:

I'll settle for a beer! And I can live with crazy!

Well, I got the uzbek visa! (Yeah!)
So I can finally leave Dushanbe! (Yeah!)
And that all means I'll be heading to those famous Silk Road cities - Samarkhand, Bukhara and Khiva - that I've wanted to see for, well, about a decade now. (Yeah!)

But which route to take?
I'll be taking Denau border and heading to Samarkand via Boysun, and Shahrisabz - but after that, I don't know...

The main direct roads to Bukhara and Khiva would kind of make sense, but I've heard there's little of interest and it's boring cycling - and long dull stretches of tarmac don't interest me at all.
So, are there any other routes that might be more fun? According to the map, there are several smaller roads.
Alternatively, I could stick the bike on a bus/train as that would give me more time to explore elsewhere - in that case... where else?

Any recommendations from anyone who's explored the country?

Hi Helen

very good you got your visa. Which countries are you heading after Uzb?
2 months ago we mainly took public transport through Uzb to be not too late in Caucasus, so we skipped Samarkand. Most interesting stretch is in the mountaineous region after Denav, afterwards it is quite flat and the main attractions are indeed the cities. You now should have better cycling weather, just when we were in Khiva, the climate changed significantly from 40 to 30 degrees (not due to the region, but weather changed on autumn I supose).

Good cycling

Christian

cause extra air conditioning suits the climate now, right?

:thumbup1:

Does anyone have any recent experience with the Uzbek Embassy in Bishkek?

I couldn't get an Uzbek visa ahead of the trip as I left more than 3 months before I'm due to enter Uzbekistan. I understand that, as a UK passport holder, I can get an Uzbek visa without an LOI (although an LOI can speed up the process).

Does anyone have information on how long it would take the embassy in Bishkek to process an application without an LOI?

I'm exchanging e-mails with Stantours at the moment regarding a possible LOI, but the limited methods of payment are proving to be a hurdle, so I may have to go the no-LOI route.

Thanks,

Stantours will only accept payment via wire-transfer, which can prove difficult whilst already on the road.

However, we've now found a way to get a wire-transfer sent, so I should be able to get the LOI, which should result in the prompt issuance of a visa in Bishkek (all being well).