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Syrian visas - unemployed Syrian visas - unemployed
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  #1  
Old 14 Aug 2010
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Syrian visas - unemployed
We're on the point of applying for our Syrian visas for our trip to SA.

As I left work a few weeks ago I'm now technically unemployed. The Syrian visa form requires you to provide a letter from your employer confirming that you have a job. (I assume that this is to make sure that you're not looking for work in Syria!).

Has anyone any experience of this, or should I be declaring that I'm self-employed?

Thanks
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Old 14 Aug 2010
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Originally Posted by frenchian View Post
We're on the point of applying for our Syrian visas for our trip to SA.

As I left work a few weeks ago I'm now technically unemployed. The Syrian visa form requires you to provide a letter from your employer confirming that you have a job. (I assume that this is to make sure that you're not looking for work in Syria!).

Has anyone any experience of this, or should I be declaring that I'm self-employed?

Thanks
Can you find a friendly small business (a chip shop, anything at all) to say youre employed there, or just make up your own tasty letter with the phone number of clued up friend? Or get a letter from your last job and change the dates?

good luck, you can do it.

Or get one at the border? Check this out.I fancy Syria too. If you dont get in, turn left and go to Georgia, which I fancy too.
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Old 15 Aug 2010
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Can't get one at the border.
Tell 'em you are self employed at whatever you did.
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Old 15 Aug 2010
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Do the border guards actually verify if you place of employment is legit or not?

Do they look it up on the web, call the phone number provided, or what?
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Old 15 Aug 2010
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Border guards won't, but the visa section of the embassy could do checks - that's why I want to know if anyone has any actual experience.
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Old 15 Aug 2010
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Originally Posted by Docsherlock View Post
Can't get one at the border.
Tell 'em you are self employed at whatever you did.
Fair enough if you know that.

My reading around suggests that you can get them at the border for around 30 euros and they are valid for two weeks. They make you buy insurance too, I'm told.
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Old 15 Aug 2010
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It's interesting that some people are reporting that you can get visas on the border, there have been a lot of posts over the last few years indicating that if you have a Syrian embassy in your home country then they insist on you getting it that way. Maybe they're relaxing the rules?
I'm not keen on crossing Europe plus Turkey to get turned back at the border, so am looking for someone with actual recent experience who can advise me. anyone out there?!

Thanks
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Old 16 Aug 2010
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We applied for our Syrian visa in london half way through our trip, so we were also unemployed.

I asked the lady at the consulate what we need to put in there and she said put 'Currently not working - long term travel'. I can't remember if you need to put your profession, but if required, complete that field of the form, eg plumber or accountant or whatever. For some reason Middle Eastern countries like to see what your profession is. If you are a journalist or something like that, then i would think twice about putting that down. Might cause a few problems...

Hope this helps
Check the visa page on our website for info
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Old 16 Aug 2010
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Originally Posted by frenchian View Post
It's interesting that some people are reporting that you can get visas on the border, there have been a lot of posts over the last few years indicating that if you have a Syrian embassy in your home country then they insist on you getting it that way. Maybe they're relaxing the rules?
I'm not keen on crossing Europe plus Turkey to get turned back at the border, so am looking for someone with actual recent experience who can advise me. anyone out there?!

Thanks
An additional alternative is to pick the visa up in Ankara on your way through.
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  #10  
Old 16 Aug 2010
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When I went had to get it in advance from London. Looked into all options pretty carefully, but rules do change. 2005, that was.
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  #11  
Old 21 Aug 2010
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We got ours on the Jordan/Syria border September 2009. They make you queue for quite a while and say "Why didn't you get this in London?" We said we hadn't been to London for years as we had been living in SA and were travelling up to the U.K. (On U.K. passports)

They call Damascus and get you approved then let you in. Total process including insurance and carnet clearance took around 2 hours. That's very quick for Africa/Middle East (Apart from Jordan which took 15 minutes to get in) It was also extremely busy as it was a public holiday as it was 2/3 days before Eid.
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