Czech Embassy grapples with large number of visa applications

JEDDAH: The Czech Embassy in the Kingdom has indicated that the number of applications exceeds the embassy’s capacity for dealing with them during most of the year, especially between May and September, and between November and March.
The announcement coincides with attempts of the Czech Republic and Austria to reduce the number of visas issued to Gulf tourists because of concerns over their alleged lack of respect for the environment, public parks and animal rights.
In its announcement, the Czech Embassy in Riyadh urged all applicants to allow three months for processing a visa prior to the intended travel date to a Schengen country. As per Article 23 of the visa law, the regulations allow 15 days to accept or decline the application from the day it is submitted, and if needed, this can be extended to 30 days. If more documentation is needed, the period can be extended to 60 days.
According to sources, the Parliament of Salzburg requested the central government in Vienna to reduce the number of entry visas to visitors coming from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait after complaints from residents.
The embassies in Riyadh and Kuwait have been asked to “provide booklets to all visa applicants about the cultural environment and laws of Austria related to environmental protection and animal rights.”
In turn, Saudi Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Abdullah Al-Asheikh, confirmed the occurrence of protests in the spa town of Teplice against the presence of Arabs and Muslims due to their wearing the hijab and environmental violations.
He said that violations by Gulf citizens last year prompted intervention from the municipality, as well as intervention by the Czech police to ask the embassies to monitor incidents. Though there were no incidents this year, the image of Gulf tourists remains negative among Czech residents, said Al-Asheikh.