Embassy runaround

In the last week of October, 1996 I rang the Australian Embassy to find out what my Indonesian in-laws would need to apply for an Australian tourist visa.

After listening to the computerized instructions and getting through to immigration I asked the girl what exactly they would need.

She told me they would need their passports and a photocopy of the last three months of their bank statement. I asked her: "Do they need to bring their tickets?" "No," she said. Then I asked: "Do they need sponsor letters? There are housewives traveling without their husbands going with me." "No," she said. "So, they don't need sponsor letters, even though they're traveling without their husbands?" "No," she said again.

So, Monday, Nov. 4, I went to the Australian embassy with two of my sisters-in-law. They fill in their forms and wait. I had another appointment so, thinking everything was okay, I left them.

About midday I got a call from one of my sister-in-laws telling me they have to return the next day because they didn't have sponsor letters.

I straight away rang up the embassy to complain. I asked why wasn't I given the right information when I rang up last week; especially since I specifically asked if they needed sponsor letters.

The girl said to me that the person who spoke to me probably didn't know. Well, I'm afraid that's not good enough. I'm an Australian and I spoke to a person there who spoke very good English. If she is working in the immigration department of the Australian Embassy she must know what she is doing.

For a tourist visit (one year) you need: for a housewife -- a letter from her husband; for a male -- a letter from their place of employment; for a retired male -- a letter from their child (?); and if you're over 60 years old -- you need a letter from your doctor to say you are healthy. And of course you need your passport and a copy of your bank statement for the last three months.

M. ZAINAL

Jakarta