Poll Analysis | Bribe for Embassy Services
Embassies are entities seeking to establish diplomatic relations among countries. This is usually located overseas to provide protection to its host citizens. This is also to ensure maintenance of healthy relationships with other countries.
When a civilian resides in a country, the embassies are expected to guide their country civilians in terms of processing negotiations that need to be followed. But when civilians are let down by their own embassies, whom do they seek help from? This has been the case of an Indian in West Africa who was forced to pay a bribe to renew his visa. With none to help him out with the process, he had to resort to paying a bribe without a receipt by the official.
I paid a bribe conducted a poll on whether Indians residing in other countries have been asked to pay a bribe at their embassy. 36 % of our readers admitted to having paid a bribe to Indian embassy while most people (46%) said that they did not have to pay a bribe. 8% voted saying that bribe was demanded from them but refused to pay while the other 10 % say they knew someone who paid a bribe.
Many such similar reports have been posted on our site. Another complainant from Manila reported as to how he was asked to pay money even to enter the Indian embassy office. He shared that all others had to go through the same process of paying a bribe at the checkpoint, which then will take them to the office. He adds that refusal to pay bribe would lead to shelling out more money.
Another respondent from UK had to face a lot of difficulty in getting a visa for his cousins who wanted to visit UK to attend his wedding. After all the hue and cry, he says that they had to shell out some money to get their visa within a short time.
In such situations what can one do other than bribe the embassies?