We always wanted to go to New Zealand. Or at least I did.

Ever since we were engaged, New Zealand was on the top of our list and for many reasons. For one, everyone was going to Europe or Australia for their honeymoon and we wanted to be different. We’re adventurous folk and Europe didn’t really fancy us…at least not yet and New Zealand is certainly an ultimate destination for Adventurers. Also, I’m a huge Lord of the Rings fan, so that had a lot to do with the decision too. I mean come on, if the landscape and scenery from the movie doesn’t inspire you to go there, then what will?

Anyways, we applied for a visa a year after we got married because

1. We didn’t have enough money at the time (spent a lot on the wedding)
2. We had to go to a series of weddings just a few weeks after ours so we couldn’t make extended travel plans (check out where we went for our mini-moon, instead)
3. There wasn’t enough time to plan the trip

A little background story so you better understand the later parts:

In our custom, when a couple gets married, we get a huge sum of money from family, relatives and friends. Undoubtedly, I had put this money in the bank to sponsor our trip and use it to show evidence of funds to the consulate. Bad move. And you’ll soon see why.

Fast forward to this year, we started applying for New Zealand. Being from Pakistan and India, it was a hectic ordeal collecting all the documents. After submission, there were continuous issues with our application with back and forth emails where the embassy required more supporting documents from us.

A few days later, we got an email saying that we need to come in and collect a letter. A gut feeling told me that our application was denied. I open the letter, heart about to jump out of my mouth, and yes there it said, we regret to inform you, your application has been denied.

Reasons for visa rejection:

1. Where did the huge amount of money deposit come from? Where’s the proof? Yea but how are we suppose to show that? Take photocopies of all our money envelope gifts from our relatives? Maybe a letter from our parents would have helped.
2. We believe you’re not bona fide tourist travelers and intend of staying in the country. Fair enough but why not call us in for an interview?
3. You haven’t traveled enough to countries such as ours and Australia. Perhaps try visiting more countries first. Great idea and that is exactly what we will do.
4. They didn’t state in the letter this but I think it is one of the reasons for our rejection – we didn’t show our marriage certification. See we haven’t registered our marriage under Thai law yet (and there’s a reason for that) but to the Indian and Pakistani society, we’re married enough. This might have made them to believe that we were two solo travelers, showing off as married and possibly seeking work in New Zealand. Wow that would be an elaborate plan, though.

I was distraught at first. I never wanted to travel again because it couldn’t be worth all this hassle. Why me, I thought? Why is it so much easier for Westerners to travel, I kept on. Wow, I can’t believe I was like that.

Luckily, Kanika is the voice of reason and suggested that we try applying to a different destination. So we did.

A blessing in disguise

So how was this rejection the best thing that happened to us? Well, not only did it teach us a huge lesson about visa applications, it gave us an opportunity to travel to Africa. It turned out that the trip there was more than we could have hoped for or imagined.

Africa was truly amazing and a continent that most people are quick to write off and I wonder why? I would so much rather go back here than go Europe or United States.

OK, I have no basis of comparison but still I found South Africa and Seychelles to be a perfect mix of culture and adventure, which is exactly what we needed for our honeymoon.

We were even able to knock off THREE countries instead of just the ONE.

Here are some photos to take you back with us on our amazing journey. Beat that New Zealand!

The experience made us realize that plans aren’t set in stone and travel isn’t all about the destination. It’s not about the journey either. It’s about taking the leap and experiencing new things – wherever that might take you. We have to learn to roll with the punches because life will throw some hard ones at us.

Tips for Visa Applications

Here’s our first hand experience on things to keep in mind when applying for visas, especially when you hold passports such as Indian and Pakistani:

1. Opt for visa-free countries or countries that are easier on your nationality. Australia, New Zealand, US, etc are quite difficult. South Africa wasn’t as difficult. Seychelles was visa-free. This should be your first choice because embassies will see that you’ve traveled enough without issues.
2. Research, research, research. It’s a big time hassle but make sure you know exactly what the requirements are. Check with the website, with the consulate, with friends. Anywhere. Don’t trust just one source.
3. If you have little funds in your bank account and are borrowing money, DO NOT deposit a huge sum at one go. Break it up over a few months. When I deposited the money we got from our wedding, they were suspicious and we couldn’t really prove where it came from.
4. Get sponsorships, invitation letters or book through an agent who can verify that everything is legit. That’s what we did when we went to South Africa. However, despite all that, we still went through some heat from the lady at the front desk but at least we got the visa in the end.

There you have it. I take this experience with a pinch of salt and made margaritas out of it. I’m slightly more confident (but also increasingly exhausted) in applying for visas. It’s a sad truth and fact of life for us.

Share us your visa application peeves and experiences. Maybe we can give each other some pointers.