Sunday, August 16, 2020

French government offers poisoned gift as consolation prize to the Lebanese

 

Let me begin by saying that Israelis do not need Schengen visas. And that to enter the Schengen space one needs to apply the same papers to all concerned embassies. The papers include: a letter from employer, bank statement, copies of previous visas and passports (with current passport having two additional blank pages and three months valid beyond return date), family civil extract, plane ticket (with return ticket) and hotel booking, the usual travel insurance, 2 photos, means of subsistence (65 Euros per day minimum),  a completed application of several pages, and honestly all this needs to be translated. 
Last time I went in a business trip to the Netherlands that was already 60 papers.
The communique above from the French government offers visas, ability to fly and return and what not... Brilliant one might say. But the devil is in the details. The detail in question? 
"Sans autre restriction que les conditions habituelles d'admission de sejour".
"With no other restriction but the usual conditions of admission for entry".
The conditions I just listed above. Oh and with unemployment rampant and money stuck in the bank, what employer letter and what bank statement do we talk about?
A poisoned gift as consolation prize, don't you think?