People Our Business

Alhamdulillah, I was sooooo much relieved when I opened my e-mailbox today, reading an email for an officer from the Australian embassy that my Australian visa has been granted today. He will be sending my passport back tomorrow from Berlin*.

I am so much impressed with the service of the Australian embassy in Berlin.

Few weeks ago when I was going to apply for the visa, I had several issues that I was so confused and I needed some advices from the embassy. I hesitantly called them, but the officer whom I talked to was so empathetic. I was then feeling so comfortable.

These few days, I have been communicating by email with another officer who took care of special cases. Because there was a delay in the post service when I sent my application to Berlin, I missed my time estimation for the visa to be granted in time before I leave the Netherlands. As advised by a lady in the embassy phone line, I sent a fax requesting an assistance in early visa issuance. Within a few hour, I had a reply to my email from another officer telling me that he had received my fax and all efforts would be done to make my visa in time.

That email was so relieving; I didn't expect to hear anything so soon from the embassy about my fax. Moreover, I didn't expect to hear anything about my visa after that email so fast; at least not within this week. I thought it would take at least a little while to have it processed. Today I sent my newly extended residence permit (yes, I have it already!! :) by email, considering that it is required to process my visa application; but you know what reply I got? He said that my visa has been granted! And it was just two days after I sent my fax!!!

The fast response was not the only thing that amazed me; but the way how he --as someone who works in the embassy, especially in the consular service, communicated with me really made me at ease. I felt like he understood my problems and was willing to help.

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If only I had this secure feeling from the beginning, I wouldn't have been as panic as I have been. The image in my mind about "consular service" was so frightening, and the experience that I just had was just too good to be true!

I noticed from the visa application form and also from the signature part of his email, there was an eye-catching, as it was written nicely, slogan:


is this the reason why all services I experienced was so friendly, and also, making me feel respected as a customer --not as someone who was begging for a permission to enter a country?

Australia, I am coming, insya Allah... :)
And now I have a hope to meet people with "people our business" in their mind there...

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*) Note: for 22 countries in Europe, the Australian embassy that has consular service is only the embassy in Berlin. This means that every application should be sent to Berlin.