This wasn’t the first time I handed over my passport for a visa. When I arrived in Lubumbashi, I went through immigration with a visa Volant and whilst they processed my application. They held onto my passport whilst I was taken from the airport to a medical centre where they drew blood and took a chest x-ray.
Whilst I was with a company representative, you are pretty much at their mercy as they keep your passport whilst you go offsite. Should something goes wrong, you would be unable to leave the country until a new passport was issued. As far as I know Australia doesn’t have an embassy, or even a consulate for that matter in the Democratic Republic of Congo - that’s an issue.
So I had to wait eight weeks for my visa to be processed and should something go wrong I am stuck in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Not that I aren’t enjoying my time here, it is just the potential time frame that I am left without a passport in a foreign country.
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