An Indian traveller has had a concerning experience with the visa-facilitation company Atlys, describing how handling mistakes and delays in third-party applications can quickly become a stressful and expensive experience.
The traveller had requested a visa to the Mongols via Atlys, which was supposed to be delivered in three days, but instead it took 15 days. Worse still, the visa issued had an incorrect passport number on it at the outset when it was issued-- something that would have resulted in the detention or deportation of the holder at the border. His account of the experience in a reel quickly became viral and drew a huge following on the internet.
Atlys, in response to the viral post, made contact with the traveller and assured him that the mistake would be rectified within no time. The new visa enabled him to resume his journey, and he headed to Erenhot, the China-Mongolia frontier. But his misfortunes had still to come. On his arrival, he found that the national holiday week (October 1-8) had stalled cross-border bus services in China. His Mongolian visa would run out on October 8, and he would risk being stuck.
The Atlys crew again made calls to him to be safe on his journey. Having realised that the holiday closure had left him with no alternative, they offered to foot the bill of a flight between Erenhot and the capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar. It was this intervention that eventually saw him go forward, but after weeks of dithering, cancelled tickets, rising expenses, and excessive stress.
The team at Atlys acknowledged the mistake and said that they find 99.08 per cent of documentation errors, but this case revealed vulnerabilities in their system. They promised better anomaly detection and increased supervision. The problem, however, was not unique, as some other social media users complained about experiencing the same delays and frustrations with the service.
The episode highlights the dangers of relying on a mediator to obtain important documents such as visas. Any minor clerical error or unforeseen delay can cost a lot of money, a cancellation of the trip or even deportation. Although Atlys ultimately cleared the case of the traveller, the incident is a lesson to others to be cautious, review documents, and have backups and contingency plans.
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