TURKMENISTAN: VISITING IRANIANS DESCRIBE VISA AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001460 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/IR AND SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/12/2019 TAGS: IR PHUM PGOV PREL CVIS TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: VISITING IRANIANS DESCRIBE VISA AND REGISTRATION HEADACHES ASHGABAT 00001460 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Sylvia R. Curran. Reasons: 1.4(b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Iranians who wish to visit Turkmenistan face an array of bureaucratic roadblocks, including a stringent visa regime (most applicants are unsuccessful) and, once in the country, a burdensome registration process. Several recent visitors described these difficulties in conversations with Iran Watcher. In addition, Iranians from northern Iran who wish to apply for a U.S. visa in Ashgabat are usually no-shows, again presumably because they cannot obtain a Turkmen visa. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) Iranians traveling to Turkmenistan say they are subjected to a string of requirements to obtain a Turkmen visa, and that most applicants are ultimately rejected. In recent conversations with Iran Watcher, several visiting Iranians described problems, delays and irregularities with the Turkmen visa and registration process, including a requirement that they "register" with the Iranian Embassy in Ashgabat and provide evidence of a stay at a local hotel, even when visiting family or friends. ¶3. (C) Elham, a 35-year old education consultant from Tehran, visited Ashgabat in October to apply for a UK student visa. She was about to begin a PhD program at the University of London, but as the UK Embassy in Tehran had shut down its visa services several weeks earlier, she decided to bypass the appointment waiting list in Dubai or Abu Dhabi and obtain the visa in Ashgabat enroute to London. Her husband, a UN official in Iran, had requested the help of a colleague at the Turkmen Academy of Sciences to obtain an LOI (Letter of Invitation) for her. They later learned that her visa request had been rejected, after which it was resubmitted. On October 1, the State Migration Service issued an LOI, but, contrary to normal practice, sent it directly to the Turkmen Embassy in Tehran. Oddly, the space where the inviting individual or organization is normally listed was left blank. REGISTRATION RUNAROUND ¶4. (C) Elham traveled to Ashgabat on October 9, applied for the UK visa, and planned to depart to London on October 14. She stayed at the home of a Western diplomat and since her stay was to exceed 72 hours, she was required to register with the State Migration Service in order to exit the country. When she contacted the Migration Service, however, she was told that as a "private" (unsponsored) visitor, she would have to "register" with the Iranian Embassy in Ashgabat and show proof of residence at a local hotel. As is required of all female visitors to the Iranian Embassy, she said she put on the mandatory "manteau" (long coat) and hijab and went to the embassy. As she was about to enter, she had second thoughts, particularly concerns about its reporting to the Ministry of Internal Security in Tehran that she had Western contacts in Ashgabat. She ultimately avoided the registration requirement by departing Ashgabat one day early, which put her within the 72-hour window. ¶5. (C) Another recent visitor, Shahin, a visa applicant from Mashhad in her late forties, said that she and her family had obtained Turkmen visas through a travel agency in Iran, and were informed that only applicants that "apply as a family" could successfully obtain a Turkmen visa. Since the U.S. visa application process for Iranians requires special "Visas Condor" processing for all applicants over 16, her husband will need to return to Ashgabat with the passports when the visas are ready to be issued. Given the "family" requirement, however, all three will have to make the journey again, including her 5-year old son. The travel agency, which reportedly charged hefty commissions (their 5-day stay cost them approximately USD 2000, including hotel, visa and expediting fees),arranged their registration for them. VISA APPLICANTS: NO WAY TO GET TO ASHGABAT ¶6. (SBU) Post's Consular Section routinely gets inquiries to ASHGABAT 00001460 002.2 OF 002 its public e-mail address from Iranian student applicants, mostly residing in the area of Mashhad (two hours from Ashgabat by car) who want to apply for a U.S. visa in Ashgabat. The Section informs them that they may apply here if they can obtain a Turkmen visa. Normally the inquiry ends at that point. Likewise, more than a dozen Iranians made visa appointments in Ashgabat over the past four months, but failed to appear, presumably because they could not obtain Turkmen visas. ¶7. (C) Even Amcits of Iranian origin report difficulties in obtaining a Turkmen LOI. A local Iranian-American leader of the Bahai community, who has lived in Ashgabat for nearly 20 years, reported that her two Amcit brothers-in-law (both of Iranian origin -- one was even born in Turkmenistan) had LOI requests rejected each time they applied in recent years. However, they were recently granted permission to visit for a maximum stay of ten days. ¶8. (C) COMMENT: There is no welcome mat out for Iranians wishing to visit Turkmenistan. According to our contacts, the visa regime was tightened in recent years after some visitors were perceived as overindulging in alcohol, which, unlike in Iran, is freely available. Given the blanket restrictions on Iranian visitors, however, Turkmen concerns appear to extend beyond wanting to avoid the disorderly conduct of a few. END COMMENT. CURRAN