Published on March 26, 2009
Work of the embassy of the Czech Republic in Hanoi
Work of the embassy of the Czech Republic in Hanoi
Within the inquiry into complaints concerning the embassy in Hanoi, a joint meeting took place on October 3, 2008, in the Office of the Public Defender of Rights with the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior and the Head Office of the Foreign Police. The agenda of the joint meeting included the proposed measures concerning the methodology of carrying out interviews with applicants for visas up to 90 days, obligatory signing of the record of the interview with an applicant for visa and the obligation to draw up such a record. The Defender noted only one positive change at the meeting, namely interviews with the family members of EU citizens where the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed him that a record of the interview is obligatorily drawn up by the embassies with respect to applicants for visas up to 90 days. However, even in these cases the record is not signed by the visa applicant. The Defender will therefore opine critically on the existing practice of carrying out interviews in his 2008 annual report, which is submitted annually to the Chamber of Deputies. He pointed out the issue earlier at the regular press conference on August 13, 2008. The Defender considers the publicising of the issue of interviews with the applicants for visas to be a penal measure in the sense of Section 20 (2) (b) of Act No. 349/1999 Coll., on the Public Defender of Rights as amended. The Defender will continue to carefully observe this area in the future and attempt remedy within his competencies.
Work of the embassy of the Czech Republic in Hanoi
Within the inquiry into complaints concerning the embassy in Hanoi, a joint meeting took place on October 3, 2008, in the Office of the Public Defender of Rights with the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Asylum and Migration Policy of the Ministry of the Interior and the Head Office of the Foreign Police. The agenda of the joint meeting included the proposed measures concerning the methodology of carrying out interviews with applicants for visas up to 90 days, obligatory signing of the record of the interview with an applicant for visa and the obligation to draw up such a record. The Defender noted only one positive change at the meeting, namely interviews with the family members of EU citizens where the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed him that a record of the interview is obligatorily drawn up by the embassies with respect to applicants for visas up to 90 days. However, even in these cases the record is not signed by the visa applicant. The Defender will therefore opine critically on the existing practice of carrying out interviews in his 2008 annual report, which is submitted annually to the Chamber of Deputies. He pointed out the issue earlier at the regular press conference on August 13, 2008. The Defender considers the publicising of the issue of interviews with the applicants for visas to be a penal measure in the sense of Section 20 (2) (b) of Act No. 349/1999 Coll., on the Public Defender of Rights as amended. The Defender will continue to carefully observe this area in the future and attempt remedy within his competencies.