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Borys Kosarev: Modernist Kharkiv, 1915-1931 at The Ukrainian Museum thru May 2, 2012
Posted by hanya on May 05, 2000 at 17:00:56:
In Reply to: invites faudulent thus meaningless posted by brian on May 05, 2000 at 11:36:39:
: To get a visa you just need a travel agent with connections and pay him enough money for false invitations.
: We all know that is how it is done.
: This gives no security for the Ukraine and the bribes don't even get to the people of the country who need it.
: Don't underestimate the value of tourist money to the economy
The invitations from travel agents were hardly fraudulent or bribes. This was and is a (Ukraine) government approved method by which to obtain a visa. The travel agent might charge an administrative fee which exceeds the cost of the visa, but they are providing a service by procesing it for you, and they deserve to get paid for that time and effort.
By issuing the invitation, the travel agency also takes on some of the responsibility of a tourist's presence in Ukraine. Generally they make sure that the traveller has insurance, and is booked in a hotel (as opposed to sleeping on a park bench, which has been known to happen), and presumably, since the traveller is paying an agent to provide passage, then he/she is likely to be a "desirable" tourist. Basically, it's one way of screening the people who are permitted into the country.
There's an issue here that's being touched upon, and that's whether or not travel to a country other than yours is a right or a priviledge. If you aren't a citizen of that country, then it is a priviledge, not a right. But countries reserve the right to exclude whomever they wish - ergo, visa and immigration policies.