Moldovan citizens’ visa applications for Romania to be processed at Foreign Ministry in Bucharest too

Romania's Consulate in Chisinau will employ as of January 25 ten more workers and specialised diplomats in order to issue visas. Also, weekly, another 600 visa applications will be processed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Bucharest, by the specialised division, and will be transmitted for application to Chisinau. Romanian Foreign Ministry made this statement in the context of President Traian Basescu’s request to undertake measures to settle the visa crisis. In the Romanian President’s statement made for press, which comprises the conclusions of his visit paid to the consular division of Romania’s Embassy in Chisinau, Basescu said that the diplomatic mission has a reduced capacity for issuing visa applications, meaning about 200 visas a day, given that there is just one on-line registration system, which is not at hand for the citizens in the rural areas. “Practically, there are very many citizens that have no solution to apply for a visa”, Basescu said. As Romanian President says, MFA found that the processing capacity does not correspond to the established parameters. “As for the statement that we can issue 200 visa applications a day, in fact, on January 15, there were processed 61 applications, while on January 16 only 81, bearing in mind that the Consulate’s personnel include 22 employees do date”, Basescu asserts. At the same time, as of January 25, a specialised general consul will arrive in Chisinau to assess the capacity of issuing visas, said Romania’s president. Also, he pleaded for acquiring a corresponding building for the consulate in Chisinau, “which will probably be the largest of all the consulates that Romania has abroad, as concerns the work capacity”. Romania’s President paid on Tuesday, January 16, a flying visit to Chisinau and met Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin. The two heads of state have decided to open temporary consular divisions in Balti and Cahul within 7-10 days, in order to accelerate the process of issuing visas.