OMG! Indian challenges never end... but such an amazing country! I'm a Spanish Kathak and Bollywood dancer living in India since a lot of years and I love this land!!! Thank you for sharing your experience!! Wish you all the best!! 🌟
UPDATE: A viewer informed me two days ago that the Finnish Embassy website now has the information about needing an appointment for consular services. I checked the site and indeed the info is there all big and clear! The embassy has also removed the info about the general opening hours of those services, so there can be no misunderstandings or missing the appointment info in the future, as the only information for visa/passport applicants is that you need an appointment. This change has happened only in the last few weeks so clearly my feedback has been heard, and it makes me immensely happy that there was IMMEDIATE ACTION taken ☺️🙏
All the embassies of the world treats their work as big favor to their nation and thinks every one who is approaching them for renewal is not worthy of their attention.
@@JohannaNorth The security must be thinking you are coming for applying the EU visa. For which their is appointment system. You must be the first Finnish citizen they would have met visiting to extend passport. Also most of these embassys are full of bureaucratic as a rule who want to avoid work. The Finnish person you met must be meeting people for Visa from 9 to 12 so She/he met you post lunch at 2pm. Before that was all in famous "security detail".
@@AjitJoshi686 oh but they ask for the purpose of visit already at the gate, so they knew I was a Finnish citizen coming to renew my passport. I wish it was a big misunderstanding like you described 😂
I've had even more bitter experiences as an Indian trying to renew my Indian passport. The online stuff lulls you into thinking you just need to present yourself there with the documents mentioned, and thats it. In India it's best to take a defensive approach and expect some problem or the other, and be pleasantly surprised if everything runs smooth...😁
The Finnish Embassy isn’t operated by Indian bureaucrats though, but is a Finnish govt representative in India, so I think it’s more than reasonable to expect them to be as smooth and efficient as any similar services are in Finland 😊 I’ve of course had lots of challenges with Indian bureaucracy too, probably worse than this, but that comes as no surprise 😕
Hi Johanna so sorry for your troubles and thank you for sharing your experience, eventually it will work for you and you will get your new passport. I enjoyed watching and can not wait to see more. Stay safe as always. :-)
While I was visiting the German embassy in Bangalore for enquiring about my Visa, I wasn't allowed there with my mobile phone where I had all my details saved. I had nothing with me at that time except for the digital version of the documents. I think all these hassles boil down to lack of coordination between the various staffs maybe due to some beaureaucratic reasons.
Thank you so much for showing and recommending Goan Cuisine to all your Indian and foreign audience. Goan cuisine is known around the world for its spicy and delicious tasty food. Most people(Indians&Foreigners) think Goa has only beaches and rave parties but Goa is so much more than just that. In your previous videos I used to always hear you say only bad things about Goa only after visiting the crowded and touristy places but this video made me feel good thanks a lot.😊❤️
I love Goan food and Goa altogether is one my of my favourite places in India (not for the raves though, but nature, food and slow living) 🥰 Hoping to move there or to the mountains, when we might relocate from Kerala! I’ve never said bad things about Goa though 🤔 unless you count me sharing my honest experience about groping/harrassment in Goa as saying bad things, but I’ve shared similar experiences from other places too. 🙏
@@JohannaNorth This makes me soo happy as a local goan thank you. Yes next time you come visit Goa please visit the less touristy and crowdy places go to the south there are also many beautiful places there. North Goa avoid Clangute, Baga, Vagator Indian tourists have given those place a bad reputation by littering and doing crimes by coming to goa for a holiday but sad part is foreigners end up thinking that these people are local goans which they not. They have come from other parts of India just like you to enjoy in Goa and I’m so sorry you was groped in Calangute I couldn’t even sleep that night that also made me sad and concerned about the safety of goan women😣. I even shared your video on whatsapp to aware goans of such people coming to Goa and doing this disgusting things. Mostly foreigners who come to goa don’t play Holi on the street there are alot of events held across Goa in resorts especially for foreigners and they also have an entry ticket and such goons don’t come there. Local goans are quite friendly and helpful to foreigners that’s why lots of europeans come to Goa to enjoy the nature and live among friendly helpful people just like in Kerala. Mistakes foreigners do is when they come Goa they don’t get a local goan guide for a better Goa experience. Next time you come to Goa please try Goan Fish Thali with Rava fry Prawns and Mussels.😋😊
Dear Johanna, Greetings to you and Vinod Ji. I am amazed to see how positive you both are in times of serious challenges. I believe the embassy should have been responding to your emails. As that would help you plan your visit to meet the staff and get your Passport renewal experience a less stressful one. It's such a long journey to make in your present situation. I am glad you could finally complete your purpose of visiting New Delhi. Godbless you two Always.
I agree I should have been getting better response to my emails and more accurate info once they did finally reply. Considering my main concern was if I really have to travel there in person all the way from Kerala in the middle of pandemic and pregnancy, a logical person would have explained the process and made it easier on me 😔 but thank goodness I’ll at least get the passport now
Dear Johanna and Vinod Ji,Pranam! I have seen your ordeal. In your physical and emotional state, an expecting Mother and father are walking miles from one gate to another. Lack of communication with an embassy. Please raise this issue with a humane approach stating your case and travel from Kerala, for the Passport formalities. If this is how, representing Countries deal with individuals, there must be others who did face similar experiences. Someone in the Embassy, needs to read all received mails and respond to resolve the issues. And this is happening, without any improvement to service to the applicant. I hope you get a written explanation to your polite feedback Email to the Counsellor General of your Embassy in New Delhi. God Bless you two always.
Hi Johanna. This is standard experience for Indians applying for visa. When you reach the Indian staff at these embassies, you are stuck in non-empowered zone. They are usually like trained assembly line workers...not ready to handle exceptions. If you manage to reach the European staffers, most problems can be very quickly and satisfactorily resolved. Getting through is the hard part. Next time, call the embassy and only talk in Finnish till they transfer you to a Finnish person. Also, only email in Finnish.
You must’ve missed it in my lengthy story, but my initial attempts for contact were through email (in Finnish) and by calling and in English specifically because I had been advised that with Finnish Embassy specifically this would be the best way to get contact. But I did not get any specific info and answers to my queries 😔 and btw, obviously i dont think Indian customers should get this kind of treatment either. I would expect the Finnish Embassy to treat the people visiting there with the same kind of politeness and efficiency as all govt offices do in Finland. 🙏
Apologetic Indian😂 😂. Finnish embassy works on the protocol provided by the finnish authorities. Even johanna is mentioning the problem was from embassy who weren't responding to her email. I don't think gatekeepers reply to those email. They work on the orders from Finnish sitting inside. If they would allow, the gatekeeper will not stop even a single ant from entering leave aside a finnish lady. But you start derogatory terms for whole Indian workforce due to inferiority complex.
@@MrKrishna9291 I would seriously ask you to keep your judgements to yourself. First, I said Indians are un-empowered. That means that they operate within the parameters provided by the Finnish embassy management. That is not an insult to Indians. Why you perceive otherwise is for you to figure out. Secondly, whether emails to the embassy are checked by Indian staff or not is something neither you or I know for sure. My assessment is based on (a) personal experience over several visa applications to European countries and (b) Johanna's statement that it is better to write to the embassy in English. Please try to keep your judgemental side at home. It does not serve you well.
@@sanvija Apologetic Indian 😂. Just rephrasing my statement and trying to get some brownie points. Instead of analyzing what you wrote, you started crying foul and want to tell others what to do and don't. Keep your personal experience personal and look the video with Indian perspective where these employees have to deal with many India specific incidents. Even Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a compassionate looking women and Indian Parliament attacked by just some neighboring tourist. Don't fit your European specs here and start calling Indian some assembly line robot. Tell those European sitting inside to remove hurdles for their countrymen. Finnish embassy is for Finnish, by finnish. Why unnecessarily drag Indian by calling them assembly line workers ?
Sorry to hear about the difficulties u had to face in the Finnish embassy in your condition. Luckily you could get the process completed. All the best to you and vinod. Safe driving to Jaipur
I’m so glad at the end you made it. I really feel so sorry you have to go through all this. Please be safe, drive safe and be healthy. I love to watch all ur RUclips videos ❤️❤️❤️👍
That was Helluva Experience with equal Anxiety, which kept us throughout the video. Take care of your health. Yes, you must report the same experience to Finland officials back in your country, someway.
Many security guards in America think they are cops too. The littler the guy the more they want to flaunt power over people because of their own insecurity.
@Ajit Joshi Indians in America have more $ than average Americans because they are willing to work hard and are not wasteful and mostly are educated as doctors or in technology. They generally also have good ethics. There are very strong Indian communities in America but also integrated into the professional society.
Muistoja tulee mieleen! Ikävä kuulla huonosta kokemuksestasi. Itse muistan meilalleeni sinne suomeksi ja saaneeni ihan ok palvelua suomalaisilta diplomaateilta. Mulle jäi mieleen kerta, jolloin vauvallani oli likainen vaippa ja konsulaatissa ei ollut paikkaa vaihtaa vaippaa, ja silloisen suurlähettilään vaimo vei minut kotiinsa (samassa kompleksissa) vaihtamaan vaippaa ja tarjoili vieläpä karjalanpiirakkaa 😊 Toivottavasti pysytte terveinä ja saat uuden passin pian. 👍 Muuten, Delhissä suosittelisin käymään Dilli Haat - nimisessä paikassa jossa on ruokakojuja ja käsitöitä kaikista eri osavaltioista, käydään siellä joka Delhin- reissulla. Oletteko käyneet Jaipurin Chowki Dandissa? Sekin on aivan upea kokemus.
Ihana suurlähettilään vaimo!! Juuri tuollaisen kokemuksen odotin itsekin mahdollisesti saavani, että suomalainen tiimihenki kukoistaa erityisesti meillä vähäisillä suomalaisilla näin valtavassa maassa 😁 mutta siis onneksi mun palautehan on nyt kuultu ja nettisivut on muutettu kertomaan, että tapaaminen tarvii varata etukäteen! 🙏 Oon kuullut noista paikoista, mutta valitettavasti ei vielä tälläkään reissulla päästy käymään ☹️ toivottavasti sitten ensi kerralla!
So sorry to know about your awful experience at the Finnish embassy in India. Partly I guess because of lack of co-ordination of Finnish staff & Indian staff. Fortunately, here in Brussels, Belgium...I didn't have much unpleasant experiences at the Indian Embassy. I have been there for re- newal of passport, legalising documents etc. There was always a delay as usual like in any Indian offices. But most of the Indian & Belgian staff there were polite. They even refunded my money back to my account, that they once by mistake overcharged me for some service. And that too with in a week's time. Johanna...I am glad anyway that all went ok at the end at the Finnish embassy. Greetings from Belgium 🇧🇪
I hope you explained the obstacles you faced to the Finnish person who eventually dealt with your situation so smoothly, so that he/she would be alerted to the unnecessary bureaucracies and something could be done about that.
I was completely prepared to give them a mouthful, but then the passport officer came in being so nice and efficient that it completely threw me off and I didn’t know how to complain at their face. which is something we Finns struggle with anyways 😂 we’re very good at leaving negative feedback afterwards, and that’s what I’m doing too 😁
@@JohannaNorth hmm.. hope your video reaches them.. else, please try to mail them or put a link on their Twitter account.. they need to be given a feedback
Happy to hear ‘all’s well ends well’ with your visit to the Finnish embassy. Sadly the preliminary experiences (gatekeepers) were unsatisfactory. Unfortunately that’s should not be reflective of your country but individuals (staff). Blessings
Unfortunately it wasn’t just the gatekeepers but also the actual consular staff not providing me sufficient info for my email and phone queries 😔 but yes now I’m just happy it’s over 😁
I think you should let the Embassy officials know about your bad experience. Also, that they need to put up the Need for an Appointment on the website, so you can book it online before visit.
Yes definitely they’re getting lots of feedback from me 😄 and a very good idea not just to have the info about appointments online, but also a booking system!
Usually renewal of passport can be done through online application providing all the info and documents and submitting online , I am surprised that your Embassy asked you to come in person , the only factor that I am thinking and I could be totally wrong that maybe because your matrimony is Indian , you are an honest person but there are people around the world who misuse marital status to live in a country , therefore they may have wanted to see you in person . As for the gate security or over the phone they must have been doing their job as instructed from the Finnish officials of the Embassy . It’s good to know that you could get through all the turbulence and got the passport going :)
In Finland I could’ve totally applied for a renewal online. The system works with personal identification which is pretty impossible for a scammer to get through. I wasn’t allowed to use it because ”I won’t be able to get a good enough passport photo in India” (still they approve it for the paper application) 🙄😂 I have a hard time believing this would have anything to so with international marriage, even though your logic is pretty sound!
Sad commentary indeed. The Indian staff obviously lack sensitivity training - a mistake on the part of the senior Finnish officers at the Embassy to place untrained local staff at the front office where it matters most.
my Indian passport got damaged in Washington DC while on a visit. The Indian embassy charges $330 for a new one (tatkal). The funny thing is after a day they called me and said do you have any influence in Passport Office at N***** (a city in India where my passport previous to the damaged one was issued). Luckily a young IFS guy understood my predicament and issued me a new passport within a couple of hours.
Oh wow, that is very unfortunate! I also had to pay a hefty passport fee. More than three times the fee I’d be paying for a new passport in Finland! 😁💸
Wow! It was nothing short of a Hollywood crime thriller 😃😃. Your videos literally take your viewers through the places and events. Hats off to your presentation and narration skills!👍🏻👍🏻 Sorry that you had to go through such experiences in the middle of these challenging times, especially for you. I'm sure the ending must have been "extra satisfying," considering how hard it was to get there. With all of that said, I have one suggestion. Be very careful when you are holding the camera and walking, especially when you are talking to the camera and recording. The road surfaces/sidewalks are very uneven (as you may have already noticed). Other than that, stay safe! Stay healthy! Have fun! Eat well!
Thank you so much for the compliments! Really glad you were enjoying and yes I’ll be enjoying too once i have the passport in my pocket and I hopefully have no business with the embassy in many years 😁😂
Why does Finnish Embassy require such gatekeepers? Is there such a rush in that embassy? I like the way Americans have streamlined the massive visa application load at their embassy. When I took the UK or the Singapore visa, I did not meet any staff from those countries only the Indian processing staff. Whereas for USA, there was a face to face interview with an American Embassy staff.
Well I was the only person there that day, but I do hear they have a couple of hundred residency permits queued up while they only get to work on those 2 days per week, 6 applications per day. So some queues exist somewhere I guess, even though one cant see them 😁
My passport wasn't issued for 2 months after all visits, documentation, and police check. I wrote an email to highest authority controller, it was dispatched next day itself. Didn't think even a European embassy will behave in similar fashion 😂
It appears that long years of association with the Indian system of functioning has transformed the Finnish Embassy into just another rule bound/authoritarian/sleepy/inept/frustrating Government of India Department You need to kick some ass here(AFTER you get your job done). Send a mail to all the persons higher up in the Finnish hierarchy.
really!!!...strange...coz my experience with the US embassy in Delhi and Indian embassy here in Houston was smooth sailing properly organized...Although the appointment was a thumb rule at both consulates and that is what I used to believe by default as visiting an embassy without an appointment sounds a little strange to me...
I only have good experience with Indian embassy in Finland too. But they have no requirements for visa applicants to make appointments there, except for maybe some special visas and then it will be the embassy to specifically notify about it. I have only ever visited the Indian embassy as per my own convenience during office hours 😊 most other Finnish govt agencies don’t require appointments either.
It seems the Finnish embassy website shows that you need an appointment. Would be surprised if you do not require an appointment in Finland. Nowadays, I even need a reservation to go to a restaurant.
The website has been changed since the last time I visited it, it seems. Which is good since I had given feedback it should include info about needing an appointment 👍 and no, you dont need to book an appointment in Finland.
I would not he surprised if it is the Indian staff is the reason for all the runaround and inefficiency? Speciality of Indian staff in lot of places is creating beuracracy, inefficiencies, give runaround, and creating hurdles in these places and it is not surprising, unless things have changed over the years. I seriously doubt it is Finnish staff. Send this video to the embassy in Finland, they need to replace people at the embassy. Nobody loses their job in India, no fear, and that creates these problems. You should be able to renew via mail, unless they have an extraordinary reason. As for the website not making things clear, I would guess that is coming from Finland, if it is that would be surprising to me.
Surely there were issues with the Indian gate staff, but I don’t think the Finnish staff is without fault either. They didn’t reply my email queries with sufficient info either, which would have initially helped me to avoid all these hurdles 😕 and i’m definitely gonna be giving them a mouthful of negative feedback in writing on every official platform i can come up with - like we Finns always do, but never face to face 😂😂👌
Loved Ur Dress & Mask... 1:32 😂😂😂 going home... 6:19 😂😂😂 can fit whole finish population... Hate to see a pregnant women have to travel all the way just to renew a passport during a pandemic & still have to suffer another issues at indianized finish embassy... ☮️
I am married to a Belgian , the amount of harassment & disrespected i felt applying for visa even after being married was very disappointing . They really do not behave rationally or i must say humanely . So your experience comes as no surprise to me. But being in a inter- cultural relationship somehow demands such bureaucracy hassle, i am in peace with it. Living in Belgium for 2 years, honestly Europe is not my piece of cake, we plan to move back in time in the south of India :) Good luck for the baby stay safe & healthy!
Very sorry to hear about your experience. ❤️ I was dealing with my own embassy though, with a representative of my own native country’s govt. I might expect this from Indian bureaucratic offices, but definitely not from my own country - not even when it comes to them dealing with Indian nationals.
Interesting to hear how the Finnish Embassy operates in a super big -population wise- country like India. Wonder how it operates in USA,China,Australia 😊. Agree that you deserve more flexibility,convenience and comfort in view of your special circumstances. In fact human beings need to be treated as humans not as pieces of data. Rules are for general guidance and need to be adapted to human beings by human beings in government agencies. That is why Indians don't follow rules😉, they tend to follow their human instincts and behave "graciously". So everybody in India is familiar and accustomed to being treated as a VIP. Hope your new Finnish passport is valid for at least 25 years.😊🌹
India gives that spiritual experience in life which gives you patience.Ask Vinod to book a guest house near Shantipath.A lot of govt guest houses are nearby.Punjab govt guest house is very nearby .Book an overnight stay and be prepared for surprise s.
It was a couple of weeks ago that we visited Delhi, but I’ll surely keep these recommendations in mind for the future! 😊 not sure if they’d be open in the current situation though? At least Tamil Nadu house canteen was closed when we visited 🤔
Omg 😳 relived to know things got done after all the hassles and yes, “fingers” crossed till your passport arrives! Don’t know why no matter where you live but you always face this kind of challenges at indian embassies..? My daughter had applied for OCI visa when she was studying in London and it has been almost over seven years but they never issued her visa, after lot of frustration she gave up. They have kept the visa fees she paid for. You are looking so good dear and just love seeing you via your blogs😍 ❤️😘🤗 PS Johanna dear, can you please send me your amazon link for baby gifts!
The Indian embassy in Finland works actually perfectly well, always a very smooth and efficient process when I’ve had any business with them! ☺️👌 but yes I’m still always afraid of having similar experiences to that of your daughter’s! Thank you so much, Shreya, for always complimenting me and making me feel much better ❤️ many days I don’t feel glowing exactly but it always helps to read such nice words 😊 The link for the wishlist is www.amazon.in/hz/wishlist/ls/2OWK8NRDYO0P5?ref_=wl_share If you lose the link you can also always find it in the description of all my videos 🙏❤️
Thank you dear for sending me your amazon link!.. so finally I got to pick my gifts for baby but I am not able complete the order! My husband couldn’t either🙄.. not able to ask for help from others cause covid and I m getting frustrated! Hoping to send soon!!❤️
Ma'am, after Corona please do visit Sikkim (a northeastern state) which is also known by different names such as; - Switzerland of India - First fully organic state of India. Ma'am, if you have time then you can research on Sikkim because it really has so many things to offer🙏
@@JohannaNorth Just watched your vlog about Sikkim and loved it. The best part to watch these travelling videos is that it flashes back all the memories. From your vlog it just reminds me again how Sikkim is raw, rustic, peaceful, clean, spiritual and in its purest form🎎♥️
Exactly Indian high commission is a commission office before and they think Indians means north parts of people only but surprisingly 6 months ago I be there every thing change and new appointment system it be a big change and never expected and only little bad things be the door officer he only speak Hindi
Johanna, it’s not the Finnish staff that prove incompetent it’s the Indian staff. It’s their nature that’s just the way it is. Even in the U.K. they were so ignorant and rude. Thank god for VFS.
Get your mum or sister to renew your passport in Finland next time and send it to you by registered secure mail might be a lot easier then going through all that trouble since you will be with a child next time, ps apply a brown shade in your eye brows it will give the beautiful highlight to your face and make your face look fresher and brighter.
Shame on the Finnish Embassy staff for allowing the Indian staff to give a pregnant Finnish citizen the run around like that. You could send an email to the Embassy in your capital, Vinod could author the letter so as not to stress you out. He is your rock during this time. 👍 Be well. (Do they have bathtubs there for a nice scented relaxing soak? )
Oh I pretty much have the feedback already drafted! I agree it’s very important to let authorities know when there is a great lack in service. But I must say that it wasn’t just the Indian staff giving me a run around India - the Finnish staff wasn’t replying my email queries with sufficient info either 😅😒
Were they waiting for a bribe in order to skip the required "appointment"? It is their DUTY to provide correct information and SERVE its citizens. What gives them the idea they are demi-gods because of a uniform?
100% agree on duty to serve and usually Finnish officials do follow it to teet. I’m not completely sure where the issue was stemming from - was it the word of a Finnish official through the phone or the Indian staff at the gate 😕 it wasn’t like the Finnish staff was replying with enough info to my email queries either
@@JohannaNorth Weird and annoying but successfully resolved. All the same, I'm a great proponent of writing letters (ccd to the appropriate people like your member of parliament in Finland) about incidents like this. I once sent a letter addressed to "The Bureaucrat Whose Job It Is To Care (and got a very nice response). Something reasoned and dispassionate stating: 1. Your concerns over the lack of responses to your initial queries which you made in repeatedly and in timely fashion. 2. The lack of information stating that you would not be able to access your phone and should print documents. 3. That appointments are mandatory. 4. India is a vast country and you had to endure X number of hours in transit in order to attend in person. 5. And of course the pregnancy/pandemic concerns with the sincere wish that this shouldn't happen to other good citizens of Finland. I hope you do this. And if you get a reply, do let us know whether they're the least bit apologetic.
Indian embassy in Finland and all the Finnish govt agencies work very well and smooth, with proper information given. In Finland it’s their job to serve citizens/residents and offer info and help - and anything different from that will not be acceptable. Of course some unfortunate exceptions might occur but discrimination and not doing your job well is highly unacceptable in Finnish culture
Generally passport and visa issues are a major hassle in any country ...did you try a travel agent? In India , travel agents can do all the dirty work at cheap rates , this is the advantages of being in India.
I don't want to use travel agents and give my personal documents to unknown third parties :/ I was surprised that this would happen in a Finnish embassy, since getting my passport or visa applications done in Finland is no hassle at all :)
@@JohannaNorth true that , my family is also wary of 3rd parties but there is alot of bureacracy issues in India and bribe taking , so even drivers license sometimes we go through agents who have offices near the govt office. So near the passport office , there will be agents with offices. Things are generally hassle everywhere when it comes to legal govt documents. Some countries are efficient in handling and have an organised online and in-person system but not all countries are organised 😂.
Yes any passport or visa related you need an appointment in any country any embassy. I have hardly seen walk-in cases. So next time any travel related info, approach a travel agent first and get details. They would have told you that you need an appointment. Travel agents will give you the information for free over the phone and will not collect your personal info. The consulate websites can be very confusing for us since there are different types of traveller's.
Be safe... I'm not in Delhi, but I heard covid is pretty bad there, best to avoid Delhi and due to the passport emergency you had to go. Take care dear
Indian English is its own form of English and expressions unique to Indian English are as legitimate as expressions unique to other dialects of English. Maybe she is choosing to speak in Indian English since she lives in India and is speaking to a mostly Indian audience?
4 года назад+1
Its not the Finns ...who are not helpful.....but Indian employees in the Embassies are ones who are not good with customer services.....
I would say they are learning all the bad bureaucratic methods from Indian bureaucrats. They make one stand in all kinds of line at the airport so that several officials can stamp your passport. They even stamp your boarding pass >:O
Why so much hype n complaints abt that. First time I got my passport I need to be there in person and then after that I renewed again physical presnt must and again renewed again person needed I have no issue with that.
The Finnish Authorities have obviously outsourced some 'frontline tasks' to an Indian entity without ensuring proper cultural training. So you had to endure the initial Indian bureaucratic experience before you got through to the Finnish Authority! Besides, Very few people read their own websites!
In Finland the websites (esp. by govt) are required to have accurate and sufficient info available there, because most procedures are done online and govt encourages people to use online services to avoid crowding the phonelines and offices with queries and visits 😊 that’s why it was a great surprise not getting proper info for my application!
You forgot this is India, not Finland. Everything here is roundabout and takes days of confusion, delays and no signboards. I know because I'm not an Indian citizen. 😊. You and Vinod need to move to Finland!
It is not acceptable what you had to go through especially considering that these “services” are funded by tax payers! It’s a stress for nothing and usually because people are on some kind of a power trip! Really enjoy your videos and wish you all the best! ❤️ Was also wondering what you use to film your vlogs! 🎥
This particular vlog has been filmed on my new iPhone 11, like my other vlogs from Delhi and Jaipur. In the vlogs filmed at our home I use mainly Sony a6000 and most earlier travel vlogs have been filmed with GoPro hero 7 😊
We only had the impression that Europeana are very professional. Its sad to see finland embassy getting unprofessional. Such unprofessional behaviour should never be acceptable.
Very likely. But I still wish they had replied to my queries on phone and emails. It's not like there are too many Finns living in India and in need of passport renewal :/
Because india is a very huge country, INDIA = Entire Europe + USA 32 crore lives in us, and 72 cr lives in entire europe, so that's why they asked you too many questions.
I am glad that you finally got your passport. If a Finnish citizen had to deal with this at the embassy, I wonder how an Indian applying for schengen visa is treated. Probably the passport officer and other finnish authorities are not aware of how people are handled at the reception/entrance. PS: I don't know if it's mummy's food or the teal sweater or the Jaipur sun, but you are glowing.
Thank you Shruthi! Let’s blame all those three things for the glow 😁🙏 I don’t think the only issue was with the Indian staff, because the Finnish personnel there didn’t reply to my email queries written in Finnish properly either 😕 but obviously I wouldn’t expect Indian nationals to get any better treatment at my embassy either which is a shame that they are given such a bad image of us as people 😔
Englannissakin joutuu kyllä paikan päälle menemään etukäteen varatun ajan kanssa jos haluaa passin uusia eikä siinä ilmeisesti ole poikkeuksia. Ehkä se on joku ulkomailla uusimiseen liittyvä juttu. Toki Intiassa tämä tuntuu olevan hiukan monimutkaisempi prosessi...
Varmasti voi olla ulkomailla uusimiseen liittyvä juttu eikä siinä olisi mitään ongelmaa, jos siitä vain infottaisiin jossain! Mutta ei ollut tietoa netissä eikä kerrottu email/puh tiedusteluissani, niin mistäpä minä sitä ennustaisin 😂🤷♀️
Looks like there is lack of communication between the Finnish consular officers & their Gatekeeper Staff, that caused most of ur hardship. But i guess all's well that ends well plus with that additional bonus of goan fish curry 😁
@@JohannaNorth It is a big embassy to the non-Indians. It is totally different for Indian citizens. An Indian citizen has to enter through a back door in the basement. I had a very similar situation in 2009 December. It was painful. I had to wait for an entire day in the cold to renew my passport.
4 года назад+1
I feel for you your own embassy behaving so badly towards a pregnant lady.
Might be, but I don’t want to assume. I did try to communicate with Finnish staff also in my email queries and took several weeks to get even a generic reply lacking vital info, so the Finnish staff isn’t perfect either.
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
OMG! Indian challenges never end... but such an amazing country! I'm a Spanish Kathak and Bollywood dancer living in India since a lot of years and I love this land!!! Thank you for sharing your experience!! Wish you all the best!! 🌟
UPDATE: A viewer informed me two days ago that the Finnish Embassy website now has the information about needing an appointment for consular services. I checked the site and indeed the info is there all big and clear! The embassy has also removed the info about the general opening hours of those services, so there can be no misunderstandings or missing the appointment info in the future, as the only information for visa/passport applicants is that you need an appointment. This change has happened only in the last few weeks so clearly my feedback has been heard, and it makes me immensely happy that there was IMMEDIATE ACTION taken ☺️🙏
Shame on Finnish Embassy for treating a pregnant lady like this.
All the embassies of the world treats their work as big favor to their nation and thinks every one who is approaching them for renewal is not worthy of their attention.
A very unfortunate attitude if that’s true and I’ve never experienced it before in Finnish govt agencies or even the Indian embassy in Finland!
I suggest, you send a copy of this video to the embassy for them to know the hardships you had to face.
I’m still weighing my options about sending the video or if I should write a more polite, but still negative feedback letter 😂
@@JohannaNorth This is very much required. This will help Embassy to self assess their rules and services provided.
@@JohannaNorth The security must be thinking you are coming for applying the EU visa. For which their is appointment system. You must be the first Finnish citizen they would have met visiting to extend passport. Also most of these embassys are full of bureaucratic as a rule who want to avoid work. The Finnish person you met must be meeting people for Visa from 9 to 12 so She/he met you post lunch at 2pm. Before that was all in famous "security detail".
@@AjitJoshi686 oh but they ask for the purpose of visit already at the gate, so they knew I was a Finnish citizen coming to renew my passport. I wish it was a big misunderstanding like you described 😂
I've had even more bitter experiences as an Indian trying to renew my Indian passport. The online stuff lulls you into thinking you just need to present yourself there with the documents mentioned, and thats it. In India it's best to take a defensive approach and expect some problem or the other, and be pleasantly surprised if everything runs smooth...😁
You did not go to TCS run Passport Seva ? Me and my family members in Mumbai had very smooth experience.
The Finnish Embassy isn’t operated by Indian bureaucrats though, but is a Finnish govt representative in India, so I think it’s more than reasonable to expect them to be as smooth and efficient as any similar services are in Finland 😊 I’ve of course had lots of challenges with Indian bureaucracy too, probably worse than this, but that comes as no surprise 😕
@@JohannaNorth That Finnish govt representative became Indian !!!! British put in huge beuracracy in India, and Indians perfected it !!!!
In Saudi, our Indian Embassy renewed my passport within 1 week, that to with out visting the embassy physically
Amazing service 👏🤩
Hi Johanna so sorry for your troubles and thank you for sharing your experience, eventually it will work for you and you will get your new passport. I enjoyed watching and can not wait to see more. Stay safe as always. :-)
Hopefully in a few weeks i will have the passport 😊🙏
@@JohannaNorth Sounds good :-)
While I was visiting the German embassy in Bangalore for enquiring about my Visa, I wasn't allowed there with my mobile phone where I had all my details saved. I had nothing with me at that time except for the digital version of the documents. I think all these hassles boil down to lack of coordination between the various staffs maybe due to some beaureaucratic reasons.
Thank you so much for showing and recommending Goan Cuisine to all your Indian and foreign audience. Goan cuisine is known around the world for its spicy and delicious tasty food. Most people(Indians&Foreigners) think Goa has only beaches and rave parties but Goa is so much more than just that. In your previous videos I used to always hear you say only bad things about Goa only after visiting the crowded and touristy places but this video made me feel good thanks a lot.😊❤️
I love Goan food and Goa altogether is one my of my favourite places in India (not for the raves though, but nature, food and slow living) 🥰 Hoping to move there or to the mountains, when we might relocate from Kerala! I’ve never said bad things about Goa though 🤔 unless you count me sharing my honest experience about groping/harrassment in Goa as saying bad things, but I’ve shared similar experiences from other places too. 🙏
@@JohannaNorth This makes me soo happy as a local goan thank you. Yes next time you come visit Goa please visit the less touristy and crowdy places go to the south there are also many beautiful places there. North Goa avoid Clangute, Baga, Vagator Indian tourists have given those place a bad reputation by littering and doing crimes by coming to goa for a holiday but sad part is foreigners end up thinking that these people are local goans which they not. They have come from other parts of India just like you to enjoy in Goa and I’m so sorry you was groped in Calangute I couldn’t even sleep that night that also made me sad and concerned about the safety of goan women😣. I even shared your video on whatsapp to aware goans of such people coming to Goa and doing this disgusting things. Mostly foreigners who come to goa don’t play Holi on the street there are alot of events held across Goa in resorts especially for foreigners and they also have an entry ticket and such goons don’t come there. Local goans are quite friendly and helpful to foreigners that’s why lots of europeans come to Goa to enjoy the nature and live among friendly helpful people just like in Kerala. Mistakes foreigners do is when they come Goa they don’t get a local goan guide for a better Goa experience. Next time you come to Goa please try Goan Fish Thali with Rava fry Prawns and Mussels.😋😊
Finally, you got your passport sorted. Well done Johanna
4:45 Even the U.S. embassy like other American things are Big, Bold, Loud and very confident about their existence.
Dear Johanna, Greetings to you and Vinod Ji. I am amazed to see how positive you both are in times of serious challenges. I believe the embassy should have been responding to your emails. As that would help you plan your visit to meet the staff and get your Passport renewal experience a less stressful one.
It's such a long journey to make in your present situation. I am glad you could finally complete your purpose of visiting New Delhi.
Godbless you two Always.
I agree I should have been getting better response to my emails and more accurate info once they did finally reply. Considering my main concern was if I really have to travel there in person all the way from Kerala in the middle of pandemic and pregnancy, a logical person would have explained the process and made it easier on me 😔 but thank goodness I’ll at least get the passport now
Dear Johanna and Vinod Ji,Pranam!
I have seen your ordeal.
In your physical and emotional state, an expecting Mother and father are walking miles from one gate to another.
Lack of communication with an embassy.
Please raise this issue with a humane approach stating your case and travel from Kerala, for the Passport formalities.
If this is how, representing Countries deal with individuals, there must be others who did face similar experiences.
Someone in the Embassy, needs to read all received mails and respond to resolve the issues.
And this is happening, without any improvement to service to the applicant.
I hope you get a written explanation to your polite feedback Email to the Counsellor General of your Embassy in New Delhi.
God Bless you two always.
Hi Johanna. This is standard experience for Indians applying for visa. When you reach the Indian staff at these embassies, you are stuck in non-empowered zone. They are usually like trained assembly line workers...not ready to handle exceptions. If you manage to reach the European staffers, most problems can be very quickly and satisfactorily resolved. Getting through is the hard part. Next time, call the embassy and only talk in Finnish till they transfer you to a Finnish person. Also, only email in Finnish.
You must’ve missed it in my lengthy story, but my initial attempts for contact were through email (in Finnish) and by calling and in English specifically because I had been advised that with Finnish Embassy specifically this would be the best way to get contact. But I did not get any specific info and answers to my queries 😔 and btw, obviously i dont think Indian customers should get this kind of treatment either. I would expect the Finnish Embassy to treat the people visiting there with the same kind of politeness and efficiency as all govt offices do in Finland. 🙏
Apologetic Indian😂 😂. Finnish embassy works on the protocol provided by the finnish authorities. Even johanna is mentioning the problem was from embassy who weren't responding to her email. I don't think gatekeepers reply to those email. They work on the orders from Finnish sitting inside. If they would allow, the gatekeeper will not stop even a single ant from entering leave aside a finnish lady.
But you start derogatory terms for whole Indian workforce due to inferiority complex.
@@MrKrishna9291 I would seriously ask you to keep your judgements to yourself. First, I said Indians are un-empowered. That means that they operate within the parameters provided by the Finnish embassy management. That is not an insult to Indians. Why you perceive otherwise is for you to figure out. Secondly, whether emails to the embassy are checked by Indian staff or not is something neither you or I know for sure. My assessment is based on (a) personal experience over several visa applications to European countries and (b) Johanna's statement that it is better to write to the embassy in English. Please try to keep your judgemental side at home. It does not serve you well.
@@JohannaNorth I agree that everybody should get good service.
@@sanvija Apologetic Indian 😂. Just rephrasing my statement and trying to get some brownie points. Instead of analyzing what you wrote, you started crying foul and want to tell others what to do and don't.
Keep your personal experience personal and look the video with Indian perspective where these employees have to deal with many India specific incidents. Even Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a compassionate looking women and Indian Parliament attacked by just some neighboring tourist. Don't fit your European specs here and start calling Indian some assembly line robot. Tell those European sitting inside to remove hurdles for their countrymen.
Finnish embassy is for Finnish, by finnish. Why unnecessarily drag Indian by calling them assembly line workers ?
Don't be embarrassed. It is common for Indians to be embarrassed. Humiliation is common.
Idk I’m so obsessed with your vlogs! Honestly those are epic! 🤩
Sorry to hear about the difficulties u had to face in the Finnish embassy in your condition. Luckily you could get the process completed. All the best to you and vinod. Safe driving to Jaipur
Thank you so much, Nirmala 🙏☺️
Apples???? Never heard of an apple sundae! Yummy! And glad you got your passport taken care of!
I’m so glad at the end you made it. I really feel so sorry you have to go through all this. Please be safe, drive safe and be healthy. I love to watch all ur RUclips videos ❤️❤️❤️👍
Thank you so much 🙏❤️
Amazing that you did all in such a difficult time....I wish Embassy could make life of people some easy...
Yes it was certainly an awful experience .Awful and agonizing. I am however happy that the whole episode had a happy ending .Take care. God bless u.
Thank you 😊🙏
That was Helluva Experience with equal Anxiety, which kept us throughout the video. Take care of your health. Yes, you must report the same experience to Finland officials back in your country, someway.
Planning to write even the foreign ministry about it 😁 I also happen to be a member of one same FB group as the Finnish ambassador to India 😏
@@JohannaNorth Please do.. don't leave it unreported
Yaaay m 2nd to comment
Love to see ur vlog
Love from Nagaland
Thank you so much! Really hope to visit Nagaland in the future ☺️🙏
I thought that getting my Indian passport renewed in Canada was hard, but the Finnish embassy makes my experience look like five star service.
Oh but even the Indian embassy in Finland works perfectly well and smooth! I have always had only positive experiences with them ☺️
Anyone in India with Uniform thinks they have tremendous authority. This includes Parking attendants in shopping Malls.
I don’t know if this is sad or funny, but at least it’s true 😂😂😂
Many security guards in America think they are cops too. The littler the guy the more they want to flaunt power over people because of their own insecurity.
@@JohannaNorth Actually both
@@RDnAC hahah. In more than one ways we are similar. Although Americans are much richer
@Ajit Joshi Indians in America have more $ than average Americans because they are willing to work hard and are not wasteful and mostly are educated as doctors or in technology. They generally also have good ethics. There are very strong Indian communities in America but also integrated into the professional society.
That's a great experience I believe, finally you got everything done. Ok then take care of yourself and Vinod.......
Muistoja tulee mieleen! Ikävä kuulla huonosta kokemuksestasi. Itse muistan meilalleeni sinne suomeksi ja saaneeni ihan ok palvelua suomalaisilta diplomaateilta. Mulle jäi mieleen kerta, jolloin vauvallani oli likainen vaippa ja konsulaatissa ei ollut paikkaa vaihtaa vaippaa, ja silloisen suurlähettilään vaimo vei minut kotiinsa (samassa kompleksissa) vaihtamaan vaippaa ja tarjoili vieläpä karjalanpiirakkaa 😊 Toivottavasti pysytte terveinä ja saat uuden passin pian. 👍
Muuten, Delhissä suosittelisin käymään Dilli Haat - nimisessä paikassa jossa on ruokakojuja ja käsitöitä kaikista eri osavaltioista, käydään siellä joka Delhin- reissulla.
Oletteko käyneet Jaipurin Chowki Dandissa? Sekin on aivan upea kokemus.
Ihana suurlähettilään vaimo!! Juuri tuollaisen kokemuksen odotin itsekin mahdollisesti saavani, että suomalainen tiimihenki kukoistaa erityisesti meillä vähäisillä suomalaisilla näin valtavassa maassa 😁 mutta siis onneksi mun palautehan on nyt kuultu ja nettisivut on muutettu kertomaan, että tapaaminen tarvii varata etukäteen! 🙏
Oon kuullut noista paikoista, mutta valitettavasti ei vielä tälläkään reissulla päästy käymään ☹️ toivottavasti sitten ensi kerralla!
@@JohannaNorth Hyvä kuulla, että palautteesi otettiin huomioon!!
So sorry to know about your awful experience at the Finnish embassy in India. Partly I guess because of lack of co-ordination of Finnish staff & Indian staff. Fortunately, here in Brussels, Belgium...I didn't have much unpleasant experiences at the Indian Embassy. I have been there for re- newal of passport, legalising documents etc. There was always a delay as usual like in any Indian offices. But most of the Indian & Belgian staff there were polite. They even refunded my money back to my account, that they once by mistake overcharged me for some service. And that too with in a week's time.
Johanna...I am glad anyway that all went ok at the end at the Finnish embassy. Greetings from Belgium 🇧🇪
I hope you explained the obstacles you faced to the Finnish person who eventually dealt with your situation so smoothly, so that he/she would be alerted to the unnecessary bureaucracies and something could be done about that.
I was completely prepared to give them a mouthful, but then the passport officer came in being so nice and efficient that it completely threw me off and I didn’t know how to complain at their face. which is something we Finns struggle with anyways 😂 we’re very good at leaving negative feedback afterwards, and that’s what I’m doing too 😁
@@JohannaNorth hmm.. hope your video reaches them.. else, please try to mail them or put a link on their Twitter account.. they need to be given a feedback
I m from jaipur and i didnt know you guys are from jaipur too .
So good to know this !
Well, we’re not technically from Jaipur. My family is Haryanvi but Mommy and Daddy have lived in Jaipur for almost 10yrs 😊 but we all love the city
Stay safe love your vlogs🖤
Hope you get ur passport soon
Happy to hear ‘all’s well ends well’ with your visit to the Finnish embassy. Sadly the preliminary experiences (gatekeepers) were unsatisfactory. Unfortunately that’s should not be reflective of your country but individuals (staff). Blessings
Unfortunately it wasn’t just the gatekeepers but also the actual consular staff not providing me sufficient info for my email and phone queries 😔 but yes now I’m just happy it’s over 😁
I think you should let the Embassy officials know about your bad experience. Also, that they need to put up the Need for an Appointment on the website, so you can book it online before visit.
Yes definitely they’re getting lots of feedback from me 😄 and a very good idea not just to have the info about appointments online, but also a booking system!
Usually renewal of passport can be done through online application providing all the info and documents and submitting online , I am surprised that your Embassy asked you to come in person , the only factor that I am thinking and I could be totally wrong that maybe because your matrimony is Indian , you are an honest person but there are people around the world who misuse marital status to live in a country , therefore they may have wanted to see you in person . As for the gate security or over the phone they must have been doing their job as instructed from the Finnish officials of the Embassy . It’s good to know that you could get through all the turbulence and got the passport going :)
In Finland I could’ve totally applied for a renewal online. The system works with personal identification which is pretty impossible for a scammer to get through. I wasn’t allowed to use it because ”I won’t be able to get a good enough passport photo in India” (still they approve it for the paper application) 🙄😂 I have a hard time believing this would have anything to so with international marriage, even though your logic is pretty sound!
Actually in India the passport size photos are good always as they enhance them lol which is not acceptable in the international world
Dear don't worry 😉 stay safe and stay healthy 💓 big love 💕 from #SinghInGermany#
Dear Johanna I am waiting for new video about Jaipur because Jaipur is my hometown.😊
Sad commentary indeed. The Indian staff obviously lack sensitivity training - a mistake on the part of the senior Finnish officers at the Embassy to place untrained local staff at the front office where it matters most.
my Indian passport got damaged in Washington DC while on a visit. The Indian embassy charges $330 for a new one (tatkal). The funny thing is after a day they called me and said do you have any influence in Passport Office at N***** (a city in India where my passport previous to the damaged one was issued). Luckily a young IFS guy understood my predicament and issued me a new passport within a couple of hours.
Oh wow, that is very unfortunate! I also had to pay a hefty passport fee. More than three times the fee I’d be paying for a new passport in Finland! 😁💸
So Johanna you are having a good experience . But nowadays don't get tired too much . Stay blessed & take care .
Wow! It was nothing short of a Hollywood crime thriller 😃😃. Your videos literally take your viewers through the places and events. Hats off to your presentation and narration skills!👍🏻👍🏻
Sorry that you had to go through such experiences in the middle of these challenging times, especially for you. I'm sure the ending must have been "extra satisfying," considering how hard it was to get there.
With all of that said, I have one suggestion. Be very careful when you are holding the camera and walking, especially when you are talking to the camera and recording. The road surfaces/sidewalks are very uneven (as you may have already noticed).
Other than that, stay safe! Stay healthy! Have fun! Eat well!
Thank you so much for the compliments! Really glad you were enjoying and yes I’ll be enjoying too once i have the passport in my pocket and I hopefully have no business with the embassy in many years 😁😂
Why does Finnish Embassy require such gatekeepers? Is there such a rush in that embassy? I like the way Americans have streamlined the massive visa application load at their embassy. When I took the UK or the Singapore visa, I did not meet any staff from those countries only the Indian processing staff. Whereas for USA, there was a face to face interview with an American Embassy staff.
Well I was the only person there that day, but I do hear they have a couple of hundred residency permits queued up while they only get to work on those 2 days per week, 6 applications per day. So some queues exist somewhere I guess, even though one cant see them 😁
My passport wasn't issued for 2 months after all visits, documentation, and police check.
I wrote an email to highest authority controller, it was dispatched next day itself.
Didn't think even a European embassy will behave in similar fashion 😂
Wowww that blows my mind (which Indian bureaucracy manages to do every single time 😂😂😂)!!!
So glad everything worked out. 🐦
My sister in law from Ukraine had to fight with the Ukrainian embassy officials in Delhi too.
It appears that long years of association with the Indian system of functioning has transformed the Finnish Embassy into just another rule bound/authoritarian/sleepy/inept/frustrating Government of India Department
You need to kick some ass here(AFTER you get your job done). Send a mail to all the persons higher up in the Finnish hierarchy.
How do you always manage to say the funniest and smartest thing at the same time 😂😂👏
Indian effect 😂true
Exactly, this was my thought. My recent experience with Indian Embassy in Finland was smooth, indicating that the reverse effect also applies.
@@JohannaNorth I was about to post the same..
@@dharmateja22 i’ve never had any issues with the Indian Embassy in Helsinki either! They run their operations perfectly well 🙏☺️
really!!!...strange...coz my experience with the US embassy in Delhi and Indian embassy here in Houston was smooth sailing properly organized...Although the appointment was a thumb rule at both consulates and that is what I used to believe by default as visiting an embassy without an appointment sounds a little strange to me...
I only have good experience with Indian embassy in Finland too. But they have no requirements for visa applicants to make appointments there, except for maybe some special visas and then it will be the embassy to specifically notify about it. I have only ever visited the Indian embassy as per my own convenience during office hours 😊 most other Finnish govt agencies don’t require appointments either.
It seems the Finnish embassy website shows that you need an appointment. Would be surprised if you do not require an appointment in Finland. Nowadays, I even need a reservation to go to a restaurant.
The website has been changed since the last time I visited it, it seems. Which is good since I had given feedback it should include info about needing an appointment 👍 and no, you dont need to book an appointment in Finland.
How harrowing! Yes, Embassies can be a pain in the neck!
I would not he surprised if it is the Indian staff is the reason for all the runaround and inefficiency? Speciality of Indian staff in lot of places is creating beuracracy, inefficiencies, give runaround, and creating hurdles in these places and it is not surprising, unless things have changed over the years. I seriously doubt it is Finnish staff. Send this video to the embassy in Finland, they need to replace people at the embassy. Nobody loses their job in India, no fear, and that creates these problems. You should be able to renew via mail, unless they have an extraordinary reason. As for the website not making things clear, I would guess that is coming from Finland, if it is that would be surprising to me.
Surely there were issues with the Indian gate staff, but I don’t think the Finnish staff is without fault either. They didn’t reply my email queries with sufficient info either, which would have initially helped me to avoid all these hurdles 😕 and i’m definitely gonna be giving them a mouthful of negative feedback in writing on every official platform i can come up with - like we Finns always do, but never face to face 😂😂👌
Hi Vinod & Johanna
It is unfortunate that you have to undergo such hardships in Delhi. But all is well that ends well.
Best wishes to you and Vinod. 🤝
Thank you 🙏❤️
Loved Ur Dress & Mask...
1:32 😂😂😂 going home...
6:19 😂😂😂 can fit whole finish population...
Hate to see a pregnant women have to travel all the way just to renew a passport during a pandemic & still have to suffer another issues at indianized finish embassy...
☮️
I am married to a Belgian , the amount of harassment & disrespected i felt applying for visa even after being married was very disappointing . They really do not behave rationally or i must say humanely . So your experience comes as no surprise to me. But being in a inter- cultural relationship somehow demands such bureaucracy hassle, i am in peace with it. Living in Belgium for 2 years, honestly Europe is not my piece of cake, we plan to move back in time in the south of India :) Good luck for the baby stay safe & healthy!
Very sorry to hear about your experience. ❤️ I was dealing with my own embassy though, with a representative of my own native country’s govt. I might expect this from Indian bureaucratic offices, but definitely not from my own country - not even when it comes to them dealing with Indian nationals.
Interesting to hear how the Finnish Embassy operates in a super big -population wise- country like India. Wonder how it operates in USA,China,Australia 😊. Agree that you deserve more flexibility,convenience and comfort in view of your special circumstances. In fact human beings need to be treated as humans not as pieces of data. Rules are for general guidance and need to be adapted to human beings by human beings in government agencies. That is why Indians don't follow rules😉, they tend to follow their human instincts and behave "graciously". So everybody in India is familiar and accustomed to being treated as a VIP. Hope your new Finnish passport is valid for at least 25 years.😊🌹
It’s only valid for 5yrs 😭😂😂😂 next time I’m renewing it, I’m doing it IN FINLAND only haha. I wholeheartedly agree with all you wrote!
It's something I tried to ignore worry about it, i have to renew my child passport soon 😓
Hope all goes well!
India gives that spiritual experience in life which gives you patience.Ask Vinod to book a guest house near Shantipath.A lot of govt guest houses are nearby.Punjab govt guest house is very nearby .Book an overnight stay and be prepared for surprise s.
It was a couple of weeks ago that we visited Delhi, but I’ll surely keep these recommendations in mind for the future! 😊 not sure if they’d be open in the current situation though? At least Tamil Nadu house canteen was closed when we visited 🤔
Omg 😳 relived to know things got done after all the hassles and yes, “fingers” crossed till your passport arrives!
Don’t know why no matter where you live but you always face this kind of challenges at indian embassies..? My daughter had applied for OCI visa when she was studying in London and it has been almost over seven years but they never issued her visa, after lot of frustration she gave up. They have kept the visa fees she paid for.
You are looking so good dear and just love seeing you via your blogs😍
❤️😘🤗
PS Johanna dear, can you please send me your amazon link for baby gifts!
The Indian embassy in Finland works actually perfectly well, always a very smooth and efficient process when I’ve had any business with them! ☺️👌 but yes I’m still always afraid of having similar experiences to that of your daughter’s!
Thank you so much, Shreya, for always complimenting me and making me feel much better ❤️ many days I don’t feel glowing exactly but it always helps to read such nice words 😊
The link for the wishlist is
www.amazon.in/hz/wishlist/ls/2OWK8NRDYO0P5?ref_=wl_share
If you lose the link you can also always find it in the description of all my videos 🙏❤️
Thank you dear for sending me your amazon link!.. so finally I got to pick my gifts for baby but I am not able complete the order! My husband couldn’t either🙄.. not able to ask for help from others cause covid and I m getting frustrated! Hoping to send soon!!❤️
I think you meant to say 9:00am to 12PM, not AM.
In India , every moment is a challenge.
280km from Jaipur to New Delhi not 2500..!!
Ma'am, after Corona please do visit Sikkim (a northeastern state) which is also known by different names such as;
- Switzerland of India
- First fully organic state of India.
Ma'am, if you have time then you can research on Sikkim because it really has so many things to offer🙏
I’ve been to Sikkim in 2019 and loved it ☺️ there is a vlog about it too
@@JohannaNorth Ok👍
@@JohannaNorth Just watched your vlog about Sikkim and loved it. The best part to watch these travelling videos is that it flashes back all the memories.
From your vlog it just reminds me again how Sikkim is raw, rustic, peaceful, clean, spiritual and in its purest form🎎♥️
Johanna, you should visit Indian Embassy in in London, I'm sure you'll start worshipping this Embassy.
One terrible experience doesn’t make another good though 😂
@@JohannaNorth probably does, when you compare how bad the others are.
Exactly Indian high commission is a commission office before and they think Indians means north parts of people only but surprisingly 6 months ago I be there every thing change and new appointment system it be a big change and never expected and only little bad things be the door officer he only speak Hindi
Whyyy just why
Love from port Blair,andman island,India. Hope u visit andman & nicobar groups of island in future.
Oh it’s definitely on my travel list 😊 vinod loves the andamans!
Johanna, it’s not the Finnish staff that prove incompetent it’s the Indian staff. It’s their nature that’s just the way it is. Even in the U.K. they were so ignorant and rude. Thank god for VFS.
Get your mum or sister to renew your passport in Finland next time and send it to you by registered secure mail might be a lot easier then going through all that trouble since you will be with a child next time, ps apply a brown shade in your eye brows it will give the beautiful highlight to your face and make your face look fresher and brighter.
First..😁, yet to watch
If I ever end up making that certificate, you’ll be the one to get it 😁✨
OMG, Finns are learning from Indians. next time ur in delhi, have to come over to my place as my personal guest....mwaaaa
When will u come back to kerala???? 🤗🤗🤗🤗
Finnish Govt would have given concession on personal visit
Shame on the Finnish Embassy staff for allowing the Indian staff to give a pregnant Finnish citizen the run around like that.
You could send an email to the Embassy in your capital, Vinod could author the letter so as not to stress you out. He is your rock during this time. 👍 Be well. (Do they have bathtubs there for a nice scented relaxing soak? )
Oh I pretty much have the feedback already drafted! I agree it’s very important to let authorities know when there is a great lack in service. But I must say that it wasn’t just the Indian staff giving me a run around India - the Finnish staff wasn’t replying my email queries with sufficient info either 😅😒
You should try.. Indian makeup like bindi.. Earings.. Bangles... Etc.. Your mother in law will happy to see u.
Were they waiting for a bribe in order to skip the required "appointment"?
It is their DUTY to provide correct information and SERVE its citizens. What gives them the idea they are demi-gods because of a uniform?
100% agree on duty to serve and usually Finnish officials do follow it to teet. I’m not completely sure where the issue was stemming from - was it the word of a Finnish official through the phone or the Indian staff at the gate 😕 it wasn’t like the Finnish staff was replying with enough info to my email queries either
@@JohannaNorth Weird and annoying but successfully resolved. All the same, I'm a great proponent of writing letters (ccd to the appropriate people like your member of parliament in Finland) about incidents like this. I once sent a letter addressed to "The Bureaucrat Whose Job It Is To Care (and got a very nice response).
Something reasoned and dispassionate stating: 1. Your concerns over the lack of responses to your initial queries which you made in repeatedly and in timely fashion. 2. The lack of information stating that you would not be able to access your phone and should print documents. 3. That appointments are mandatory. 4. India is a vast country and you had to endure X number of hours in transit in order to attend in person. 5. And of course the pregnancy/pandemic concerns with the sincere wish that this shouldn't happen to other good citizens of Finland. I hope you do this. And if you get a reply, do let us know whether they're the least bit apologetic.
Hope one day you will visit Arunachal Pradesh
Very much hope to do so too 😊
I bet it is far more difficult for an Indian to get through the procedures and stress in Finland.
Indian embassy in Finland and all the Finnish govt agencies work very well and smooth, with proper information given. In Finland it’s their job to serve citizens/residents and offer info and help - and anything different from that will not be acceptable. Of course some unfortunate exceptions might occur but discrimination and not doing your job well is highly unacceptable in Finnish culture
Generally passport and visa issues are a major hassle in any country ...did you try a travel agent? In India , travel agents can do all the dirty work at cheap rates , this is the advantages of being in India.
I don't want to use travel agents and give my personal documents to unknown third parties :/ I was surprised that this would happen in a Finnish embassy, since getting my passport or visa applications done in Finland is no hassle at all :)
@@JohannaNorth true that , my family is also wary of 3rd parties but there is alot of bureacracy issues in India and bribe taking , so even drivers license sometimes we go through agents who have offices near the govt office. So near the passport office , there will be agents with offices. Things are generally hassle everywhere when it comes to legal govt documents. Some countries are efficient in handling and have an organised online and in-person system but not all countries are organised 😂.
Yes any passport or visa related you need an appointment in any country any embassy. I have hardly seen walk-in cases. So next time any travel related info, approach a travel agent first and get details. They would have told you that you need an appointment. Travel agents will give you the information for free over the phone and will not collect your personal info. The consulate websites can be very confusing for us since there are different types of traveller's.
Be safe... I'm not in Delhi, but I heard covid is pretty bad there, best to avoid Delhi and due to the passport emergency you had to go. Take care dear
@@JohannaNorth Thomas Cook travels and cox and kings is reliable... Not sure if they renew foreign passports...
Johanna, now you are more Indian than ever because you use the word 'backside' to describe directions. It should be at the back, but never mind. :)
She is not a native English speaker so there's a good chance she used that phrase earlier too?
Indian English is its own form of English and expressions unique to Indian English are as legitimate as expressions unique to other dialects of English. Maybe she is choosing to speak in Indian English since she lives in India and is speaking to a mostly Indian audience?
Its not the Finns ...who are not helpful.....but Indian employees in the Embassies are ones who are not good with customer services.....
I would say they are learning all the bad bureaucratic methods from Indian bureaucrats. They make one stand in all kinds of line at the airport so that several officials can stamp your passport. They even stamp your boarding pass >:O
Mark the finish ambassador to India and FinlandinIndia on twitter. That's how they listen to any complains these days !!
I am about to renew my passport soon as well...uph
Horrorrrr 👻 hopefully your process goes better!
Here because of RUclips recommendation.. by the way whats ur connectoin with North Kerala..??
We live in North Kerala, that’s the connection 😊
Why so much hype n complaints abt that. First time I got my passport I need to be there in person and then after that I renewed again physical presnt must and again renewed again person needed I have no issue with that.
The Finnish Authorities have obviously outsourced some 'frontline tasks' to an Indian entity without ensuring proper cultural training. So you had to endure the initial Indian bureaucratic experience before you got through to the Finnish Authority! Besides, Very few people read their own websites!
In Finland the websites (esp. by govt) are required to have accurate and sufficient info available there, because most procedures are done online and govt encourages people to use online services to avoid crowding the phonelines and offices with queries and visits 😊 that’s why it was a great surprise not getting proper info for my application!
You forgot this is India, not Finland. Everything here is roundabout and takes days of confusion, delays and no signboards. I know because I'm not an Indian citizen. 😊. You and Vinod need to move to Finland!
Most of us have been treated shabbily in embassies of Western countries,Australia,NZ etc.We take it as a part of being an Indian.
Well it’s not a part of being Finnish, at all 🤗
Welcome to foreign embassy in India🤯
😭😭😭
BTW,Don't miss your antenatal visits ,okay.❤️
So you taking citizenship!! Or will return back!! To your country
It is not acceptable what you had to go through especially considering that these “services” are funded by tax payers!
It’s a stress for nothing and usually because people are on some kind of a power trip!
Really enjoy your videos and wish you all the best! ❤️
Was also wondering what you use to film your vlogs! 🎥
This particular vlog has been filmed on my new iPhone 11, like my other vlogs from Delhi and Jaipur. In the vlogs filmed at our home I use mainly Sony a6000 and most earlier travel vlogs have been filmed with GoPro hero 7 😊
We only had the impression that Europeana are very professional. Its sad to see finland embassy getting unprofessional. Such unprofessional behaviour should never be acceptable.
@Li'l Squeak fire them.
@Li'l Squeak its d job of finland embassy to find competent working professional and get the work done. You will find many competent ones for sure.
The pandemic might have dissarrayed the smooth functioning of the Finnish embassy too.
Very likely. But I still wish they had replied to my queries on phone and emails. It's not like there are too many Finns living in India and in need of passport renewal :/
Because india is a very huge country,
INDIA = Entire Europe + USA
32 crore lives in us, and 72 cr lives in entire europe, so that's why they asked you too many questions.
Video kyu nahi aaraha he
I am glad that you finally got your passport. If a Finnish citizen had to deal with this at the embassy, I wonder how an Indian applying for schengen visa is treated. Probably the passport officer and other finnish authorities are not aware of how people are handled at the reception/entrance.
PS: I don't know if it's mummy's food or the teal sweater or the Jaipur sun, but you are glowing.
Thank you Shruthi! Let’s blame all those three things for the glow 😁🙏
I don’t think the only issue was with the Indian staff, because the Finnish personnel there didn’t reply to my email queries written in Finnish properly either 😕 but obviously I wouldn’t expect Indian nationals to get any better treatment at my embassy either which is a shame that they are given such a bad image of us as people 😔
Englannissakin joutuu kyllä paikan päälle menemään etukäteen varatun ajan kanssa jos haluaa passin uusia eikä siinä ilmeisesti ole poikkeuksia. Ehkä se on joku ulkomailla uusimiseen liittyvä juttu. Toki Intiassa tämä tuntuu olevan hiukan monimutkaisempi prosessi...
Varmasti voi olla ulkomailla uusimiseen liittyvä juttu eikä siinä olisi mitään ongelmaa, jos siitä vain infottaisiin jossain! Mutta ei ollut tietoa netissä eikä kerrottu email/puh tiedusteluissani, niin mistäpä minä sitä ennustaisin 😂🤷♀️
Radhe Krishna Radhe krishna Radhe Krishna Radhe krishna Radhe Krishna Radhe krishna Radhe Krishna Radhe krishna Radhe Krishna 🙏
Looks like there is lack of communication between the Finnish consular officers & their Gatekeeper Staff, that caused most of ur hardship. But i guess all's well that ends well plus with that additional bonus of goan fish curry 😁
It was goan prawn curry AND king fish rawa fry so even better haha 😁😁👌
I doubt. Indian embassy in NYC is the worst.
Really? I thought it would be a really big embassy with lots of staff, so perhaps more efficient. No?
@@JohannaNorth It is a big embassy to the non-Indians. It is totally different for Indian citizens. An Indian citizen has to enter through a back door in the basement. I had a very similar situation in 2009 December. It was painful. I had to wait for an entire day in the cold to renew my passport.
I feel for you your own embassy behaving so badly towards a pregnant lady.
Sometimes this happens. Don't be judgmental
Was it because you were delaying with Indian staff at the Embassy and not Finnish
Might be, but I don’t want to assume. I did try to communicate with Finnish staff also in my email queries and took several weeks to get even a generic reply lacking vital info, so the Finnish staff isn’t perfect either.
Good video new frinds